THE AUDI TT TT 2.0 TFSi
WORDS BY JUSTIN ONG PHOTOS BY MEL LEE
Featured: March 2008
THE ORIGINAL AUDI TT WAS A PAINFUL symbol of form lording its
victory over function, of how a car became an overnight success for
nothing more than being nice to look at. It was, in all honesty, the
height of blandness, and never quite succeeded in transcending its
humble, Golf-based roots. Blah handling that at times bordered on
dangerous, even murderous in the early days, mated to an engine
range that felt uninspiring even in Volkswagen hatchbacks, the only
thing remotely sporty about the TT was the amount of fun you could
have betting on whether it was coming or going.
Mundane dynamics notwithstanding, it was a terrific car to wake up to
every morning. Its rounded teardrop silhouette and symmetrical
front/rear fascia became a minor cause celebre but was avant-garde
enough to win over a legion of fans that turned a car destined never
to be remade into a styling icon of the new millennium.
Second time around, nothing much has changed. The new TT is, like
its predecessor, a fantastic-looking car, bordering almost on a
supercar level of attractiveness. There is a lot of the R8 in it, though
the smaller coupe is less ostentatious. Similarly, it once again rides on
a Golf platform so nobody really expects any kind of handling
benchmarks to be set, or even met. Reading the brochure certainly
doesn’t fill one’s heart with hope, as the pages after pages extolling
the TT as a design icon and the purity of its design with what paltry
text there was in the glorified picture book set an early tone to rein in
one’s expectations regarding the TT as anything other than a bauble
you could drive.
Audi have, however, sold the TT woefully short; more than just an
expensive suit that you could drive around in, the new Audi coupe
also happens to be a surprisingly good drive. Like the first-generation
TT, this one is also built upon a Golf platform. But unlike the, at best,
average Mk IV platform, the new A5 platform is a genuinely talented
foundation to build on.
Not content with just building on the rigid A5 base, Audi also set about
replacing bits and pieces of the frame with aluminium, to produce their
trademark amalgamated steel-aluminium Audi Space Frame (ASF) for
the TT. The front half is made of aluminium while the rear, high tensile
steel. With that, the TT’s frame boast higher rigidity and lower weight
than a regular Golf monocoque. Things are off to a scorching start.
Also, this time around, there’s a rather special engine along with an
even more fantastic gearbox to go with it. The quite excellent 2.0 TFSi
has been tasked to power the new TT. Also fitted is what is arguably
the best mass-produced transmission system in the world right now,
the Audi S Tronic (Audi’s branding for the group’s twin clutch
transmission).
As in other applications, the 2.0 TFSi engine here outputs a maximum
of 200bhp, which is accompanied by 280Nm of torque. So unlike the
previous TT, there hasn’t been any additional fettling to give the
coupe a power advantage over the rest of the family range.
The 2.0 TFSi is one of the better engines in recent memory. It pulls
hard and it starts pulling early; from as little as 1800rpm, you’ll get
your full complement of torque that stretches all across the range
before starting to taper off around 5000rpm. There is not so much a
peak as there is a plateau of torque, and this gives the car such
effortless ease.
Pedal-to-the-metal runs will see the TT darting from standstill to
100kph in 6.4s, virtually identical to what you could achieve in the Mk
V GTI, while top speed is also similar, with Audi claiming a wholely
plausible 240kph.
The S Tronic transmission, too, isn’t new to either the Group or Audi,
and was in fact debuted in the previous-generation TT. It shifts with
so much precision and seamlessness that even dyed-in-the-wool
manual fanatics may need to concede that the much-celebrated left
pedal has finally found its match.
With two clutches working in a single gearbox, S Tronic engages one
gear while preselecting the next by evaluating your driving situation. If
you’re accelerating, it grabs on to the next gear in anticipation of your
up-shift. Under decal and braking, it pre-engages one cog lower so
your downshifts are virtually instantaneous.
The only time the S Tronic system gets flustered is when you start
shifting erratically, so much so that it fails to predict your next move,
but even then it is only as slow as the competition’s fastest clutchless
manual. Whatever the case, this gearbox is the best compromise
between manual performance and automatic convenience.
FAST IN A STRAIGHT LINE was already in the TT’s repertoire before,
so how does it do around the corners? Surprisingly and superbly well
this time around. Despite coming without the newly introduced Audi
Magnetic Ride, the TT that’s available here still comes with a fairly
competent set of sports dampers.
The new car feels confident around the bends, with precise response
and negligible levels of body-roll. The steering is fairly talkative for an
Audi, though there’s still room for improvement as far as feedback in
concerned, plus it could do with a little more weight. The chassis itself
is superb, resisting the urge to wilt under the forces while providing a
tangible sense of connection with the road.
