Audi TT Reviews

What price is a single letter of the alphabet? Well, about $40,000, if the letter is an R you want to add to the Audi TTS.

Diesel just got sexy, with the arrival of the turbocharged Audi TT TDI 2.0 quattro.

It’s hard to believe that 10 years have passed since Audi unveiled its TT Coupe as a concept. It was a standout design at the time and remains so today.Four years later when it became a production reality it was a breath of fresh air at a time many carmakers were striking out in new and different directions as they attempted to reinvigorate their product offerings. The TT Coupe certainly brought renewed attention to the Audi brand, which at the time was noted for cars that were nice and neat rather than breathtaking.It was as though Audi’s management had given its designers a free rein to design a car with passion. If that were true they certainly achieved their aim.MODEL WATCHThe Audi TT Coupe was a head turner whichever way you looked at it. Its no nonsense lines could have been carved from granite, they were crisp and clean, a break from the then common styling practice of soft edges and rounded shapes.It was clearly meant to be an in-your-face statement of passion about the Audi brand, a sort of repositioning of the four-ringed badge as it tried to shake off a rather tired image and replace it with a new youthful image full of energy.Audi was quite clear in its marketing ambition for the TT Coupe, men below the age of 39 who were also car enthusiasts. They also belatedly claimed it was aimed at those women confident enough to enjoy “this man’s car”.The TT Coupe concept was of a functional car, sporty but without pretension. The result can be seen in the cleanliness of the shape and the purity of the interior execution in which there is nothing that isn’t needed. It’s bare, but it’s not basic.If you closed your eyes you could see the great Auto Union Grand Prix cars of the 1930s in the lines of the TT Coupe. Its rounded curves and powerful proportions are very reminiscent of the old racers.The TT Coupe’s body was fully galvanised steel, but aluminium doors, bonnet and boot lid helped keep the 2+2 coupe’s weight down to a lean 1220 kg.While the TT Coupe’s body owed nothing to any other car, its mechanical package was derived from other Audi models.At first the TT Coupe was available in front-wheel drive form only, but a few months after the 1999 launch an all-wheel drive Quattro model joined the front driver.The TT Coupe was built on a sporting platform combining a short wheelbase and wide track with the wheels placed at each corner.At the front of both front and all-wheel drive models the suspension was a combination of MacPherson Struts and an anti-roll bar, but at the back the front-wheel drive model had a torsion-crank system while the Quattro had a more sophisticated combination of trailing and double lateral control arms. Brakes were discs all round with anti-skid protection standard.A concern about the handling arose shortly after the TT Coupe’s release. It tended to be a little too tail happy for some owners and Audi added a small spoiler to the boot lid to more effectively clamp the rear to the road.Audi used its considerable experience in turbocharging to great affect on the TT Coupe’s engines. The base engine was a 1.8-litre four-cylinder turbocharged unit with five valves per cylinder that developed 132 kW and 235 Nm over a broad band between 1950 and 5000 revs.The more powerful version had uprated pistons, connecting rods and big-end bearings to withstand the extra induction pressure of the bigger turbocharger needed to boost its output to 165 kW and 280 Nm which flowed from 2200 to 5500 revs.Performance of both was brisk, the front-wheel drive TT able to accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in 7.4 seconds while its Quattro cousin required a second less for the same sprint. Top speeds were in excess of 220 km/h.A five-speed gearbox was linked to the 132 kW engine, while the more powerful 165 kW engine was bolted to a six-speed unit.Inside, the TT Coupe was fully equipped with climate control air-conditioning, power windows and mirrors, six-stacker CD sound, leather trim and remote central locking.IN THE SHOPThe earliest TT Coupes are fast approaching the time for a cam belt change so it’s crucial to check for a service record to confirm the belt service has been done on cars that have passed the 100,000 km mark.Regular servicing is important on any engine, but it’s more so today with the tight tolerances used by manufacturers. Missed oil changes can result in clogged oil galleries as sludge builds up, left long enough it can cause major internal damage when the oil can no longer get to where