Thanks Birchall
I'm musing over a Tdi - the worry I have is that diesel is now implicated in pollution and whether some UK cities (London?) will join Paris, Madrid and Athens in banning diesel by 2025...
Cheers for suggesting getting the four seater and the SE version. The only flaw I can find in customer reviews of the A2 is they say the ride is harsh. If the SE has the best ride then this may be the one to go for.
As for the ride, if you hit a pot hole in any car you will get a shock no matter what.
Many people run around on tired suspension on their A2, and or have things that rattle in the car and so that makes the car just seem to be harsh.
A well maintained A2 will have a slightly firm ride, but nothing dramatic.
The A2 I just sold had 19" wheels on it with ultra low profile tyres on it and even that was perfectly acceptable (no rattles from anything and a well maintained suspension) The source of the most annoying rattle from the suspension is the front anti roll bar drop links and they are VERY easy to replace and cheap to buy. If they are rattling the drive seems harsh as they can click over every bump in the road.
My wife is not "into" cars in any way, she has 17" wheels on her A2 and she is more than happy with the ride quality. Many years ago I part exchanged her 5 year old A2 for a Mercedes A class (thinking it was an upgrade for her) within 6 months she wanted the Merc gone and an A2 back!!!!
If she has no complaints about the ride quality then that indicates that it is not as dramatic as people make out. She will not buy ANYTHING other than an A2 and I quote "Even if we won the lottery I would not get rid of my A2!!!"
So I don't see the ride being a "game changer", but surely a test drive is all you need (as long as you have a test drive in a well maintained A2.
As for the Diesel thing, if you regularly drive into the centre of London (or Manchester, etc.) it MIGHT be that in many years to come your Diesel may be penalised, but it will take many years due to the sheer volume of Diesels on the road!
Steve B