Audi TT vs Lotus Exige

What's the difference?

Audi is finally saying hooroo to this model which has made the world stop and stare like I did on that Parisian street all those years ago.

The Final Edition is a fitting tribute to this iconic sports car and I’m glad Audi didn’t go ‘OTT’ and deck it out with gimmicky features. 

At the same time the Final Edition’s big rear wing, blacked out badges, wheels and interior colour coding hint that this is not just any ordinary TT and those that know will know.

Farewell Audi TT, we hope something just like you but probably electric appears to stop us in our tracks again. 

To say the Lotus Exige 350 Sport exists at the very pointy end of motoring is a sharp understatement. It is, in essence, a track car that you’re somehow allowed to drive on the road, which means it's hugely compromised in various ways as a vehicle for day-to-day use, yet it's not really fair to criticise it for those failings, because commuting was never its intended purpose.

While it would obviously shine in its natural environment of a race circuit, the fact is you could also enjoy it enormously between track days if you pointed it at a suitably smooth and winding bit of country blacktop.

The performance, handling, steering and stopping are all fantastic, in the right conditions, and you can see how someone might justify it to themselves as a far cheaper version of a ($327,100) Porsche 911 GT3. The difference being that a Porsche doesn't make you fold yourself up like a pocket knife every time you get in.

The Lotus, then, is a car for the extreme enthusiast, only. And possibly for nudists, too.

The Audi TT’s shape has morphed over the past 25 years from the cute, rounded bubble car that first appeared in the late 1990s to the more aggressively and sleek looking sports car with the sharp creases we see today.

Still, there are the familiar pumped-out wheel arches and, while not as prominent as it used to be, that arching roof and the way it flows down to those tail-lights and stumpy tail remains so true to the original TT.

The TT Final Edition has a more menacing and athletic look than the regular 45 TFSI its based on thanks to the S Line Competition Plus exterior package.

So you’re getting the big fixed wing, an aggressive front bumper, and the 19-inch alloy wheels in gloss black.

There’s a black package, too, which add the decals down the side, the blacked-out badges, the black exhaust tips and black wing mirrors.

My test car’s paint colour was Turbo Blue and you can see in the images of the cabin how Audi matches interior elements in the same colour. The contrast stitching on the seats also lifts the sporty feel into high-end territory.

It’s a simple cabin, though, free from busy buttons and giant screens and the incorporation of climate controls into the air vents is genius. 

If you’re wondering what the TT Final Edition’s dimensions are its 4191mm long, 1832mm wide and 1376mm tall. 

The Lotus philosophy is summed by this slightly absurd mission statement: "Simplify, then add lightness". In the words of the great Barnaby Joyce "you don’t have to be Sigmund Freud" to work out that lightness is not something you can 'add', but you get the idea.

Everything about a Lotus is focused on the power-to-weight ratio, and this 350 Sport version takes the Exige to the ultimate degree, weighing in a full 51kg lighter than the S version, at just 1125kg, and with its hefty 3.5-litre supercharged V6 it is capable of lapping the company’s Hethel, UK test circuit a full 2.5 seconds faster.

Lap times, rather than road manners, are what this car is all about, and as such there are no creature comforts of any kind.

The Exige is an eye-catching beast, though, looking a bit like Darth Vader's helmet strapped to a skateboard. Everything about it is a statement of intent, and while the interior is as bare as Barnaby's brain, the gear lever, with its exposed workings and shiny silver knob, is a thing of strange beauty.

The Audi TT isn’t going to cut it as a family car, but it’s more practical than a lot of people might think.

First this is a '2+2' sports car meaning those two rear seats are there for the odd occasion when you might need them, because the space back there is limited.

But for most of the time having a place to throw a jacket or extra luggage and not have to ask your co-plot to rest it on their lap will feel like absolute luxury.

Up front head and legroom is good, even for me at 189cm tall. Being a coupe the doors are long and although the car is low I found getting in and out easy.

There’s a pretty clever use of space when it comes down to cabin storage. You’ll find door pockets, a glove box, a covered centre console box and a hidey hole/wireless phone charger in the dash.

Back seat passengers have built-in shelves near their armrests. Surprisingly there are four cupholders - two of which fold out of the dash.   

The boot isn’t huge at 305 litres but you can fold the rear seats down to open up the cargo capacity to 712 litres.

So, compared to its two-seater sports car rivals, the TT is relatively and pleasantly practical.

Both the words 'practical' and 'space' have no place in a road test of this Lotus, so shall we just move on?

Oh, all right. There is no shoulder room to speak of and to change gears you have to fondle your passenger's leg. You're also in danger of breathing into each other’s mouths accidentally, you’re sitting that close.

Speaking of impractical, the door apertures are so small, and the whole car so low, that getting in or out is about as much fun as attempting to hide in a child's suitcase.

Cupholders? Forget it, nor is there anywhere to put your phone. There are two tiny oddment storage holes just near each well-hidden door handle, and a kind of slidey, slick shelf where a glove box might be, on which it’s not safe to leave anything.

Put things on the floor and they will slide under the super low seats and never be seen again.

The Lotus people pointed out a parcel shelf behind the seats, but I think they imagined it, and there is a tiny boot at the rear, behind the engine, which is smaller than some actual boots.

The question of 'value' is a tricky one when you’re looking at a $138,782.85 car that’s about as useful in day-to-day life as a matchbox-sized handbag. But you have to consider what people buy a Lotus for, and the answer has absolutely nothing to do with practicality.

A car like this Exige 350 Sport is purely purchased as a toy, a track-day special that you can, in theory, drive to the circuit via public roads. Franky, if I was rich enough to have one I’d still transport it there on the back of a truck.

Relatively speaking, you could have a far more practical and infinitely more comfortable Porsche Cayman for $30K less, but the Lotus is $30K cheaper than the similarly track-focused and brutal ($169,990) KTM X-Bow.

It is the opposite of comfortable.

In terms of features, you get four wheels, an engine, a steering wheel, some seats, and that’s about it. You can buy a circa 1993 removable-face two-speaker stereo, which you can't really hear over the engine and road noise, for $1199. Oh, and they do throw in air conditioning, which is also noisy.

Our slick-looking metallic black paint was also $1999, the 'full carpets' another $1099 (expensive floor mats, basically), the Alcantara trim pack $4499, cruise control (really?) $299 and the hilarious optional 'Sound Insulation' $1499 (I think they actually forgot to fit it). All up, our press car’s price climbed to $157,846, which, I have to say, is no one’s idea of good value.

On the plus side, the local Lotus people - Simply Sports Cars - do offer features a buyer would love, like regular Lotus Only Track Days, a chance to take part in the Phillip Island 6 Hour and the Targa High Country event, and various other racy experiences.

The TT Final Edition has the same 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine as the regular 45 TFSI TT Coupe with the same 180kW and 370Nm outputs.

The TT is light, though, at only 1460kg and that grunt is enough to slingshot it from 0-100km/h in 5.1 seconds.

The transmission is an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic which sends drive to all four wheels.

Sure, the TTS has more grunt and the TTRS is nothing short of wonderful with its five cylinder powerplant, but the 2.0-litre engine in the Final Edition feels perfectly suited to what is a fun and engaging sports car.

In the past, Lotus engineers were satisfied with the power they got from tiny four-cylinder Toyota engines, but this Exige 350 Sport is a Very Serious Car and thus has a relatively whopping 3.5-litre, supercharged V6 shoehorned into its backside, which makes 258kW and 400Nm, and that's enough to fire this tiny machine from 0-100km/h in just 3.9 seconds, although it feels, and sounds, a lot faster.

The six-speed gearbox feels like it's been stolen from an old racing car and is an absolute joy to snick shift at speed.

Audi says that after a combination of open and urban roads the TT Final Edition should use 7.0L/100km.

My own testing took in a combination of the best country roads and worst city traffic and at the fuel pump I measured 10.9L/100km.

But most of my time was spent in 'Dynamic' drive mode with the fuel-saving idle stop system switched off. 

The TT's 55-litre fuel tank means you should have a range of about 785km.

Lotus claims a combined fuel economy figure of 10.1L/100km. We don't believe that would be easy to achieve, because the temptation to rev the hell out of it and hear it roar would be too great, and too constant.

There are plenty of sports cars out there which are dynamically superb yet uncomfortable to sit in.

