Big fun to go with a big price for a small coupe
IT WAS a little car with a big price. That alone would have been enough to disinterest me. But the all-wheel-drive Audi TT-S coupe, all new and wonderfully technological for 2016, was so much fun.
That is the only reason to buy it – fun. The super-fun baseball leather interior is gone for 2016. But a fun interior is still there, especially for aging backs. I am convinced that the TT-S has the best crafted two front seats of any sports coupe on the planet.
There are two rear seats, too. But you put luggage and other stuff back there, not people. Those rear seats are too small for human bottoms.
There is no practical justification for the Audi TT-S, which is too small for more than two small passengers; bereft of truly usable cargo space; and does not enjoy a road dominated by huge 18-wheelers.
This little car is just for fun. You can spend all day chasing a good time when you should be doing something else, like actually writing this column. I’m sorry, dear editors.
The TT-S is seductive. I drove it and drove it until the skies darkened and the weather turned horrible. I’ve never seen so much rain – all at once! I imagined that this is how I would die – in a massive rainstorm in a tiny car with all-wheel-drive that was meaningless on a highway that became a raging river. I sought the highest ground possible in the West Virginia region where I was motoring and parked, and waited, and waited beneath a store shelter.
The rain sounded angry, vindictive, as if it were out to get me – thump, thump, thump! I looked out the driver’s-side window. Yipes! The “rain” was ice. Thump, thump, thump!
This is what I get for goofing off, having fun. I die in a raging hail storm in late spring. Imagine the headlines!
I settled down. The new TT-S instrument panel is truly a marvel. It is an all-in-one thing – a 12.3-inch “virtual cockpit” digital package that also serves as the car’s infotainment screen. The arrangement eliminates the need for a central screen, freeing up limited space in the little car. I can see Audi using this arrangement in other vehicles. Moreover, I can see copycats worldwide. All car companies are trying to cut costs by better utilising space and materials.
The ice pummelling stopped. The rain ceased. I was grateful. I promised God that I would never again seek a good time before finishing work.
A strange thing happened, or, at least seemed to have happened. The storm tempered the pace and volume of the traffic on Interstate 81. The TT-S was still a hoot to be in, but I could pay attention to it more. The little car gripped and held the now-damp road.
Its 2.0-litre, four-cylinder gasoline engine (220 horsepower, 258 pound-feet of torque was a worthy companion on drier, higher speed highways. But I’ll keep my promise to the Almighty. I will take care of business before having fun. I, at least, will check the weather reports.