Lift-off oversteer, or any kind of oversteer, for that matter, is kept
firmly in checked when
ESP is engaged, which is probably for the best. The generous helping
of torque so early on plus the lack of quattro drive means that it’s all
too easy to spin away your power while coming out of bends, if you
disengage ESP, since traction controlled is tied to the system.
In any case, a speed-sensitive spoiler activates once you exceed
120kph, to prevent any relapse of the deadly rear lift when the TT
was first introduced in 1999. When not in use, it tucks away discretely
into the rear lid. It can also be activated manually, if you enjoy driving
around with a wing on your tail all the time.
Like the superceded TT, the new one is billed as a 2+2, which you
should take to mean ‘2 people and 2 bags’ because nothing that
resembles the human form will fit with even the slightest amount of
comfort into the rear seats. Why, there’s even a sticker where Audi
confess the uselessness of their seats, as it says that you’ll likely
bash the head of anyone sitting behind when you close the tailgate.
This, then, is a properly comprehensive sports coupe in performance
and in looks. It’s also a thorough vindication for Audi after the
rollicking that they took with the hairdresser’s special previous-
generation TT. This one is great to be seen in and even better to
drive, but, and there’s always a ‘but’ in these things – it’s pretty
expensive for what it is.
Objectively, it drives no better than the Golf GTI, with which it shares
both its underpinnings and drivetrain. It won’t go any faster nor will it
drive significantly better, so the only real advantage is, again, its
looks. So you have really got to love looking good to pay the premium
price RM368K that Audi want for the new TT. At least this time, form is
followed by function. justin
AUDI TT 2.0 TFSi Turbocharged Inline-4 petrol. 200bhp. 280Nm.
0-100kph: 6.4s. Top speed: 240kph. RM368K. Imported.
WORDS BY JUSTIN ONG PHOTOS BY MEL LEE
Featured: March 2008
THE ORIGINAL AUDI TT WAS A PAINFUL symbol of form lording its
victory over function, of how a car became an overnight success for
nothing more than being nice to look at. It was, in all honesty, the
height of blandness, and never quite succeeded in transcending its
humble, Golf-based roots. Blah handling that at times bordered on
dangerous, even murderous in the early days, mated to an engine
range that felt uninspiring even in Volkswagen hatchbacks, the only
thing remotely sporty about the TT was the amount of fun you could
have betting on whether it was coming or going.
Mundane dynamics notwithstanding, it was a terrific car to wake up to
every morning. Its rounded teardrop silhouette and symmetrical
front/rear fascia became a minor cause celebre but was avant-garde
enough to win over a legion of fans that turned a car destined never
to be remade into a styling icon of the new millennium.
Second time around, nothing much has changed. The new TT is, like
its predecessor, a fantastic-looking car, bordering almost on a
supercar level of attractiveness. There is a lot of the R8 in it, though
the smaller coupe is less ostentatious. Similarly, it once again rides on
a Golf platform so nobody really expects any kind of handling
benchmarks to be set, or even met. Reading the brochure certainly
doesn’t fill one’s heart with hope, as the pages after pages extolling
the TT as a design icon and the purity of its design with what paltry
text there was in the glorified picture book set an early tone to rein in
one’s expectations regarding the TT as anything other than a bauble
you could drive.
Audi have, however, sold the TT woefully short; more than just an
expensive suit that you could drive around in, the new Audi coupe
also happens to be a surprisingly good drive. Like the first-generation
TT, this one is also built upon a Golf platform. But unlike the, at best,
average Mk IV platform, the new A5 platform is a genuinely talented
foundation to build on.
Not content with just building on the rigid A5 base, Audi also set about
replacing bits and pieces of the frame with aluminium, to produce their
trademark amalgamated steel-aluminium Audi Space Frame (ASF) for
the TT. The front half is made of aluminium while the rear, high tensile
steel. With that, the TT’s frame boast higher rigidity and lower weight
than a regular Golf monocoque. Things are off to a scorching start.
Also, this time around, there’s a rather special engine along with an
even more fantastic gearbox to go with it. The quite excellent 2.0 TFSi
has been tasked to power the new TT. Also fitted is what is arguably
the best mass-produced transmission system in the world right now,
the Audi S Tronic (Audi’s branding for the group’s twin clutch
transmission).
As in other applications, the 2.0 TFSi engine here outputs a maximum
of 200bhp, which is accompanied by 280Nm of torque. So unlike the
previous TT, there hasn’t been any additional fettling to give the
coupe a power advantage over the rest of the family range.
The 2.0 TFSi is one of the better engines in recent memory. It pulls
hard and it starts pulling early; from as little as 1800rpm, you’ll get
your full complement of torque that stretches all across the range
before starting to taper off around 5000rpm. There is not so much a
peak as there is a plateau of torque, and this gives the car such
effortless ease.
