A much shorter message from me to answer the original question - is there a market for it? In my country (Australia), beyond a yes. It's interesting how different the rest of the world is. The reason I know this is from sheer sales figures of T-Roc R and Cupra Ateca which the SQ2 shares an identical platform with. They can not meet up with demand, it's crazy. When I bought my car, I looked at the Cupra site and there were nearly 200 2023 cars coming into the country with a 4 to 5 week delivery period. This was on a Monday. Just 3 days later on Thursday, I checked again as I was thinking about putting a deposit on one, and that number had gone to 11. That's crazy. The only options here are roof/akrapovic exhaust/bremo brakes, otherwise it's fully optioned, and I just wanted the base car without any of those options. There was ONE left - in black. Or I had to wait at least 15 weeks again. When I picked it up, there were 5 brand spanking new Atecas in the dealership that were being delivered that day. I was just like a statistic. Get me in, give me the keys to my car with a quick overview, go to the next person. This kind of proves there is a small performance SUV market in Australia at least!
Delays with new car orders are very common now because of COVID and the war in Ukraine effecting the supply chains. My own RS3 took almost 2 years to arrive. But as I said in the other reply to you these CUPRA models are so well specced compared to other VW group cars.
I just find it weird that the T-Roc R and Cupra Formentor and even the Ateca which is more closely related to the SQ2, get adjustable dampers but this doesn't. The Audi's interior is WAY nicer but the 360 cam, powered drivers seat, and adjustable dampers (Ateca is genuinely compliant in comfort mode), not to mention 10 grand cheaper here in Australia, are what made me choose the Cupra Ateca over the Audi. I hated the T-Roc's interior completely which is why that was out of the running, so much piano black and that's my least favourite thing in ANY car interior. All this said, I have done all of 500 miles equivalent and I am having bizarre issues in my car that I know would never happen in a brand new Audi. 2 days ago, the sound system refused to produce any audio. Not for phone calls, radio, car play, nada. Even the screen beeps when pressing it were gone. I triple checked and volume was way up with no muting. I turned off the car, opened the door and got out, locked it and unlocked it, got back in and re started car and it sprung to life again. Today I was driving and stopped at an intersection, there was one car in front of me (a few metres as I am a very cautious driver) and no one behind, and suddenly the reverse camera popped up on the screen, the parking sensors activated themselves and I got alerts to check my surroundings. I had touched NOTHING, my hands were on the wheel and I was in drive. Then, on the way home, it said Siri wouldn't work as it required a net connection even though I had maximum coverage in a metropolitan area. Cycling the car power fixed it again. I am hoping it's glitches that software updates can fix, but OTOH I am very worried I have a car with intermittent electrical and/or computer issues which are the worst kind of issues, as they never happen at dealer and never get fixed. Sigh. We shall see. Speaking of the RSQ3, I had a brand new one in 2016, the 335 HP version which I believe to be the best factory version of the engine tune because of the low revs you get max torque and it didn't have all the stupid limiting the cars have now - It's aggressive, the manual mode was a real manual mode where needle would bounce of limiter and not upshift, and the 5 cylinder is glorious. There are problems with the latest 400 HP ones and laggy, muted launch controls, whereas mine was an animal. The fact that the new one has more power and is rated for 4.5 second for 0-62 and mine was 4.4 is telling. Anyway, I had a period where I got very sick and was home bound and had to stop working, and my mum bought it off me and still has it to this day. I asked her since it's long out of warranty if she'd let me stage 2 it but she went ballistic and said no way LOL. Anyhow, my health struggles have improved and I bought myself a car again, and there was no way right now I could afford a new RSQ3, they are 120 grand here. But that 5 cylinder is GLORIOUS. I would have loved an RS3 back in the day and they were similar price in 2016 but I am very tall with lower back issues so need easy entry and exit, so a performance small SUV is a somewhat reluctant but necessary 2nd choice for me. Also, when I am speaking of the RSQ3, I am talking purely about performance. The way the torque band is SO flat and as it tapers off leads directly into the maximum power output of the engine, you have an entirely linear power delivery along with very juicy real sound from the exhaust. I love being in 6th gear and just touching it and it cruises up a hill. It's just so TRACTABLE. You can feel the massive difference between this and the 300 PS in the Cupra/SQ2 even though the power outputs are just 10% more and Torque is only 5% more. There's constant, real GRUNT. So yes, in that department, it is WAY more car. And a really good overall compromise on ride height and size. However, the handling is shit. Well, not shit, but the steering is not direct, it has a big delay from moving it to response, and it just feels sort of dead. Have they improved that in the newest model? I know they have adjustable dampers now on it, but it's still running on the older Haldex platform, yes? Even in dynamic mode mine was just not fun to corner. It had a high ultimate ability before losing control and the confidence was there, it just wasn't enjoyable. My Cupra in comparison, and this includes vs the SQ2, feels like a go kart, the steering is so responsive. It actually reminded me of my Dad's Porsche Boxter from like 15 years back, no joke. Cupra engineers have done some sort of sorcery where they have taken the older Haldex 7.5 Golf platform and tuned it to the best it CAN possibly be tuned. Launch control is ferocious and feels way faster than the claimed 4.9 seconds. Cupra mode is very aggressive and the exhaust farts and pops like crazy which I love. The engine just isn't anywhere near that 5 cylinder, and wouldn't be even with a tune as the 4 just feels so different. But the cornering is a standout and FEELS good. Even whizzing around a roundabout is a joy. Best front wheel drive biased AWD compact SUV I have driven with regards to handling. I like the SQ2 cause the interior is absolute CLASS, I can almost see the 10K difference just there, as it even has leather padding for your leg next to the footrest on the centre console LOL. It has nice interior trim, beautiful quality leather and has not skimped on quality anywhere. However, no rear vents is just weird, and in Australia, they have de optioned the rear armrest in the last couple years. You just can't get it no matter what. Since I do long journeys with friends, that mattered also. Finally, with my long legs (I am 6ft 4), I have much more clearance under the wheel with the flat bottom wheel of the Cupra. For some reason, all the other VW group cars can do all the driver aids with a flat bottom wheel but Audi can't. Isn't that really STRANGE in itself? But yes it's so well built and part of me regrets it... Part of me wishes I had compromised on those few features and spent more and got it, as I just KNOW it would be completely reliable for the timespan I plan to keep it (5 to 7 years). And I just did a search and it's one of the models built at the German headquarters, which DOES matter IMO. Mum's RSQ3 has been the most reliable car we've had in the family. Cheers! Will watch more reviews. Nice job! Sorry for long message.
Thanks for the very long feedback and I love to hear it so please feel free to keep it coming. I think one of the things to consider is the differences in the model generations. The SQ2 as I say in the video is the end of the generation and there are no more coming. Something like the Ateca or the RSQ3 continue to be built and have newer more up to date versions so the tech is better. I think CUPRA are making some fantastic cars and arguably are the most exciting brand in the VW group. I have reviews of several CUPRA models on the channel and I am always impressed.
