PERFORMANCE KEY TO BRIDGING THE GAP
Audi finally has all the pieces of puzzle right for the third-generation of the TT
Audi’s TT is one of those rare cars that keeps getting better. What was once a mere tart’s handbag (the first generation TT) and later a slightly more serious attempt at Porsche Boxster-ness (the second generation) has morphed, as of its latest third incarnation, into something approaching a serious sports car.
That’s especially true of the latest TTS. Perhaps it’s middle child syndrome — the 290-horsepower S version slots into the lineup between the still-a-little-soppy TT and the Cayman-R-in-disguise, 400-hp TT-RS. Or perhaps it’s simply the same transfusion of sportiness that the entire Audi family seems to have undergone, but the TTS more than nicely bridges the gap between playful little runabout and screaming track demon.
Just so that we’re putting any compliments in perspective, there is only one track warrior in the TT lineup and it sings to the tune of five cylinders and wears Audi’s top-of-the-line RS badging. That caveat aside, the TTS is a pretty sweet ride.
The “right amount of the right material in the right place for
optimal function” also sees the TT losing about 40 kilograms, meaning the mondo boosted (there’s about 17.4 psi of boost), 292-hp 2.0-litre TFSI can accelerate from rest to 100 km/h in just 4.9 seconds. It also screams a fairly nasty tune along the way, after Audi finally managed to make its ubiquitous in-line four sound enthusiastic. Yes, there’s a bit of fakery involved — like Volkswagen’s GTI, there’s an onboard “Soundaktor” to enhance the four-cylinder’s natural melodies — but it really does sound authentic. The whole plot is transferred to all four wheels by Audi’s traditional sixspeed dual-clutch transmission. The S-tronic is sophistication incarnate, the gear changes rapid and all but imperceptible.
Inside, the TT gets updated with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as audible parking alerts front and rear.
The highlight, of course, is Audi’s Virtual Cockpit, which the entire industry has taken to copying. Essentially, the entire gauge set is one big (attractively shaped) 12.3-inch TFT screen and the display is anything you want to computerize. The highlight, for me at least, is that the whole screen can be turned into a map.
That said, the navigation system is my one bone of contention with the TTS. If I had a wish for the TT, it’s that Audi would give it a plain, old fashioned — yes, they’re now old fashioned it seems — touch screen so that I can input a destination in less time than it takes to drive there. The rest of the interior brims with standard Audi impeccability. The leather is exquisite, the fit and finish superb and there’s a precision to the panel gaps that even other luxury auto marques still struggle to emulate. The seating is firm but supportive, though it must be said the rear two perches, qualifying the TTS as a“2 + 2” rather than just a two-seater, are a bit of a joke. It’d be a struggle to fit a lifeless body back there let alone a sentient human being who still requires circulation to their lower limbs. That said, the rear seats do make a convenient parcel shelf.
Now less of a squashed Volkswagen Beetle and more sleek sports coupe, Audi has finally got all the pieces of the puzzle right for the third-generation TT.