Pedal-to-the-metal runs will see the TT darting from standstill to
100kph in 6.4s, virtually identical to what you could achieve in the Mk
V GTI, while top speed is also similar, with Audi claiming a wholely
plausible 240kph.
The S Tronic transmission, too, isn’t new to either the Group or Audi,
and was in fact debuted in the previous-generation TT. It shifts with
so much precision and seamlessness that even dyed-in-the-wool
manual fanatics may need to concede that the much-celebrated left
pedal has finally found its match.
With two clutches working in a single gearbox, S Tronic engages one
gear while preselecting the next by evaluating your driving situation. If
you’re accelerating, it grabs on to the next gear in anticipation of your
up-shift. Under decal and braking, it pre-engages one cog lower so
your downshifts are virtually instantaneous.
The only time the S Tronic system gets flustered is when you start
shifting erratically, so much so that it fails to predict your next move,
but even then it is only as slow as the competition’s fastest clutchless
manual. Whatever the case, this gearbox is the best compromise
between manual performance and automatic convenience.
FAST IN A STRAIGHT LINE was already in the TT’s repertoire before,
so how does it do around the corners? Surprisingly and superbly well
this time around. Despite coming without the newly introduced Audi
Magnetic Ride, the TT that’s available here still comes with a fairly
competent set of sports dampers.
The new car feels confident around the bends, with precise response
and negligible levels of body-roll. The steering is fairly talkative for an
Audi, though there’s still room for improvement as far as feedback in
concerned, plus it could do with a little more weight. The chassis itself
is superb, resisting the urge to wilt under the forces while providing a
tangible sense of connection with the road.
Lift-off oversteer, or any kind of oversteer, for that matter, is kept
firmly in checked when
ESP is engaged, which is probably for the best. The generous helping
of torque so early on plus the lack of quattro drive means that it’s all
too easy to spin away your power while coming out of bends, if you
disengage ESP, since traction controlled is tied to the system.
In any case, a speed-sensitive spoiler activates once you exceed
120kph, to prevent any relapse of the deadly rear lift when the TT
was first introduced in 1999. When not in use, it tucks away discretely
into the rear lid. It can also be activated manually, if you enjoy driving
around with a wing on your tail all the time.
Like the superceded TT, the new one is billed as a 2+2, which you
should take to mean ‘2 people and 2 bags’ because nothing that
resembles the human form will fit with even the slightest amount of
comfort into the rear seats. Why, there’s even a sticker where Audi
confess the uselessness of their seats, as it says that you’ll likely
bash the head of anyone sitting behind when you close the tailgate.
This, then, is a properly comprehensive sports coupe in performance
and in looks. It’s also a thorough vindication for Audi after the
rollicking that they took with the hairdresser’s special previous-
generation TT. This one is great to be seen in and even better to
drive, but, and there’s always a ‘but’ in these things – it’s pretty
expensive for what it is.
Objectively, it drives no better than the Golf GTI, with which it shares
both its underpinnings and drivetrain. It won’t go any faster nor will it
drive significantly better, so the only real advantage is, again, its
looks. So you have really got to love looking good to pay the premium
price RM368K that Audi want for the new TT. At least this time, form is
followed by function. justin
AUDI TT 2.0 TFSi Turbocharged Inline-4 petrol. 200bhp. 280Nm.
0-100kph: 6.4s. Top speed: 240kph. RM368K. Imported.
| TT PART DEUX PROOF THAT YOU CAN COME BACK FROM A MISTAKE |
| AUDI TT 2.0 TFSi - MEL'S 2-SENS WORTH |
THIS CAR I LIKE, VERY MUCH. It feels so balanced, so
bighearted, so competent, and so right. I kept getting the
feeling that it was tailormade for me.
This sports car will very willingly toot around town and just
as easily take to the open road. You can drive it to the
market, except that you will be reminded that there is not
much space for anything. You will also realise, once you
are parked, that the car may attract all the wrong sort of
attention. You forget how attractively styled it is, because
it motors around so easily.
This is a beautiful 2-person car; it is so spare in its
demands, feels so unfettered, and so right. If you are the
sort that admires what the Lotus Elise stands for but
cannot live with its spartan nature, this TT would seem to
be a good alternative. Yes, it may appear to be decadent
by the standard of the Elise, but it is very much less so
than the Supercars; it comes across as the well-appointed
German coupe that it is. It can never hope to match the
Elise for what would be the ultimate state of balance and
agility, but it is not shamelessly bloated like some sports
cars have become. With the Mk V Golf GTI having gone
back to its roots - offering a good power-to-weight ratio,
as well as having a terrific engine-gearbox combo, the
Audi TT is now a very well sorted out car. Plus, it is a
premium German product.
