Things you hate about your A2

The structural parts of the car between the floor panel and the roof structure are known as the A, B, C,(etc) pillar or post consecutively from the front of the car moving back towards the rear. This terminology is used by the motor industry for vehicle construction and the emergency services for vehicle destruction following a road traffic collision!
Some owners find the A pillar between the windscreen and the front side window glass very bulky and a hinderance to safe vision at junctions roundabouts, etc. Hope that explains Esson?! :)
 
It's just car design speak for the vertical windscreen pillars. The windscreen vertical frame is the A-Pillar then working back along the car the other's are called the B-Pillar, C-Pillar etc. The A2 actually has a D-Pillar.

The A2's A-Pillar is quite wide and a long way forward by comparison with conventional vehicle architecture so it creates a big blind-spot as you will have noticed. Even when you are used to it it is easy to miss other cars at junctions unless you move your head. This is why people have a problem with it.

Cheers,

Brian
 
Everything about the A2 is crap in my experience I wouldn't drive another of these cars if there was no other cars left in the world FACT!!!

Meow! :p A minority opinion Stef, but yours and your entitlement! Good luck with the Ford pal!
 
For me, the only dislike I have is the forward blindspot, which everybody has already talked about; just have to be a bit more careful approaching junctions, you can easily lose an entire vehicle in there if you're at the wrong angle! Apart from that, I have no real "hates". It makes me laugh that people criticise the ride quality so much, I much prefer a firm ride and compared to 3 of the last 4 cars I've had (which were all lowered to some extent or other), the ride is positively smooth! At least my wife doesn't get travelsick in cars with firm suspension, she always used to in softly sprung vehicles.
 
I think the ride issue is lack of compliance ( the way it crashes across the potholes) rather than simply being firm. It is quite possible to have a a good ride AND avoid wallowing through the twisty bits, MGR managed it superbly with the 'Zed' cars ( even now muttering rotters grudgingly acknowledge this aspect of those cars). Beemers engineers also acknowledged MGR's expertise at getting good ride/handling set ups and used the UK to develop the MINIs' ride/handling. I suspect the A2 ride issue probably doesn't exist in countries which spend money on decent road maintanance.
 
The structural parts of the car between the floor panel and the roof structure are known as the A, B, C,(etc) pillar or post consecutively from the front of the car moving back towards the rear. This terminology is used by the motor industry for vehicle construction and the emergency services for vehicle destruction following a road traffic collision!
Some owners find the A pillar between the windscreen and the front side window glass very bulky and a hinderance to safe vision at junctions roundabouts, etc. Hope that explains Esson?! :)

Well thank you very much sir, I find the A pillars rather interesting then, I don't nothing against them. Or is it just me, I love with my A2 too much....
 
Really minor gripes.

My screenwashers seems to have a split second delay and only just get water on glass before the wiper sweeps. When the screen has got mucky I like to get some water on first to flush the dirt well ahead of the wiper. Is this an A2 quirk or just my car.

Also the channel at the screen base doesn't 'fall' towards the drain slots so water pools in it if it's raining hard. I've never had that before.

I've also realised I can't do without heated door mirrors this winter.

Brian
 
I've also realised I can't do without heated door mirrors this winter.
Brian

Brian, if you didn't know already, you A2's wing mirror housing probably already has the wiring so you just need the mirror section. The wires may be tucked up behind the motors. It's a 5 min job to do.

See this post
http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?t=3136&highlight=heater+mirrors

I wouldn't recommend using fingers as they exert a too concentrated force and if the glass breaks you may get a nasty cut or slice off your fingers. I suggest you use a wide flat spatula like object as used to scrap ice in a freezer or windscreen and to counter balance the levering with a flat gloved hand.
 
The foot-rest problem is caused by the fact that the A2 was designed primarily as a left-hand-drive car.

A2 owners did at least get a foot rest of sorts. My Volvo S40 has no clutch foot rest but the LHD version does. Easily its most irritating feature and frankly just budget!
 
I've been meaning to add this for ages.....The low fuel warning beep! It's soooo loud. I know its coming, but it scares the s#*t out of me every time!

oh and the a pillars, poor electrics...... you might have guessed I have a love hate relationship with my A2
 
Didn't have anything to add to this until today. I tried to fold my rear bench seat flat.

Oh my holy bejesus, what an unnecessarily complicated process.

Right, get into the back and hold both the handles out
Fold the seat down
headrests foul the front seats
take headrests out
fold flat
middle headrest doesn't fit between the seats
take middle headrest our too
take out stupid false floor from the boot
try to pull the base release handle from behind, fail
try to pull the base release from the left hand rear door, nearly
try to pull the base release from the right hand rear door, success
bloody hell this is heavy, drop seat
pull the base release handle again
find there's only one set of headrest sockets on the back of the base
spend far too long working out if the middle headrest is the same as the other two (it is)
put middle headrest into back of seat base
put the base back down
put the back up
refit the to outside headrests
put the back down
fouls the front seats
put both front seats forward
put the back down
put both front seats forward a bit more
put the back down
pull hte base release handle
bloody hell this is heavy, don't drop it this time
try and get the leg out of the base
use front door key to lever leg out of base
just about fit leg into red retaining hole
marvel at all the frunge that was hiding under the seat
put both front seats back
realise that i now can't fit in the drivers seat as it won't go back far enough.
Contemplate going and buying another RangeRover instead.

At least the handles for the back will clip out when you need to put it back again.


Oh, and i keep sitting on the petrol flap button when i get out of the car too.
 
I dont find the A pillar a problem. My sisters VW fox is awful compared to mine. Iv also drove a new corsa and theyre really bad! Dont know how she copes at roundabouts.

The only thing i hate is that i cant get another one after mine! :(
 
Just make yours last until 2012 and you'll probably be able to pick up the new A2 by then (not the A1, but the successor).

Cheers

Mike
 
2012 sounds just about right for Ada#2! Although it feels like terrible disloyalty even thinking about parting with Ada#1 at anytime.;)
 
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