it’s meant to be.A service record can be reassuring that the correct servicing has been done, but it’s worth taking a look inside the oil filler cap to check for sludge.Make sure the clutch is smooth as you depress and release the pedal, and that the gearbox shifts smoothly without baulking when selecting gears.When driving the car listen intently for any clunks or noises when running over bumps or making turns. Investigate any noise observed on the road test.Also make the usual checks for body damage that might be a give away for crash repairs.IN A CRASHWith its sports car handling, particularly the Quattro with its all-wheel drive system, the TT Coupe is well equipped to avoid collisions.But if a crash is inevitable there is the considerable protection of dual front airbags and front side airbags for survival in side impacts.OWNERS SAYMonty Stephens likes Audis, but none more than the TT Coupe he’s owned since 2000. In that time he has done 60,000 km, mostly commuting around Melbourne, but he’s also taken it on a number of long distance interstate trips. He says that while he plans to keep it as long as he can it would be wrong to say that it has been trouble free. While in the warranty period one headlight blew twice, the battery died at six months, and the entire $2000 instrument pack died the day before the warranty expired. Since the warranty expired, there has only been one fault, the driver’s side power window failed: $600. He gets 9-10 litres/100 km around town, and averages around 7.5 litres/100 km on a trip. He says the seamless flow of torque without turbo lag from low speed still gives him a buzz.LOOK FOR• head-turning looks• smart handling• brisk turbocharged performance• rear accommodation minimalTHE BOTTOM LINEA fashion statement on wheels the TT Coupe is good looking, has good performance and handles well.RATING75/100

The coupe is a slingshot and the roadster version is not far behind on pace — just 0.2 of a second slower to 100km/h at 5.4 ... but a world ahead on atmosphere.Where the coupe can be a little claustrophobic with the close-set roofline — the price paid for such a spunky profile — the 60kg heavier TTS Roadster opens up to provide the two occupants with a feeling of open-air rejuvenation. The icing on the cake and something that turns other drivers green with envy is the ability to open or close the roof at suburban side-street speeds below 50km/h.The passenger can enjoy the open-air motoring, the ear-belting sound system and the comfy (but optional) baseball-mitt leather seats.Audi calls it “Chennai brown seat upholstery with matching moccasin seams and Espresso coloured stitching” — priced at $2650. Thankfully it's not the other sort of moccasin. What the second occupant doesn't get is the amusement factor found behind the wheel.They're busy looking for grab handles and pointing out potential road hazards, or commenting on the dirt being tickled by the left-hand wheels mid-corner. The car's colour is not Kelvinator white either, rather an off-white pearl-ish hue that looks good on the convertible and a colour being adopted by more and more brands.The back-road canter has not bothered the stability control's electronics at all. Leech-like grip on the road — thanks to a wide-track as well — in all road conditions is delivered by the all-wheel-drive system that uses a multi-plate clutch (between the front and rear axles) that apportions drive to the rear hydraulically as required.Audi says the system delivers the extra drive in milliseconds — twice as fast as it used to, courtesy of a new pressure reservoir feeding the system.Stretching the legs of the TTS droptop a little more, without a passenger, shows just how talented the roadster is. Even without resorting to the sport setting on the magnetic suspension, the TTS rips through a series of bends with out concern — sport mode tightens things up but removes the compliance required on some of our roads. The 2.0-litre turbo snorts and huffs with gusto under deceleration, as the double-clutch gearbox blips delightfully down through the gears. While the corners don't push back heaps of feel — there are only a few Audis that do — the TTS fires out of bends and devours straights.A Porsche Boxster is still a more precise instrument, but you'll need an S to match the Audi for pace.Mercedes-Benz's new SLK 350 has much-improved steering, as well as the pace to match the Audi, as does the Z4 M Roadster, but it's a tie between the spunky little Audi and the Porsche in the beauty pageant.A freeway stint with the roof up showed that even rag tops can be half-quiet. Indeed the noise level in the cabin isn't bad. The uprated 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder does