Redesigned Audi TTS a ‘grey zone’ sports car
Strokes vanity very livable but not up to rivals
Overview Audi’s third- generation TTS is dressed to impress, but it’s not the most engaging sports car out there
Pros Excellent powertrain, sharp styling, Virtual Cockpit is fantastic, all-weather capability
Cons Nearly unusable rear seats, less engaging than the competition Value for money Fair What I would change Kindly ask Volkswagen to give it the Golf R’s six- speed manual How I would spec it Exactly like this Our affair began with a video game.
Midtown Madness 2, to be exact. When we weren’t winning race after race, we cruised around crudely pixelated interpretations of San Francisco and London. We were inseparable — and then I began noticing her elsewhere. I kept seeing her in movies and magazines. At traffic lights and in parking lots. Even in other video games. She was everywhere and our fates were sealed. I fell for the first- generation Audi TT.
But t hat was t hen. I haven’t used my computer for video games in years and the Audi TT is now in its third generation. This is probably the best one yet; gone are the soft, Volkswagen Beetle-inspired lines for a much sharper look, especially on the TTS. I quite like it; the flared fenders, gorgeous BBS LM- style wheels, razor- sharp f ront f ascia and perky rear end enveloping four chrome exhaust tips come together in a very comely package.
Wait. Did I just say that? The embers of my affair with the TT are beginning to glow once again. No! I’ve moved on, damn it!
The TTS is attractive, but there is one fundamental problem with the car. It comes across as a sports car, but the TTS is a sports car purely for vanity. I know, I know — nearly everyone who drops a decent chunk of change on a car like this obviously wants to look cool. But for an as- tested price of just under $ 70,000, well, let’s just say there are many alternatives that more than satisfy in the vanity department and aren’t as sterile as the TTS on twisty bits of tarmac.
Don’t get me wrong. The 2.0- litre turbofour sends 292 horsepower a nd 280 pound- feet of torque to all four wheels via a dualclutch automatic transmission with six gears. Set Audi’s so- called Drive Select gizmo to Dynamic and the TTS hustles with almost unwavering acceleration, thanks to virtually no turbo lag, and shifts so quick they’d make Usain Bolt blush. When the road does its best impression of a snake, the TTS won’t leave you hanging; it takes a corner with no drama and it’s stickier than the mess after a Michael Scott-style forklift accident in the warehouse of a superglue factory.
These are all wonderful traits to have, but when you see the trees and not just the forest, the TTS doesn’t evoke much of an emotional connection as you’d expect from a sports car. Steering is effortless but numb. When you’re pussyfooting around town, the TTS feels a lot like a Volkswagen Golf R or an Audi S3. It’s not a bad thing per se, but those two share the TTS’s powertrain and platform bits, and don’t cost nearly $70,000.
Also not helping matters much are the 20- inch wheels. Despite the TTS’ otherwise quiet and composed ride, it does tend to punch you in the kidneys — though not as hard as other sports cars — over unruly road surfaces and speed bumps.
If you don’t need the added performance of t he TTS but you want a quick Volkswagen product, save yourself $ 15,000 and spring for a loaded S3. Or, even better, go for the Golf R. All three are underpinned by VW’s MQB platform, but the S3 and Golf R are buttoned- up in more practical bodies. Plus, you can have the Golf R with a six- speed manual, rather than the TTS’ shifter that only reads P-R-N-D-S. If you really want a TTS but don’t care for the added performance, you’ll be just fine with a regular TT with the S-Line package and all the option boxes ticked.
None of this means the TTS doesn’t have its place in the sports car world. Think of it this way: it’s a sports car without most of the major sacrifices of one. This is most apparent inside. Up front, the TTS is obviously designed for a driver and a passenger, and lives up to Audi’s stringent quality standards. Comfortable seats? Check. Top-notch materials? Well, duh, it’s an Audi. Tech? Once you master the learning curve, Virtual Cockpit is fantastic, but the lack of a central screen might take some getting used to for a passenger. Oh, and the optional Bang & Olufsen sound system is absolutely unreal.
But because the TTS has qualities of a sports car, you can’t completely escape the practical sacrifices. Chiefly, the back seats are virtually useless for regular-sized adults. Seriously, stay out of there. You will smack your head against the glass of the rear hatch and there’s nowhere to put your legs. It’s no place to keep your passengers.
The TTS occupies a grey zone in the sports car world. True, it’s not the most engaging choice for just under $ 70,000, but it’s quite possibly the most livable; the cargo area is reasonably usable and t he engine, powertrain and chassis are very well behaved.
And where s i milarly priced options — BMW M2, anyone? — have three- season usability for the most part, the TTS won’t cower at the prospect of setting out in the snow. We might be basking in the summer sun right now, but this is Canada. Winter is one of our two main seasons.
You know, maybe I underestimated the Audi TTS. Excuse me while I dust off my copy of Midtown Madness 2; we’ve got some catching up to do. She might be relationship material after all.