More recognition for the A2

Agreed wholeheartedly with the article until the end where he said his 1.4 petrol understeered and was not a drivers car. I can only assume it's worn out and long in the tooth? Very confusing to the casual reader, there's plenty of opposite journalistic appraisals where the 1.4 was judged to be so neutral it was as least as good as the B5 RS4. I'm referring to the, i think it was, the 2000 Autocar review of the car. When new it was known to be a superb handler as has been mentioned by one Lotus person mentioned here by someone on this forum a while back.
 
Agreed wholeheartedly with the article until the end where he said his 1.4 petrol understeered and was not a drivers car. I can only assume it's worn out and long in the tooth? Very confusing to the casual reader, there's plenty of opposite journalistic appraisals where the 1.4 was judged to be so neutral it was as least as good as the B5 RS4. I'm referring to the, i think it was, the 2000 Autocar review of the car. When new it was known to be a superb handler as has been mentioned by one Lotus person mentioned here by someone on this forum a while back.

it would definitely be worn suspension and not sport spec possible - my old A2 had quite badly worn front suspension and could tell it was quite tired so it would quite frequently lift a wheel off the ground with quite a bit of lean in, plus SE seats are not what i'd call supportive.

Current Sport spec TDI 90 does hug my behind a lot better in the seat and can definitely tell it is much more straight and has barely any body roll - mind you suspension has 150k on it can only imagine it being a lot better with a fresh set on every corner.

Can only imagine it getting better as i proceed to refresh mine.

Having said that I've been driving diesel cars most of my life and petrols just feel anemic with the lack of torque, even the little 1.4 TDI feels like it could pull a reasonably sized house with it, petrol cars I've driven just don't have that sensation (presumably you'd get that from a beefier larger petrol)
 
I’m not sure about the price comparisons. Before I ordered my A2 I compared it to a Polo brought to the same spec with options; result, same price. When first introduced an A2 was a well specified little motor.
 
Agreed wholeheartedly with the article until the end where he said his 1.4 petrol understeered and was not a drivers car. I can only assume it's worn out and long in the tooth? Very confusing to the casual reader, there's plenty of opposite journalistic appraisals where the 1.4 was judged to be so neutral it was as least as good as the B5 RS4. I'm referring to the, i think it was, the 2000 Autocar review of the car. When new it was known to be a superb handler as has been mentioned by one Lotus person mentioned here by someone on this forum a while back.
My A2 is great on the motorway, very smooth and stable (cross winds can be interesting though). Punchy diesel is great around town, it handles and stops just fine.
Drive it hard on a twisting B road though and it becomes clear it is not a drivers car. Seating position is too high, it lacks power, there is too much understeer, tyres don't grip enough, brakes aren't strong enough. It is enjoyable when driven as a dependable daily but it is not a drivers car.
 
My A2 is great on the motorway, very smooth and stable (cross winds can be interesting though). Punchy diesel is great around town, it handles and stops just fine.
Drive it hard on a twisting B road though and it becomes clear it is not a drivers car. Seating position is too high, it lacks power, there is too much understeer, tyres don't grip enough, brakes aren't strong enough. It is enjoyable when driven as a dependable daily but it is not a drivers car.

Easily sorted with a set of coilovers and a front and rear anti-roll bar from H&R. It becomes a go-kart then.
 
My A2 is great on the motorway, very smooth and stable (cross winds can be interesting though). Punchy diesel is great around town, it handles and stops just fine.
Drive it hard on a twisting B road though and it becomes clear it is not a drivers car. Seating position is too high, it lacks power, there is too much understeer, tyres don't grip enough, brakes aren't strong enough. It is enjoyable when driven as a dependable daily but it is not a drivers car.

I don't usually disagree with posts on the forum. But I have to say my 2001 A2 TDI can corner hard, without any lift. It's not like I rally cross to work every day, but sometimes you feel like some fun. Roundabouts no problem, and I'm running Bridgestones this time and grip is great. Previously Dunlop Bluresponse which were very good too and recommended by Papahans over at A2-freun.de forum. Perhaps the smaller wheels help.

The car is standard (perhaps a previous owner remapped it?). Haven't changed the clutch in my 4 years of ownership (75,000 miles during my time). 15in pepperpots. Suspension refresh last year. Brakes are superb - stopping distance very good - this, when fully loaded with 5 people and a massive roof box on top.

Drive to Croatia and back every year without issue (have a look at my photo album). In fact it just reached 200k on the odometer (need to apply for 200k membership on the forum!). It is serviced regularly with WOM Automotive, who do a stellar job, it's ready for collection now so I'm going to enjoy the AC working again! Some bad mechanics did the car a disservice in the past, but between @timmus and @chumsofmanutd the car is a fantastic drive.

Either way, I never usually drop below 60mpg (had lows of 48 once whilst climbing up and down through the Alps fully loaded), and have hit 71mpg a few times this summer too (all measurements tank to tank and almost every fill checked). Albeit the 71s were on flat, Norfolk roads going no faster than 60mph :)

Love this car, love the forum. So much so, I just bought a petrol for my wife. Not as much power as the diesel (it's a 1.4), but fun to drive. More on that one another time once I've sorted it out!
 
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They really are great cars, and there's not many cars of the same age which are still being used for daily driver duties at these kind of annual mileages. We might even replace my Wife's 5 Series estate with A2 number 5. 40K miles in the BMW in 18 months and its cost a lot in terms tyres, fuels, and maintenance.
 
They really are great cars, and there's not many cars of the same age which are still being used for daily driver duties at these kind of annual mileages. We might even replace my Wife's 5 Series estate with A2 number 5. 40K miles in the BMW in 18 months and its cost a lot in terms tyres, fuels, and maintenance.
Exactly. When I showed my wife the figures the Merc estate had to go. It will save £2.5k each year taking into account servicing, parts, insurance and fuel.
 
Exactly. When I showed my wife the figures the Merc estate had to go. It will save £2.5k each year taking into account servicing, parts, insurance and fuel.

The other swaying factor may be that the one we collected on Sunday is far comfier than the previous three we’ve had. Previous ones were 2 x base, and 1 x SE (currently for sale) all from 2002, the latest is a late 2004 Sport. All looks familiar inside, but like a completely different car.
 
The other swaying factor may be that the one we collected on Sunday is far comfier than the previous three we’ve had. Previous ones were 2 x base, and 1 x SE (currently for sale) all from 2002, the latest is a late 2004 Sport. All looks familiar inside, but like a completely different car.

I find that sports seats, steering wheel and gearknob make a massive difference to the way an A2 feels. The car feels more sturdy and comfortable.
 
I find that sports seats, steering wheel and gearknob make a massive difference to the way an A2 feels. The car feels more sturdy and comfortable.

my current TDI 90 2004 sport certainly feels a lot more solid than TDI 2001 SE i had, but i chucked it to age and different engine.
 
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