emit some interesting snuffles and braps, the kind the driver wants to hear. Roof down please — 12 seconds later, the problem is solved — the soundtrack improves and with windows up and electric wind-blocker in place, entertaining open-road work has an extra aural element.The Hungarian-built TTS Roadster we're sampling has the optional dual-clutch six-speed automated manual, which can be left to its own devices in normal or sport modes, with paddleshifts on the back of the steering wheel's spokes. Shifts are slick and sharp, removing drive from all four wheels for only a blink — the best of both worlds; around town these gearboxes are getting better for low-speed carparking duties as well.The xenon headlights are joined by the de-rigeur Audi LED daytime running lights and it's an impressive look, particularly at night. The bottom lineWith a price tag on the other side of $100,000 it's most definitely an indulgence, but an entertaining one that is easy to make use of day-to-day. SNAPSHOTAudi TTS Roadster 2.0 TFSIPrice: from $103,265Engine: 2L/4-cylinder turbocharged 200kW/350NmTransmission: 6-speed S tronic direct-shift, 6-speed manual0-100km/h: 5.4 seconds, manual 5.6secondsEconomy: 8L/100km (manual 8.2) 

If Audi's current TT turbo four and naturally aspirated V6 don't ring your bell then you're in luck because now there's a high output turbo four called the TTS that will keep the hotrod rice-burners honest. Only thing is you will need deep pockets to get into the Audi TTS coupe or roadster because the kick off point is $92,900 for the manual coupe, easily pushing through the 100 grand mark if you tick a few option boxes.This is the first “S” model TT which is now in generation II having first appeared back in 1999.Like other Audi S models, the range-topping TTS offers a sportier edge to its style, performance and handling and is aimed at drivers who really enjoy their wheel time.The engine is a revised version of the 2.0-litre, direct injection, turbo four cylinder (TFSI) in the entry model TT and quite a few other Audi/VW products but in this case, it's seriously tweaked to pump out a hairy-chested 200kW/350Nm.The cylinder head is different as are the injectors, turbo and intercooler and it's available with a six speed manual or optional six speed, dual clutch, robotised manual called S-tronic.We really don't understand why Audi would go the two transmission route because only S-Tronic is needed, capably fulfilling both manual and automatic roles. It's also quicker in a 0-100kmh sprint at 5.2 seconds and doesn't use any extra fuel.Maximum torque becomes available at a shade over 2000rpm holding to 6000rpm which translates into superb response on the open road, especially with the S-tronic transmission. This is because gear change times are a fraction of either a manual or conventional auto. Alternatively, you can leave it in “D” and let the car do everything for you.A particularly pleasing feature is the exhaust pop on up-changes _ a bit like an F1 or rally car. It also blips the throttle on down-changes and can drop down two gears if the selector is held and speed allows.Drive goes to all wheels via Audi's clever quattro system that apportions power front to rear and also from side to side.It translates into impressive grip and drive on winding roads or slippery conditions.This is further aided by dual mode magnetic suspension that adapts to any given set of conditions offering comfort and control for high speed and low speed driving on varying surfaces.Safety equipment is extensive with sport mode stability control, multiple air bags and an electronic diff lock in the package.The interior is a study in modern technical style, functional, ergonomic and comfortable. Various types of leather upholstery are available including a funky baseball mitt style in light brown.The roadster has an electrically folding soft top, roll bars, decent boot and offers performance and handling essentially the same as the coupe.Like all TTs, the TTS features an aluminium space frame chassis offering strength and lightness. Additional weight savings are made through the use of aluminium suspension components and sub-frame structures. But the TTS still weighs in at around 1400kg depending on the model. Buyers will appreciate the bi-xenon headlights, quad tail pipes, auto rear wing, premium audio and body aero parts that add to TTS's allure.We punted it hard around Phillip Island race track and nary a wheel went out of place even at the limit. The Brembos took everything dished out and the car lapped up its track time - just like the drivers.Our only complaint is the positioning of the S-tronic change paddles on the wheel. They should be fixed on the steering column. 

