’08 Audi TT 2.0T Coupe driven:
The second generation TT has just hit the market after only three weeks, its predecessor gone into retirement after a seven year tour of duty. Immediately after the initial press launch of the new TT that saw much fan fare, many journalists and forum board members have expressed the sentiment that the new car has lost some of its majestic properties from both an interior and exterior design point. Which brings to light a glaring truth a about the first generation TT; it’s was great to look at, extremely pleasing to the senses but did little more in the actual driving experience. Steering was numb; chassis pitched and wallowed through corners. Now Audi is calling the TT a genuine sports car that’s much more than looks , which in my opinion are great. I don’t really care about sitting in a car with a cramped interior where my legs are maneuvering the steering wheel, as such was in the interior of the MK1 TT. So as a result of my own enthusiastic itch I went out on a lovely Saturday morning to find out just what the MK2 TT is really all about. Nothing would prepare me for the precluding events of the day that I’d experience within the confines of the interior of the new second generation TT, from both the passenger and driver’s seat. In a word itself that can’t possibly do the car or the experience justice, the new TT was, amazing.
The salesman having to follow protocol pulled the car off the lot and we headed out for Topanga Canyon as we had discussed earlier on in the week when scheduling a time to take the car out. From our initial first talk he could tell I was an enthusiast and didn't think it would do me or the car justice to take it out during the week when there was a lot of traffic. So I came in on Saturday (today) when there's far less traffic and more room to play. So heading out we shot up Topanga Canyon, and man was I in for what was literally up to this point in the life I'm living, "the ride of my life"; Once passed the initial straightway of the infamous two lane road where many a life has been lost to enthusiastic driving (drive the road and you'll easily see why), the guy floored it. We got up to about 60-70mph and I was almost ready to crap my pants when we were going into tight hair pins flat out; I felt almost sure something bad was going to happen but had to steer my thoughts into the positive even though it was so incredibly hard to do ("as a man think’th so shall it be") when I could hear the limits of adhesion from outside the fully rolled down passenger side window. Luckily the MK2 TT is tenacious in the corners, characterized by what seems almost limitless grip, though we know the laws of physics are insurmountable. The MK2 TT is incredibly reassuring at the limit, and that's just from the passenger seat. So we continued in this manner for the next several hairpins while tailing a new Porsche Boxster (completely coincidental of course), you never know driving with someone else just how much they really know what they're doing, but this guy had high speed driving down to what seemed like a T. The Boxster driver was a little surprised that we were so incredibly hot on his tail and made haste accordingly, which only seemed to further enthuse my co-pilot - oh crappers!
Finally we made a "U'y" and pulled over to switch places, only this time it was my turn behind the wheel; I was shaking stepping out of the car to go to the driver's side after having experienced glory on earth in such a freakish and scary way (Truly glorious that the three of us – driver, passenger, and car - were all in one piece). So going in for my seat of the pants experience in the new MK2 TT, I was very impressed by the interior room and the feel of the interior; typical Audi build quality combined with impressive roominess from what you'd otherwise assume would be a snug fit. Not so. On top of that visibility is nigh perfect, the over the shoulder blind spot is non existent and rearward visibility is the best you could ask for.
Rolling forward, fully strapped in, I had a behind-the-wheel epiphany; the difference between well weighted steering and feelsome steering; Well weighted steering gives a feeling of stiffness when turning the wheel at the beginning of a corner where there's a certain amount of tangible heft. Steering feel on the other hand is the contact patch between where tire meets the road, it's sensational and incredibly natural in feel. This latter characteristic is clearly evident in the TT's steering, on the straight ahead it's a little vague, but feel is there. In the corners there's loads of steering feel, making this car a sporty drive the driving enthusiast craves. This added further confirmation that on the way up this car truly inspired confidence at the hands of my co-pilot, at a full eight-tenths tilt!
Playing with DSG as I was going back down through the hair pins, I was bouncing back between 2nd and 3rd as I braked in and gassed out. It's hard to fault DSG as it's so incredibly fast and adds to the sporty and engaging character of the TT. It's only let down by it's intrusive behavior in the fact that it will upshift/downshift for you if it thinks you're not shifting in a timely enough manner (I only noticed this attribute when in sport mode).
"Many, many" articles I've read in "many, many" auto journals, the journalists always seem to whine about how stiff the ride is in Audi's, and I'll say it here as I believe I've said in the past, and this especially holds true for the MK2 TT; the ride is stiff but far from harsh. I'm surprised I haven't heard more say that about the E46 BMW M3, as that is a truly jarring ride that sets fatigue in early. Audi engineers did a fabulous job of balancing comfort and sport successfully into the suspension settings. Never did I feel isolated in anyway nor did I feel any real discomfort, and a lot of the road was not smooth; broken road surface was in abundance.
Acceleration wasn't blindingly fast, but 0-60 times are so trivial in today’s automotive landscape as the numbers all seem fairly close to one another from car to car, it's more how a car goes about getting from one mph to the next that really matters; transmission performance. As said; DSG does not disappoint, just make sure you know what you're doing when in sport mode, it's not rocket science but you might want to practice being on the ball with the timing of your shifts, as the transmission will shift for you if you're not. That accepted, sport mode is truly fun, as it remaps and tunes DSG for even quicker and more aggressive shifts that will have you and your passenger jerking ever so comfortably forward as you (or the transmission- tsk, tsk!) downshifts. I made a few turns where I floored the accelerator flat out while in Sport mode where the difference could really felt in the before and after comparison between having sport mode engaged and disengaged. Here you also see there's virtually no turbo lag from the solid and ultra responsive 2.0T four cylinder.
Speaking of the 2.0T four, lets get one thing clear; sure the GTI among many other VWAG products share this same, likely-to-be-one-day-venerable engine, but the way these cars behave in application to engine response and character, are completely different. As where the GTI feels slightly more cush and "pep'n step", the TT's got the push. It' s apparent that there's a very unique character in the way the TT goes, it comes down to the sum of its parts, which have obviously been tipped into the red zone of "Sportslitch" by Audi engineers. The engine sounds almost the same as it does in the GTI, but IMO, the TT's voice is a little gruffer, just the kind of sound you want to hear emitting from the exhaust of a sports car. I almost feel shamed for having made the comparison between the two, but thought it would only be just since so many have a short sighted view of VWAG products and the sharing of parts between them. Abstract: The two are NOTHING ALIKE. The TT has far shaper tactile sense in every way imaginable.
Compared to the competition, no doubt, there are competing cars in the class that offer a more sensational driving experience, but often at the compromise of something else. I believe that the TT offers the best of all worlds; "Uber" sexy design-inside and out, top-shelf-tech, versatility, civility, sporty performance and handling, and value content. All of this comes in at a very reasonable price, $6k to $10k less than what you'd pay for an equivalent Porsche Cayman (no S here, that's in the price stratosphere). The MK2 TT is the swiss army knife of not only the Euro sports car brigade, but all of sports cars. Funny enough this was only the front-wheel-drive 2.0T, and while I admire Quattro's AWD capabilities, the 3.2 isn't really necessary unless you have to have an Audi that has all the distinguishable traits of, well, an Audi. Besides, it's not exactly a "Winter Wonderland" in Southern California. Beyond that, it’s not necessary for a car to be rear-wheel-driven in order for it to be engaging and sporty; a car is only as good as the aggregate of its parts, and the new TT has been tuned to absolute perfection; It’s got grip, balance, and pleasure. No better combination in the segment, if you ask me at least.