There is a nice heft to everything, from the steering to the
way the car goes over irregularities, at any speed. Only
the closing of the doors sounds out-of-synch. This is
because of the slight rattling due to the window
automatically opening a bit, to prevent pressure build-up.
The TT may share its underpinnings with the Golf GTI but
it benefits from having a lower centre of gravity, less
mass, and even more of the wheel-at-each-corner
sensation. There is a gokart-like feel, but minus the jittery
and nervous nature. This may seem like sacrilege to the
purists but I feel the TT is what the Suzuki Swift Sport
would be when it grows up.
I got the chance to drive the 3.2L quattro version of the
previous model in Ingolstadt, for about 120km, some
years ago. That car felt somewhat detached as it
demonstrated awesome grip (the route included some
snowbank-lined winding sections) as well as a big-car feel
on the Autobahn. The cabin felt claustrophobic for that
sort of hard driving, and I remember wondering at the end
of the session: “Did I really do all those naughty
stuff?” It was quite a whiteknuckle session, especially for
my passenger, but, somehow, my memory of the car itself
is not as warm as those for a few others. I still feel that I
was driven rather than me driving the car. This new
model, even in 2.0T form, is a lot more engaging. And
unlike the previous model, which invariably underwent
some form of upgrading or other, to give it some
semblance of ‘performance’, this version is, as far as I am
concerned, perfect the way it is. It moves off smartly, gets
to speed convincingly, has impressive flexibility, and is
capable of sustained high speeds, and yet is civil, well
behaved, well balanced, and feels matured, and so right.
It has been a long time since I aspired for a car. The Audi
TT 2.0T got me all itchified again. I can see myself trying
to regain my youth with it, and also grow old with it. This is
going to be a collector’s item. mel
bighearted, so competent, and so right. I kept getting the
feeling that it was tailormade for me.
This sports car will very willingly toot around town and just
as easily take to the open road. You can drive it to the
market, except that you will be reminded that there is not
much space for anything. You will also realise, once you
are parked, that the car may attract all the wrong sort of
attention. You forget how attractively styled it is, because
it motors around so easily.
This is a beautiful 2-person car; it is so spare in its
demands, feels so unfettered, and so right. If you are the
sort that admires what the Lotus Elise stands for but
cannot live with its spartan nature, this TT would seem to
be a good alternative. Yes, it may appear to be decadent
by the standard of the Elise, but it is very much less so
than the Supercars; it comes across as the well-appointed
German coupe that it is. It can never hope to match the
Elise for what would be the ultimate state of balance and
agility, but it is not shamelessly bloated like some sports
cars have become. With the Mk V Golf GTI having gone
back to its roots - offering a good power-to-weight ratio,
as well as having a terrific engine-gearbox combo, the
Audi TT is now a very well sorted out car. Plus, it is a
premium German product.
There is a nice heft to everything, from the steering to the
way the car goes over irregularities, at any speed. Only
the closing of the doors sounds out-of-synch. This is
because of the slight rattling due to the window
automatically opening a bit, to prevent pressure build-up.
The TT may share its underpinnings with the Golf GTI but
it benefits from having a lower centre of gravity, less
mass, and even more of the wheel-at-each-corner
sensation. There is a gokart-like feel, but minus the jittery
and nervous nature. This may seem like sacrilege to the
purists but I feel the TT is what the Suzuki Swift Sport
would be when it grows up.
I got the chance to drive the 3.2L quattro version of the
previous model in Ingolstadt, for about 120km, some
years ago. That car felt somewhat detached as it
demonstrated awesome grip (the route included some
snowbank-lined winding sections) as well as a big-car feel
on the Autobahn. The cabin felt claustrophobic for that
sort of hard driving, and I remember wondering at the end
of the session: “Did I really do all those naughty
stuff?” It was quite a whiteknuckle session, especially for
my passenger, but, somehow, my memory of the car itself
is not as warm as those for a few others. I still feel that I
was driven rather than me driving the car. This new
model, even in 2.0T form, is a lot more engaging. And
unlike the previous model, which invariably underwent
some form of upgrading or other, to give it some
semblance of ‘performance’, this version is, as far as I am
concerned, perfect the way it is. It moves off smartly, gets
to speed convincingly, has impressive flexibility, and is
capable of sustained high speeds, and yet is civil, well
behaved, well balanced, and feels matured, and so right.
It has been a long time since I aspired for a car. The Audi
TT 2.0T got me all itchified again. I can see myself trying
to regain my youth with it, and also grow old with it. This is
going to be a collector’s item. mel