But what are hats and sunscreen for?Besides most of today's roadsters can get their fabric or folding metal lids up at the push of a button within half a minute. These are Carsguide's favourites: Affordable fun Mazda MX-5 Price: from $42,870Engine: 2L/4-cylinder; 118kW/188NmEconomy: 8.5L/100kmTransmission: 6-speed manual or autoIf there was an annual award in this category it would reside perpetually in Mazda's trophy cabinet. The original MX-5 reinvented the classic Brit roadster adding such novel notions as performance and reliability.The third generation retains the 1989 model's exhilarating dynamics and sheer fluidity. If you don't find pleasure in the way an MX-5 drives you've probably ceased breathing.Purists might decry such modern innovations as air-con, power steering, ESP, a folding composite roof and (egad!) an auto transmission, but it hasn't been 1957 for some time now. Still others would rather it went quicker, but they're missing the point.The MX-5 is the affordable roadster. Track marqueLotus Elise SPrice: $69,990Engine: 1.8L/4-cylinder; 100kW/172NmEconomy: 8.3L/100kmTransmission: 5-speed manualThe salient figure here is 860 that's the number of kgs the entry-level Lotus weighs, or about 500 less than a Toyota Corolla whose engine this spartan roadster uses to get from standing to 100km/h in 6.1 seconds.While it's absolutely one for the enthusiast - or the fanatic - even if you've not the least wish to drive something so uncompromised (though a good deal more civilised than the Exige) you should at least be driven in a Lotus once. It'll open your eyes. Wide.At its best at track speeds, where the Lotus's wonderfully unassisted steering comes into its own and where it doesn't matter that it takes ages to assemble to roof, you can smilingly drive one every day. But beware barging SUVs. Zed's not dead Nissan 350Z RoadsterPrice: $73,990Engine: 3.5L/V6; 230kW/358NmEconomy: 12L/100kmTransmission: 6-speed manual or 5-speed autoThe Roadster version of the still outstanding 350Z gives very little away to the coupe model and while the same-priced auto is a cog short of the manual's six, it's easy to live with in city traffic.Though we've yet to try the Roadster with the substantially new the faster V6 that causes the bonnet to bulge so priapically, our recent week in the revised Coupe suggests that it too will be more of an already good thing.It's almost impossible to believe that same company is responsible for the Tiida ... Gay tidingsAudi TT Roadster V6 quattroPrice: $92,900Engine: 3.2L/v6; 184kW/320NmEconomy: 9.6L/100kmTransmission: 6-speed DSGLike the coupe, the lighter front-wheel-drive with the GTI's turbo four pot is a better bet most of the time than the heftier all-wheel-drive, though it's not really a sports car there'll be moments when you'll love yourself for the latter's extra go and grip.Dispensing with the coupe's comedy back seat, there's ample room behind when with the fabric roof's folded. Some find the ride a bit terse; I don't but would still take the optional magnetic suspension.With performance and handling that are both entertaining and accessible while wrapped in such an aesthetically bell-ringing package, the TT is fairly loveable. If only ...Porsche Boxster SPrice: from $135,100Engine: 3.4L/6-cylinder; 217kW/340NmEconomy: 10.4 or 11L/100kmTransmission: 6-speed manual or 5-speed autoIn our rare idle moments hereabouts, certain of us scan the classifieds trying rather pathetically to convince ourselves that a used Boxster is almost within our reach. Almost. Well, maybe one day ...That's the problem with spending any amount of time in a Boxster, particularly, the top whack S. There's nothing wrong with it, you see. Well, maybe the ride on bigger tyres is just a bit savage, but so what when all else is perfect. It even sounds wonderful.At it's worst, the Boxster will make you hate yourself for not being a better driver. So sublimely intuitive is the handling, so poised and balanced does it feel even in extremis, it almost always feels capable of more. Even if you're not. Two plus twosAffordability aside, floating the open top proposition can founder on the fatal shores of practicality. Society frowns upon selling one's children, though surely financing a Boxster should be cause for sympathy.Still, Volkswagen's Eos (from $49,990) cabriolet/coupe