preferably not with the sports suspension (I hate a hard ride!)
Like you, I hate a hard ride. However, I also find the standard seats a legal form of torture, whereas Sport seats are sooooooo much more comfortable. There are some SEs out there with Sport seats, but you may wish to consider upgrading to Sport seats if the car that you buy doesn't have them. It's all personal preference.
The A2's weakest link is its suspension; it's often said that it's the only area of the car that Audi forgot to design properly. It's not only overly harsh in all guises, but is very fragile. Even low-mileage cars that have been driven on rough roads and/or with large alloys may need to have their suspension renewed. If you find a Sport model that otherwise fits your requirements, you could buy it and change the suspension, as it may need a rebuild in the near-future anyway. My A2 (circa 245,000 miles) is now on its third completely new suspension setup.
I'd then look to add either the longer 5th gear option or (if I could stretch to it and the car's condition warranted it) the 6 speed upgrade
I had the longer 5th fitted to my 5-speed 'box for a number of years, and I remain a fan of that setup despite now having a 6-speed 'box fitted in my A2. However, I'm adamant that it needs to be thought of as a change rather than as an upgrade. It's a compromise solution that provides some pros and some cons; whether or not it's suitable for you depends greatly on your use of the car.
I predominantly do motorway miles, so my previous longer 5th setup would frequently save me money due to the increase in fuel economy at motorway speeds. However, I also do a fair amount of driving in mountainous areas, where I would essentially only have 4 gears due to the longer 5th being inaccessible in such environments. In these circumstances, the longer 5th ratio would effectively cost me money. On the whole, I saved, but many A2 owners with the longer 5th find that their average fuel economy does not go up by much, if at all. Sometimes, all that's gained from the mod is a quieter drive when motorway cruising - which alone can be a good justification for the change.
Personally, I find the longer 5th is a down-grade in terms of the vehicle's 'driveability'. On a winding A-road (or in a 50mph speed limit on the motorway) I found managing the larger gap between 4th and 5th really tiresome. When doing longer cross-country routes, I found it quite draining to have to continually choose between rev'ing it harder in 4th or spluttering slightly in 5th; it requires much more concentration on an aspect of driving that's normally a subconscious process. Low-rev, high-load scenarios are terrible for your engine and gearbox, meaning the lower limits of the longer 5th's capabilities ought not be explored too often.
For those who use their A2 almost exclusively as a motorway cruiser, it's a very good option; compared to a 6-speed 'box, its pay-back time is relatively short and it makes driving at speed a whole lot more comfortable. But it's not without its drawbacks.
I'd also uprate the lights (it's dark in rural Devon and poor lights wear me out on long night drives).
A good idea. The A2's standard headlights are like tea candles. I have a (decent and expensive) set of HID headlights in my A2, which are brilliant: so much brighter, very low scatter, incredibly reliable, etc. However, having had them for nearly 10 years, there may be better LED options these days. I'm not totally clued-up on the legalities, though.
If anyone might be selling a car later in the year with the above spec / these things already done, I'd be interested to hear from you!
Private message on its way.
Cheers,
Tom
www.a2oc.net
