Audi Q2 vs DS 4 Crossback vs Seat Ateca

What are they like inside?

Although Audi’s Q2 is based on the firm’s A3 Sportback, step inside and it feels surprisingly pokey – it’s certainly at the smaller end of the small SUV class. Even so, two adults will have no issues with head or leg room in the front seats and the driver has a generous amount of manual seat and steering wheel adjustment. However, it’s a shame that lumbar adjustment costs extra given that it comes as standard in the Seat Ateca and DS 4.

In addition, space is tight in the back of the Q2. Two adults will find their knees close to the front seatbacks and their heads brushing the roof lining, and the Q2’s relatively narrow interior makes it pretty uncomfortable for three adults sitting side-by-side.

That said, the Q2 feels positively huge next to the DS. Again, there won’t be too much grumbling from a couple of adults in the front seats, aside from them noticing that there isn’t enough side support from the seats to hold you in place through corners. However, space in the back is extremely tight.

Even teenagers will find knee room stingy, and a combination of poor head room and swooping rear window design makes it both uncomfortable and claustrophobic, especially considering the rear windows can’t even be opened. That heavily-styled rear end also means that the DS 4 is the hardest of these three to see out of, although its standard rear parking sensors and reversing camera mitigate this.

There are no such space issues in the Ateca, in which four tall adults can sit in complete comfort on a long journey, and the driver’s seat and steering wheel get a wide range of movement as standard.

The good news continues in the Ateca’s boot, which is both more spacious and practical than the Q2 and DS 4’s efforts. It has the lowest lip, widest opening and is consistently taller and wider inside than its rivals’, although it’s shame that Seat charges £115 for a height adjustable boot floor. It’s well worth it for the flat bay it leaves with the rear seats folded down.

However, Audi continues to lead the pack on interior quality. Its Q2 doesn’t feel quite as plush as an A3 Sportback – more rugged plastics and cheaper-feeling switches see to that – but the materials are still of a consistently higher quality than those in the Ateca, which start to feel scratchier the farther down the interior you go. Meanwhile, the DS’s dash looks smart, but its creaking plastics and flimsy feeling switches are disappointing.