comes is a practical, stylish and - with the drivetrain of the Golf GTI - tolerably rapid 2+2. It retains adequate bootage with the sophisticated folding metal lid, which can be configured five different way, folded down. Uniquely there's also a diesel option (from $48K), so you needn't use much juice.And there are further options afoot.With BMW's glorious twin-turbo 3-litre petrol six, the 135i cabriolet (due in June) will be by far the sharpest 2+2. Audi's A3 cabrio, likely to feature the 1.8-litre TFSI, follows in July.And if fortune smiles upon you to the tune of $1.19 there's the sensuous land yacht that is Rolls-Royce's Drophead coupe. Plenty of room in the back for the kids in this baby. 

The powered z-fold lid tidies itself flush with the body, with one section of the roof acting as a tonneau cover, and with no encroachment on the 250-litre luggage capacity.Adding the $300 optional load-through hatch means you can also now carry skis, or a couple of lengths of DIY timber, if that's your thing, which adds to the car's practicality.But a car like the Roadster shouldn't be about function. It's for top-down cruising fun, mixed with a bit of “look at me” attention grabbing.And there are few convertibles so eye-catching. The first TT stunned the world when it was introduced in the '90s and the latest version of both coupe and drop-top have revised that design; while retaining its instantly recognisable lines.From every angle the car has style but one of our favourite views of it is from the rear. Where many other designs seem to run out of energy, the Roadster looks even better than from the front.The interior is equally gorgeous, with the Audi attention to quality showing in every detail.The flat-bottomed steering wheel not only looks sexy, but offers easier access into the driver's seat and a handy hint of how far off centre you are, if you're prone to shuffling your hands around the wheel in hard cornering.While there's more than adequate legroom, the cabin feels snug. In true roadster fashion, you embed yourself into the car rather than sit in it.Operating the power roof is one-finger easy, and its multiple layers work to keep the car surprisingly quiet for a ragtop.However, if you're tall, and inclined to sit up straight, you'll find it brushing your hair when it's up but your “do” is fairly protected by a wind deflector behind the seats when the roof is down.Standard equipment includes heated leather seats, sports suspension, electronic stability, traction and braking systems.On the options list are a DVD-based nav system, high-end audio, xenon headlights, even better leather and magnetic ride suspension that variably aligns particles floating in fluid, increasing its viscosity to adjust damping.On the road, the new TT Roadster offers more involvement and a sharper driving experience than its predecessor. The larger wheelbase, lower centre of gravity, more rigid body, tauter suspension, and the concentration of aluminium towards the front in the space frame construction all work to give the car noticeably better weight distribution and dynamics.But while it certainly feels better planted and sharper on the road, it hasn't entirely cancelled out the nose-heaviness, even in the $77,500 lighter-engined 2.0-litre TFSI turbo version.The engine develops 147kW of power and 280Nm of torque and eager to rev up close to redline, it gets the Roadster to 100km/h in 6.5 seconds and has a top speed of 237km/h (using 7.8L/100 on average).Admittedly, the $92,900 V6 version offers 184kW and 320Nm, comes with Audi's famed quattro drive as standard, beats the four to 100 by 0.6 seconds and tops out at 250km/h.But if it comes down to having to choose one, we don't need to go that fast, and the 2.0-litre with turbo is the one playing our song.Keep the roof down and enjoy the music, poking boost out of the turbo with the six-speed “S tronic” sequential transmission that kicks down readily in full auto mode, and offers close to immediate response in the sequential mode.The gearshift is a slick joy to use for chomping into corners or eating up highway traffic. Our only gripe is that you still have to push it forward to change up, and back to change down, which works against the braking and accelerating motion of the car.But even that annoyance doesn't come anywhere near to spoiling the fun. 

