Remember the Audi A2? The quirky little Audi that looked like it had arrived from the future, squeezed a surprising amount of space into a compact body and generally refused to follow the small-car rulebook? Well, the name is back.

This time, however, Audi has given the A2 a very different mission. Meet the new Audi A2 e-tron, an all-electric compact that isn’t interested in simply being small and sensible. Instead, it wants to be seriously efficient, clever, practical and distinctly Audi. In fact, Audi claims it is the most efficient model in the company’s history, consuming as little as 12.8 kWh/100 km and offering up to 401 miles (645 km) of WLTP range. Not bad for an entry-level Audi.

The A2 e-tron’s approach to efficiency is refreshingly straightforward: don’t waste energy in the first place. Audi has attacked aerodynamic drag from practically every angle, giving the car a drag coefficient of just 0.24 — the best figure in Audi’s compact range. The bodywork is shaped around clean airflow, while the car gets a largely enclosed underbody, controllable cooling intake, wheel-arch gap reducers and specially developed aerodynamic wheels. Even the roofline has been carefully sculpted to keep the air moving smoothly over the car.

It may not sound particularly exciting, but here’s the clever bit: Audi isn’t relying on simply throwing an enormous battery into the car to achieve impressive range. The philosophy is essentially less energy wasted = less energy needed. Four power outputs, because efficient doesn’t have to mean boring There are four versions of the A2 e-tron, ranging from a modest 170 PS to a rather more lively 326 PS. All versions use rear-wheel drive and permanent-magnet synchronous electric motors.

The range-topping model produces 326 PS and 545 Nm, enough to propel the A2 e-tron from 0-62 mph in just 5.7 seconds. That’s quite a different character from the original A2. The 170 PS model takes 8.8 seconds to reach 62 mph, while the 190 PS version manages it in 7.9 seconds. The 231 PS variant cuts that to 7.0 seconds. So, yes, efficiency is the headline — but Audi hasn’t forgotten that cars are supposed to be enjoyable to drive.

Audi will offer three battery capacities: 52 kWh, 61 kWh and 84 kWh. Depending on the configuration, WLTP range stretches from 262 miles to as much as 401 miles. Interestingly, the 401-mile figure isn’t reserved for the most powerful version. Audi’s figures show the 231 PS A2 e-tron with the 84 kWh battery can achieve up to 401 miles, while the 326 PS model offers up to 391 miles.

And then there’s the efficiency champion: the 190 PS model with its optional efficiency package, which manages the remarkable 12.8 kWh/100 km figure. Charging isn’t exactly an endurance event either. The 84 kWh battery supports DC charging at up to 183 kW, taking approximately 29 minutes to go from 10 to 80 percent. The 52 kWh battery can do the same in 24 minutes at up to 100 kW, while the 61 kWh unit takes around 26 minutes at up to 105 kW.

Here’s where the A2 e-tron gets particularly interesting. Audi has given the car bidirectional charging capability, meaning electricity doesn’t necessarily have to flow only into the vehicle. Through Vehicle-to-Load (V2L), the A2 e-tron can power external equipment such as e-bikes, laptops, tools and camping equipment.

In selected markets, it can go one step further with Vehicle-to-Home (V2H). When paired with a compatible DC wall box, the vehicle can store energy and feed it back into the home. So after spending the day driving around, your A2 could potentially spend the evening helping power your house. Your car has officially become a very expensive power bank.

Audi has also worked hard to make sure the A2 e-tron doesn’t feel like a cramped compact car. The 2.77-metre wheelbase helps create a spacious cabin, while the interior gets a distinctly premium treatment. The dashboard and doors feature Audi’s Softwrap design, while an optional panoramic glass roof provides approximately 1.6 square metres of glass.

Then there is the technology. The standard MMI panoramic display combines an 11.9-inch Audi virtual cockpit plus with a 12.8-inch curved MMI touch display. There’s also wireless smartphone charging with a magnetic mount, capable of charging two phones simultaneously at up to 25 watts. And Audi has introduced something rather unusual: Fidlock magnetic fastening points as standard. Need somewhere to secure a cupholder or charging cable bag? Click. Want to rearrange your storage? Click. It’s a small detail, but exactly the sort of thing that could make the A2 e-tron feel clever rather than merely futuristic.

Despite its compact dimensions, the A2 e-tron offers 396 litres of boot space. Fold the rear seats down and that expands to 1,336 litres. Higher-powered versions also get a small 13-litre frunk, while optional storage equipment adds further flexibility. So while the A2 e-tron might be efficient enough to make spreadsheets exciting, it hasn’t forgotten the more mundane business of carrying shopping bags, luggage and everything else that tends to accumulate in a family car.

Audi hasn’t treated the A2 e-tron as an entry-level car when it comes to safety technology either. Standard equipment includes adaptive cruise control, emergency brake assist, swerve assist, attention assist, parking system plus and a reversing camera. Emergency brake assist can intervene when a collision with a vehicle or pedestrian is imminent, while swerve assist helps the driver steer around obstacles.

If the system detects that the driver has become inactive, emergency assist can issue warnings and, if there is still no response, bring the car to a controlled stop and initiate an emergency call. Optional equipment takes things even further, including 3D surround-view cameras, park assist plus, proactive occupant protection and even trained parking, allowing the car to learn and repeat familiar parking manoeuvres. Because apparently remembering where you park your own car is now something technology can do for you.

Audi has also looked beyond electricity consumption. More than 300 components in the A2 e-tron contain recycled steel, aluminium or plastics, with more than 100 incorporating post-consumer recycled materials. The company is also designing components with future recycling in mind, including reducing the number of different plastics used in individual components. Even some interior materials, including optional Softwrap materials and sports seats, use recycled polyester.

The new A2 e-tron is clearly not trying to recreate the original car. Instead, Audi has taken the original A2’s basic idea — do more with less space — and translated it into the electric era. It’s compact without being cramped, efficient without being painfully slow, technologically loaded without needing to be a huge luxury model, and capable of doing something rather unusual for a car: giving electricity back.

The A2 e-tron will be built at Audi’s Ingolstadt plant, with UK orders opening in October 2026 and deliveries beginning in early 2027. Prices start from £32,200 OTR. If the original A2 was Audi’s small car from the future, the new A2 e-tron may be the version that finally arrived at the right time.