The Audi TT Coupé Independent Review

Price: £24,285 - £29,285
You’ll Like: Real agility; hot performance
You Won’t: Cramped rear seats


Magnetic ride
Instead of conventional oil, the TT’s shock absorbers use a fluid that contains magnetic particles. When an electric voltage is applied, it slows the movement of the fluid, which restricts the suspension travel and firms up the ride for sporty driving. Switch off the voltage and the fluid flows more freely to improve ride comfort.

IT WAS ONE of the toughest jobs in motoring. How do you redesign a car that was as much a piece of kinetic art as a motor car? So spare a thought for designers of the new TT. Some will say they’ve ‘bottled it’ or, at best, ‘played safe’ by producing what superficially appears to be little more than a smoothed-off version of the old car. Can you blame them, though?

The TT has been a remarkable success story, selling in vast numbers to a public who didn’t care that it wasn’t the quickest or the sharpest-handling coupé. They bought it because it was an absolute stunner.

The new TT may reverse that. For whatever you think of the styling, the drive is not so much improved as completely transformed. The new TT is based on a wider platform, with a lower centre of gravity and an all-new sophisticated multi-link suspension layout. That means it starts with an advantage the old car never had, but there’s much more besides – or rather much less.

The doors, the rear hatch and a large proportion of floor are made of steel for balanced weight distribution but, in all, aluminium accounts for 69% of the TT’s body weight. As a result, the entry
2.0-litre T FSI model tips the scales at just 1260kg – that’s a full 76kg less than a Volkswagen Golf GTI.

It’s unsurprising, then, that although the lower-powered TT employs the same 2.0-litre turbocharged engine as VW’s seminal hot hatch, it’s a whole lot quicker. The new TT hits 62mph in just 6.6 seconds and runs out of puff only just shy of 150mph.

Anyone used to the old 1.8-litre turbo engines, with their laboured pick-up, walloping mid-range turbo surge and pronounced top-end vibrations, will be astonished by this new engine. In fact, if there’s
a better 2.0-litre engine currently on the market, we haven’t driven it.

By employing direct fuel injection and turbocharging, it delivers near-instant throttle responses and superb low-end traction, which makes it extremely flexible for day-to-day motoring. Plant your right foot, however, and it picks up rev.s smoothly and rapidly to give strong linear power all the way to the 7000rpm redline.

To a certain extent, Audi has shot itself in the foot: the 2.0-litre engine is so good that it makes the larger, more expensive 3.2-litre V6 seem rather superfluous. Granted, the 3.2 carries the extra weight of its Quattro four-wheel drive system – the 2.0-litre cars are
front-wheel drive only – but it has an extra 49PS to help overcome this penalty.

On paper, the bigger engine does have a slight performance advantage, but it doesn’t feel like it because it isn’t as keen to rev as its smaller sibling. Additionally, the 2.0-litre returns 36.6mpg compared with the V6’s 27.4mpg. The final nail in the coffin for the V6 is its £5000 premium over the
2.0-litre’s £24,285 list price.

Those who complained so bitterly about the ponderous handling of the old car will be amazed by the agility of the new one. Admittedly, the cars we drove were fitted with Audi’s new ‘magnetic’ adaptive damping system that, at the press of a { button, stiffens the ride and reins in body roll. (It also adds £1150 to the price.) However, there’s plenty of evidence that, even without this set-up, the new car
is bang on the money.

Rush through a series of tightening bends and it’s clear that the TT has been reincarnated as full-blown sports car. The nose responds swiftly and predictably, there’s negligible body roll and front-end grip is tenacious. It leaves you feeling that you could tackle the same bend a whole lot quicker second time around. Sweet handling is a given, then, but the ride is also supple enough to render occupants immune from all but the most vicious of craters.

If the TT’s exterior styling is likely to polarise opinion, debate will rage just as intensely among interior design fans. Sadly, some of the old car’s intricate detailing – such as the centre console’s aluminium leg brace struts, the pop-out rotary switches and the drop-down shield that disguised the radio – have gone.

Comfortingly, though, the circular air vents, aluminium pedals and chunky gearstick remain, as do the blood-red backlit dials that bathe the cabin in a cherry glow at night.

Styling apart, the cabin remains a paragon of quality construction, with fixtures and fittings of the highest order. Standard equipment includes climate control,
part-leather part-Alcantara seats for the entry car and a full hide interior for the V6.

Just as encouragingly, the chunky three-spoke flat-bottomed steering wheel and heavily bolstered sports seats provide a wide range of adjustment, so an even greater range of different-sized people can adopt the essential laid-back coupé driving position.

The cabin’s dimensions have been stretched in all directions, so there’s more interior space. That means there’s little danger of rubbing shoulders with your partner now and less chance of grazing your knees against the centre console, thanks to the increased legroom.

Entry to the rear seats remains a pain, though. Strapping a child into the rear seat can be a head-banging experience, not to mention the toll it will take on your back. Equally, the slight improvement in foot space is still insufficient to prevent your long-suffering mates from getting deep vein thrombosis.

Boot space has increased slightly to 290 litres but, just as before, you’ll need to fold a portion of the 50/50 split rear seats in order to accommodate a baby buggy or a set of golf clubs.

Even so, most buyers won’t give practicality too much thought, especially now the TT has the drive to match the looks. PT

Engine size: 2.0 T, 3.2 V6
Price from: £24,285, £29,285
Power: 197PS, 246PS
0-62mph: 6.6sec, 5.9sec
Top speed: 149mp, 155mph
Economy: 36.6mpg, 27.4mpg
CO2 g/km/tax: 183/23%, 247/35%