With a surname like mine, it's not surprising that it's the smaller things I take most notice of. The new Audi TT Roadster is definitely a compact little package despite being bigger than its predecessor.Its clean, crisp and purposeful lines are pleasing to the eye and give it bigger status on the road than first impressions suggest.The V6 version, $92,900 as tested, also exudes a bigger growl of an exhaust tune than you would expect from this punchy all-wheel-drive packet.The 3.2-litre-capacity engine delivers a healthy 184kW of power, coupled with Audi's S Tronic transmission, which has two clutches and pre-selects the next upward gear providing performance levels that are far from diminutive. The baby two-litre four-cylinder turbo version drives only the front wheels and delivers 147kW of power.So, just what were the little things about the TT that got my attention? The time it took to close the rag-top roof, the efficiency of the seat heaters, the retractable cabin wind blocker, the magnetic ride control and the retractable rear wing.Audi too, when developing the TT Roadster, certainly knew that little things count. A roof which closes in 12 seconds might seem like a little thing, not so in the fickle weather we've had in Adelaide of late.With few chances to enjoy some open-top driving last week, having the ability to confidently close the roof during a traffic light stop as rain approached became a big 'little' thing.The efficiency of the seat heaters was more a case of small things amusing small minds (yep, I'm a bit of a big kid at heart). A touch of the button on the passenger seat controls soon got the desired result, with my vertically challenged female passenger complaining she felt flushed, before asking “has this thing got seat heaters?”The retractable wind block directly behind the seats is a practical small thing, while the retractable rear wing, to aid stability at higher speeds makes a statement. Optional Magnetic Ride Control, which allows the suspension to be stiffened at the press of a button, provides more than a subtle change in the suspension and offers sportier characteristics when selected.The TT is equipped with class-leading technology. The newest generation of Audi Space Frame combines both aluminium and steel to achieve lighter weight (1295kg) and better weight distribution for better driving dynamics. Audi's S-tronic gearbox offers the performance of a manual transmission with the convenience of an automatic, and shifts faster than any driver could at 0.2 seconds per shift . However, paddle shifts behind the steering wheel provide the driver the opportunity to do it themselves if they so please. There's nothing small about the TT's long list of standard luxurious and sporty features. Standard equipment includes leather and Alcantara-covered sport seats, automatic climate control, electromechanical power steering, Audi Concert audio system with in-dash CD changer, 17in alloy wheels, keyless entry with alarm, cruise control and leather-wrapped flat-bottom sport steering wheel.In short, the Audi TT Roadster is full of little things to make it a whole lot of fun. 

