The automotive facelift. This sales tactic can be beneficial for vehicles that feel outdated or maybe even a little ugly. The danger that companies face by only addressing the looks and nothing else is a sense of disappointment. Especially when the facelift is a sportier one. The Audi SQ2 has been out for two years now, and the only change made was to add some fake vents and a slightly more angular aesthetic. The result is a bit of a letdown. 

The Audi SQ2 is too young to have a facelift 

Usually, companies will wait a little longer than two years to update a new model. The Audi SQ2 a sporty little crossover that got an even sportier look alongside the bigger Q3. Even if it looks a little meaner and quicker, it isn’t. Audi just put some new lines on and called it a day, according to Motor1. 

Let’s see what has happened to the SQ2

The updates start right at the front with a new grille that sports a more complex design of stacked polygons. The Audi SQ3 also got new optional headlights called Matrix LED headlights that now have daytime running lights that give the crossover a more modern look, like its more luxurious cousins. For some reason, Audi saw fit to add some fake plastic air vents in the bumper, not for any purpose other than to make it look like it has air vents. Strange choice, Audi. 

The same theme continues around back

The 2021 Audi SQ2 gets a newly redesigned bumper that, you guessed it, also feigns performance with a couple of fake air vents. The back is nearly a perfect play by play of the front. The taillights also got some attention and got a little darker. As Motor1 puts it, “you’ll likely have a hard time noticing the change.”

A new trim package

This hardly feels like much of a package, but Audi offers all the chrome bits to be painted black. You can also get the mirrors, grille, C pillar, and exhaust tips in black. Audi has still yet to mention anything about an interior update. If the lack of performance updates are any indication, I doubt there will be many updates inside. 

The 2021 Audi SQ2 still has all the same innards 

Although Audi went to great lengths to redress the crossover, no effort was given to the motor, transmission, suspension, or anything else that you might hope to see in a redesign. The SQ2 still has the same 2.0-liter gas-powered engine it had two years ago. It produces the same 292 hp and the same 295 lb-ft of torque. The AWD system is the same and the seven-speed automatic gearbox is also unchanged. This is the same car but with new fake air vents. 

The 2021 Audi SQ2 is the same as it ever was

David Byrne said it best, “Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was.” I won’t claim to be a marketing genius, so maybe Audi has a plan here, but It seems to a setup for disappointment. Who knows, maybe Audi makes more significant changes, here’s to hoping.