More stylised, more purposeful, definitely no hairdresser’s car

The year was 1999, yet I remember it as if it was yesterday, walking into my local Audi dealership and waiting for a surprise that my dad had arranged. A man appeared, I can’t remember his name though, anyway, he told me to follow him. We went round the back, through the workshop and there it was. A silver Audi TT coupe, glistening in the sun. “Want to go for a drive?” the man asked. “Yes please,” I replied. We got into the car, I was so excited. I dare not touch anything I thought. We drove off and I will never forget that first feeling of a turbocharger kicking in. Before I knew it the man looked at me and said, “That’s 180 kilometres per hour.”

We got back to the dealership; my short drive was over. Ever since that day I have had this unexplainable attraction to the Audi TT. Now, 16 years later, I find myself behind the wheel of the third-generation Audi TT and let’s get one thing clear right away, this ain’t no hairdresser’s car!

This new model has big shoes to fill as the previous model was rather successful. In order to do that, Audi needed to up the game a bit more. The look is unmistakably TT yet does differ from the previous generation in some regards. The materials inside are nicer, smoother, more TT-ish. Power and drive might be important to some buyers but let’s face it, the looks are going to sell more of these than anything else. It looks like a TT, albeit a more grown-up one. The previous generation was a decent evolution of the original’s curvy design but this one really does look like a car that belongs in this decade. It’s more pointy and angry-looking, as if someone in the Audi design team heard someone say that the TT is a hairdresser’s car. They decided to rectify that problem and in doing so have made this new TT more stylised, more purposeful, and it really works. Well, for me at least.

The interior is superslick as well. The climate control is built into the air vents which are smart and the clean look really suits the car. This feels like an interior that moves ergonomics on a bit. However, the vents are not the real party piece, that belongs to the speedometer and rev-counter set up. It’s something special, you see, all the information that you could possibly want is within the driver’s instrument binnacle. Audi calls it the virtual cockpit, so if you want a traditional speedometer set-up you can have it, if you want a giant Satnav map instead, you can have that too. How about the trip computer and car set-up menu? That’s there as well. Even the infotainment options are all displayed on the screen right in front of you.

This is actually a very clever feature. Sure, it might take some getting used to but once you get the hang of it (which could take a while) the benefits are rather substantial. The tech is impressive; it puts you in utmost control without having to take your eyes off of the road, and because everything can get controlled via the steering wheel, your hands will be in the right place as well. The first generation TT came under fire due to its lack of a sporty and engaging drive. The second generation improved on that issue and I was reassured of this after I spent some time in the TT-RS. However, this new one needs to go as well as, if not better than it looks. Well, it does. This new car is based on the MQB platform like many other models from the stable.

This platform is brilliant to say the least and proof of that is that the cars that are based on it keep winning awards. The steering is decently weighted, it doesn’t seem to suffer from that old Audi foible of being a bit dead. Audi will be offering two derivatives of the TT, a quattro model (R642 000) and a front-wheel drive model (R558 000). Both cars are fitted with the same 2.0-litre turbocharged engine which delivers 169kW and 370Nm of torque. The quattro will get you to 100km/h in around 5.3 seconds whereas the FWD version will take slightly longer at 5.9 seconds. Audi do have plans to introduce the TTS, a sportier and more powerful version towards the middle of this year. They might also introduce a 1.8-litre turbo model as well as a TDI model at a later stage. Unfortunately, no roadster versions will come our way.

This new TT feels every bit the sports car that Audi says it is. I think it looks good and it sure does drive well. The quattro all-wheel drive system gives that extra grip and a level of security to the driver. The front-wheel drive version is probably the biggest surprise really, you see, the TT is so well balanced that you can’t really feel which is which.

Photos: www.quickpicco.za