Audi makes some wonderful large luxury vehicles.It makes some even better large luxury performance cars.Sadly absent from the Australian line-up since 2003, the S3 is back and it is, as Michael Jackson might say, b-a-d, bad. But that's a good bad, if you get my drift.The S3 is on sale now from $65,500 with standard 18-inch wheels, quattro all-wheel drive, xenon headlights, sports suspension, sports seats and six airbags — front, side and curtain. That is slightly less than the exit price of the previous model.You can increase that base price considerably with a range of options, including the full bucket seats at $6700 (and for that you lose the side airbags, reducing the count to four).There is also the flat-bottomed steering wheel at $700, satellite navigation at $5300, two-tone leather for the basic seats ($400) and a sunroof ($1850).“The S3 is not a car for everybody, it is one for the driving enthusiast,” Audi Australia managing director Joerg Hofmann says.“It is a sports car for everyday driving and we expect to sell around 100 a year.”There is nothing particularly mystical about the S3. It is a series of sensible, performance enhancements on VW's proven Golf GTi package that mesh together to provide a seriously fun whole.The underpinnings of the car are the “standard” McPherson front end with a multi-link rear, a good splash of aluminium components to reduce unsprung weight, a 25mm lower ride height than the standard A3 and the firmer settings of the S-Sports suspension package.Motivation is from the VW/Audi family's brilliant 2.0-litre direct injection turbo, which has been beefed with optimised injectors and an increase in turbo pressure of 0.3 bar up to 1.2 bar to give the little four V6 power of 188kW at 6000rpm and a cracking 330Nm of torque from 2500rpm through to 5000rpm. That may be 7kW and 20Nm down on the European tune for the engine, necessary according to Audi Australia because of durability issues in Australia's hot climate and 95 RON fuel, but it hardly diminishes the performance of the S3.Keeping it all together and getting the drive to the road in a manner that allows a 5.9 second sprint from standstill to 100km/h and a limited top speed of 250km/h is Audi's quattro all-wheel drive.The system utilises the electro-hydraulic Haldex clutch, modified for the S3, to distribute optimised drive through all corners.The six-speed manual is a precise box with shortened throws and well-sorted ratios.Ride quality is not plush but that is not what you would expect from this package. What the car does do is cling to corners like an obsessive octopus. The grip is something to behold and the envelope for forgiveness extreme.That mechanical grip coupled to the array of electronic minders — stability and traction control, electronic limited slip differential, anti-lock brakes and brake assist — makes the S3 both exciting and secure.Unlike many similar “hot” versions of mainstream cars the S3 does not announce its presence with wings, airdams and screaming badges. Some discreet badges, the purposeful stance and twin pipes are the limit of the car's boastingLaunching at the same time as the S3 is another of Audi's niche products, the Roadster version of the TT, which will arrive at $77,500 for the 2.0-litre turbo and $92,900 for the 3.2-Litre V6.Not as focused as the S3, the ragtop TT is nonetheless a creature of some ability and considerably more overt presence.One of the more sensible results of adding a folding roof to the TT is the absence of the two rear seats from the coupe.Utilising the Audi spaceframe construction, the TT Roadster is a nicely balanced package with extensive use of aluminium to keep weight down. Audi says 58 per cent of the TT is aluminium with a bias to the front, while the heavier steel components are used in the rear of the car.The result is a chassis 120 per cent torsionally stiffer than the previous model and 45 per cent lighter than an all-steel construction.As much as it is a car for being seen in, the TT Roadster can hold its own in most equivalent company putting the 0-100km/h sprint behind in 6.5 seconds in the 2.0-litre FSi and an impressive 5.9 seconds with the V6 fired up.All of that is with an automatic box because there is no manual option available. Not that there is anything wrong with the six-speed S-Tronic (read double clutch DSG) box.The test car benefited from the addition of the optional ($3000) active magnetic ride dampers.In essence the dampers are filled with a fluid which contains particles sensitive to electric charge.When the central control unit deems it necessary, taking input from a battery of sensors around the car, a charge is passed through the fluid, changing its viscosity almost instantly, stiffening the rebound and providing the car with a totally new character. SNAPSHOTAUDI S3Price: $65,500Engine: 2.0L 4-cyl turbo FSI, 188kW, 330NmTransmission: 6-speed manual, quattro all-wheel drivePerformance: 0-100km/h in 5.9 seconds, 250km/h top speed limited AUDI TT ROADSTERPrice: $77,500 (2.0); $92,900 (V6)Engine: 2L 4-cyl turbo FSI, 147kW, 280Nm; 3.2L direct-injection; V6 petrol, 184kW, 320NmTransmission: 6-speed manual with auto mode; front-wheeldrive (2.0), quattro AWD (V6)Performance: 0-100km/h 6.5 seconds (2.0), 5.9 seconds (V6); 237km/h top speed (2.0), 250km/h limited (V6)