But the TT’s cabin is as ergonomic as it is stylish with a great, low sitting position and good pedal feel, a steering wheel that can be adjusted to be just right and still with plenty of space underneath for long legs like mine.

The shifter feels the right distance away, good visibility even out the rear window and plenty of ventilation.  And we haven’t even started driving yet.

The TT Final Edition felt to me how a TT should. Fun. Not overpowered nor brutally firm and not ridiculously loud.

Instead, my drive in the Final Edition, which took me along some of my favourite country roads, was one of the most enjoyable runs I’ve had in any car. 

This is a car which ‘listens’ to you and replies with exactly what you’ve asked for in the way it turns into corners and accelerates out of them, and pulls up when you need it too. 

There’s so much connection to the road, you can hear the sticks and stones flying up into the guards, you can feel the coarse chip bitumen through the steering wheel.

But it’s all so easy, too. The suspension is firm but soft enough that you can drive this daily. The steering is light but still with great feedback. 

Some sports cars leave you feeling exhausted, like you’ve just wrestled a bear but the TT Final Edition just leaves you feeling like you've been on a ride and all you want to do is run back around to line up and get back on it again.

It's rare to find a car that is such an improbable mix of furious fun and infuriating annoyance. The Lotus is rattly, noisy, hugely firm to the point of punishing, with seats that offer encouragement but not support.

It is the opposite of comfortable and so hard to see out of that driving it around town, in any sort of traffic, feels borderline dangerous. There’s also the distinct sensation that you’re so low and so little that all those people in their SUVs won't see you.

Throw in the fact that it's so painfully, stupidly difficult to get in and out of and it's definitely not the sort of car you take if you're heading to the shops. I got so sick of its hard-edged annoyances at one stage that I became too grumpy to even take people for joy rides in it. I just couldn’t be bothered with the hassle, but then an inner-city suburb with high kerbs and even higher speed humps is not the Exige's natural environment.

The gearbox is a thrill a minute, as is the engine.

Making it even more of a challenge around town, at low speeds or in parking situations is the steering, which isn't so much heavy as wilfully obtuse. Doing a three-point turn is the equivalent of 20 minutes of bench pressing your own body weight. At least.

Out on a winding bit of country road, however, the steering becomes one of the best things about the car, because its pure, unassisted weighting feels so alive in your hands. There’s a sense of actually wrestling, or finessing it around corners that makes you feel a bit Ayrton Senna.

Indeed, the whole car comes alive, and starts to make some kind of sense, once you're on a smooth, perfect piece of tarmac. It is fast, noisy, thrilling, utterly and overtly involving, stiff of chassis and firm of ride, with brakes capable of pulling you up with indecent haste. It’s also, thanks to its low centre of gravity and mid-engined layout, beautifully balanced.

The gearbox is a thrill a minute, as is the engine, particularly once you explore the upper rev ranges, at which point the scenery really does become a scary blur out the ridiculously small windscreen.

Sure, you can't see anything behind you other than the engine, but what a lovely sight that is, and nothing is going to catch you anyway.

It does feel edgy, of course, and sharp, and it’s not as easy or refined to drive as some cheaper sports cars; an MX-5 makes for a far more pleasant companion. But this is an extreme Exige, a machine built by and for genuine enthusiasts.

And, above all, for the sort of people who will take it to a race track, which is where it both looks and feels completely at home.

Unfortunately, on public roads, it would be annoying more often than it would be thrilling, but the truly hardcore Lotus aficionados would never admit such a thing.

Unsurprisingly, considering it will sell fewer than 100 cars in Australia, Lotus has not had the Exige ADR crash tested, so there's no star rating. You do get two airbags, passenger and driver, as well as ABS, 'Hydraulic Brake Assist', 'Lotus Dynamic Performance Management', driver-selectable ESP with three modes, cornering brake control and EBD.

The TT Final Edition is covered by Audi’s five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty.

Serving is recommended every 12 months or 15,000km and although Audi doesn't have capped price servicing there is a five-year/75,000km plan which will cost about $3000 in total for regular maintenance. Yep, that's $600 per workshop visit.

Your Lotus comes with a three-year unlimited kilometre warranty and three years of roadside assist. A service costs $295, plus parts.