REVIEW: Smells like TT-een spirit

Some have since bemoaned this original approach as cynical and after I witnessed an early TT spin off a country lane and into a field shortly after their 1998 launch, it was even decried as unsafe by some — requiring aerodynamic modification to restore customer confidence.

How times have changed.

The TT’s that followed were more than just restyled hatchbacks and, having cemented itself as one of Audi’s best-loved creations, it has now earned its place as a showcase for the German automotive giant’s latest technology.

Priced from £29,770 to £35,335 from launch — the Roadster and more powerful TTS versions are also now available — the TT Coupe comes in Sport or S-line trim levels with a 227bhp TSI turbocharged four-cylinder engine or a 181bhp TDI four-pot turbodiesel.

Customers can also choose between manual or Audi’s dual-clutch automatic gearbox and the option of quattro four-wheel-drive in the petrol-powered version.

I drove the TT Coupe TFSI quattro S line S tronic, which comes in at a basic price of £34,545.

Among a smattering of options was the £1,795 Technology Package, which adds advanced sat-nav which can access Google Streetview, provide live traffic updates and rank the nearest filling stations in price order while providing access to on-line music streaming, news, Facebook and Twitter.

Equally useful were the optional £945 Matrix LED headlights which dim an area around oncoming traffic to maintain high-beam almost all of the time.

Audi’s new TT might boast a new chassis, new technology and shed around 50kg but to many it will remain an fashion statement for the streets.

Those who liked the second-gen TT should not object to the new version.

Its panels have been sharpened, headlights narrowed to a more focussed squint and that familiar crease which extends from the bonnet and over the front wheelarch to define a high-shoulderline now scythes its way sharply through stamp-pressed aluminium.

To my eyes the TT is now a more masculine car, but it’s no leap forward in styling terms.

Inside, the cabin moves the game on considerably.

Dispensing with the now commonplace dash-integrated or pop-up display, the TT puts all its information in front of the driver’s eyes via a 12.3 inch TFT screen.

The display can be changed to prioritise a speedometer and rev counter, stereo display or — at its most impressive — a full-colour sat-nav display.

Sharp in contrast, vibrant and fantastic to look at, the system works really well.

It does largely remove your passengers’ ability to scroll through radio stations or navigation as you drive, though.

Elsewhere, the cabin is very much clutter-free, with air conditioning controls neatly located in the centre of three out of five vents which assume prominence in an interior otherwise defined by high quality soft touch surfaces and aluminium detailing. 

On the go, the cabin is also impressive in its refinement, although overlaid by a slightly rorty timbre of the twin exhausts.

As mild-mannered and smooth riding as most mainstream hatchbacks in the Audi drive select systems’ Comfort mode, it proves itself adept as a daily driver, with an accommodating driving position, space for two small ones on the back and a 305-litre boot.

The Volkswagen Group’s turbocharged, two-litre four pot and S tronic gearbox team up in impressive fashion and there’s muscular pace when needed, thanks to 273lb.ft. of torque summoned from 1,600rpm.

Switch to Eco mode and the gearbox will decouple to save fuel by coasting, the quattro system can operate in two-wheel-drive, start/stop system is activated and air con adjusted to its least energy-sapping. The result? Claims of 44.1mpg and 149g/km CO2 emissions.

In Dynamic the TT surprises with its pace. The soundtrack is not the most complex or sonorous but progress is rapid. Audi claims 5.3 seconds to 62mph and a 155mph top speed.

Pressing-on, the TT feels largely rear-wheel-drive, with a surprising level of adjustability on tap and an ability to drive through and out of a corner effectively in a state of modest oversteer.

So there’s poise, but never less than absolute traction.

There’s a real-sense of tied-down security which fans of the dynamic standard setter, Porsche’s breathtaking Cayman, may not appreciate, but there is scope to play.

What the new TT exhibits in spades is quality in every function, from the way it finely balances its roles as a daily driver and sports car, to the futuristic functionality and style of its breakthrough interior.

Feeling less hardcore but vastly more premium than the (admittedly slightly cheaper) Peugeot RCZ R and Toyota GT86, while offering better outright pace, it feels like an unbeatable formula.

But the rear-wheel-drive Cayman and BMW’s more powerful derivatives of 2-Series can still deliver more dynamically.

As an all round star of the class, though, the TT remains top of the tree in its teens.