Sure, he might admit he’d made her a little overstuffed in the lip department the first time around and tone that area down to something more recognisably human, but otherwise there wouldn’t be a lot of tweaking required.Improving on perfection isn’t easy, even for God, so spare a thought for the poor pencil pushers at Audi who were asked to redesign the TT.This car was groundbreaking when it arrived, back in 1998, was then awarded the highest form of praise by other companies as they tried to copy it (check out the roofline on a Nissan 350Z, for example) and still – today – looks futuristically cool.In fact, it looks like some oversized rollerskate from that excellent movie, Tron.I imagine a series of meetings with the red-eyed designers turning up time after time with a car that looked pretty much exactly like the old TT.“Seriously, we changed the colour of the indicator reflectors – it’s a totally new car,” they would plead.Actually hacking into those fluid lines to come up with something quite markedly different must have felt like sacrilege.The first few times I saw the new shape I got angry. Why on earth would anyone mess with a one-off like the TT? Why didn’t they just start again and call it something else? But after a week of intimate time with one, I must admit I’ve done a backflip of Olympic, or even Politician standard.The new TT isn’t as attractive as the old one, but viewed in isolation, it’s still a pretty sharp, hawk-beaked looking vehicle. My neighbour even described it as being “a bit too porn star” for her taste, so it’s not exactly a sleeper.It’s derivative without being damaging to the original concept and it grows on you. It may yet be seen as a classic in its own right, but that will have more to do with the way it drives than how it looks.The one area where the designers definitely got it wrong, however, is the interior. As good as the old TT looked from the outside, my favourite feature was always the cockpit, which just felt – and looked – special.It was the shiny, garage-door style cover for the stereo that topped it off, but generally there was a sense that the interior had been designed to reflect the exterior. And it worked.The new car is merely another Audi inside, with plenty of nice-feeling plastics but no character or pizzazz – with the obvious exception of the flat-bottomed steering wheel, which is a thing of boy-racer beauty.Luckily the TT has so much character elsewhere that you’re entirely willing to overlook the innards.Because, while we can debate over whether the look of the new car has matched the old one, the new TT is a far, far better thing to drive.It is one of those cars where you just know, in the first five minutes in a heavily trafficked 60km/h zone, it’s going to be special.It has a taut, on-its-toes feel for the road. Muscular, meaty steering – at last – and an exhaust note that is as different from its forebear as Kylie Minogue is from Ozzy Osbourne.The old TT had a pleasant enough rasp to it, while the new one blows raspberries at rasping and gives out an angry, howling growl, which is at its best on the over-run and when running from the horizon.On a favourite bit of road, the new TT put on a display of corner-biting, scenery blurring genuine sports-car behaviour.It handled and went and stopped like, well, almost like certain other brands that Audi just never competed with before, in such a serious way.The old TT was fun enough, but it always felt like swinging a slick, aluminium baseball bat compared with a fine piece of willow, or a sword.Driving the new one gets your pulse racing the way looking at the old one did. Impressively, the model we were driving was merely the base model, powered by a 2.0-litre turbo FSI engine with 147kW, good for a 0 to 100km/h time of 6.4 seconds.Even the fact that the engine only drove the front wheels wasn’t as annoying as it should be.And I just have to mention the steering again. Not usually an Audi strong point – they more favour the light approach than the premium lager – it really does the business here, connecting you with the road at broadband speeds.So, with the inherited looks of the old TT, but a good 30 per cent more fun, this new Audi is one of the company’s best efforts ever.Even a pricetag of $68,900 starts to look like reasonable value.Most people will spend $72,500 instead and get the S-tronic flappy paddle auto box. The fools.I’ll admit I’m keen to try the top-line V6 quattro version, for $88,900, not so much for the 3.2-litre V6 engine (reportedly it weighs the nose down too much and takes some of the free spirit away), but for the all-wheel-drive gripfest – and the 0 to 100km/h time of 5.7 seconds sounds like fun, too.