Driving Impressions

Audi has already established the TT performance envelope with its low ride height, low center of gravity, short wheelbase, narrow track, and turbocharged engines. This little lightweight is intended for those who like their drives, whether to work or to Wonderland, with a little Tabasco and a lot of style. If you're the type who enjoys driving at 11/10ths every once in a while to keep your edge, and can't afford a car from Audi's Lamborghini subsidiary, the TT is your kind of car. The new top-of-the-line Audi TT 3.2 features an innovative narrow-angle V6, provided by Volkswagen. The angle between the cylinder banks, usually something between 60 and 90 degrees for a V6 engine, is only 15 degrees, so it's no wider than a four-cylinder turbo, but it's shorter so it will fit in the TT's small engine compartment. The V6 is rated at 250 horsepower at 6300 rpm, with 235 foot-pounds of peak torque available between 2800 and 3200 rpm, and in this chassis it feels like more, because you can use more of it more of the time. The payoff here is the utterly smooth and effortless delivery of power and torque on demand when compared to either of the 1.8 T versions, which you have to rev higher and whip harder to get this kind of serious acceleration. With the new V6, you just pick a gear and mash the pedal, and the extra two cylinders and 1.4 liters of displacement go right to work. Audi says the 3.2 version will go from 0-60 mph in 6.4 seconds, and we believe every inch of that. With quattro all-wheel-drive and all of the other electronic driving and traction aids in place on such a small, short, narrow, and relatively light (3275 pounds) front-engine car, the faster you go, the more rewarding the driving experience gets. The steering is reasonably heavy to the touch, which we like and prefer to the flighty-lighty steering on most cars, and the car turns in with authority. The 3.2 V6 version is only about 125 pounds heavier than either of the four-cylinder models, and all of that extra weight is over the front tires, which tends to slow its reactions down some. The ride is a bit choppy on rough pavement, but quite good on smooth roads. At high speeds in tight corners the V6 version feels like flying a P-51 Mustang fighter, with always enough power and agility to get out of a bad situation. The brakes both front and rear are the largest currently available on a street car, four 17-inch discs with ABS, so the little TT V6 stops like a race car. This is part of what you get you buy a premium-priced sports car such as this one. The TT 3.2 also comes with an innovative new transmission called an automatic direct shift gearbox, which is a manual transmission with six forward speeds, two separate gear shafts, and two different clutches, one for first, third, fifth and reverse, and one for second, fourth and sixth gears. The DSG, as Audi calls it, straddles the technical aspects and performance of a full manual transmission with the clutchless convenience of an automatic. In the manual mode, you shift using either the shifter or buttons on the steering wheel. Move the lever and the electronics take over, declutching the clutch, shifting the gear up or down, and re-engaging the clutch with no drama, no noise, no lurching, no nothing, just a clean, crisp, quick shift, up or down. The internal computer won't let you do anything silly, like shift down from to sixth to second. If you want to treat it like an automatic, you just put the gear selector lever in Drive, and it will act like the six-speed Tiptronic automatic that other customers may find more familiar and less daunting. It's just more fun to use than the Tiptronic transmission that's available. The high-performance 1.8 T offers a full 25 percent more power than the standard 1.8 T, bumping the output to 225 horsepower, and 207 foot-pounds of torque. It's the best balance of performance and fuel economy, giving the driver the o

Final Word

The Audi TT is a terrific sports car with sharp handling and a refined feeling throughout. The downsides both have to do with size, the small size of the cockpit and the even smaller size of the trunk. But if your driving and/or commuting styles match up to this car, you will find it a very rewarding piece of equipment that still catches the eye of the beholder. The TT comes with four years of free scheduled maintenance and four years of 24-hour-a-day roadside assistance. The engine power and torque of the 3.2-liter V6 engine in the new model makes this one the new leader, and will save the owner hundreds of downshifts over the life of the car when compared to the slightly less powerful and peakier 225 horsepower turbo four, which we have always regarded as a superior package. If you just want to bomb around with the top down in a warm climate, save the money and get the base 1.8 T engine with the 6-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission.