2015 Audi TT Ultra and Sport (Mk3) | Review

After the TT S here's the PH rundown on the TT models that most people are going to buy

Thrashing the new 310hp TT S around the Ascari circuit might have revealed a lot about Audi's newest £40,000 sports car on the limit, but the reality is that most UK TTs will be the - whisper it - £29,000 diesel and the almost identically priced 230hp 2.0 TFSI petrol. Are these front-drivers ready to set the PH world on fire?

We'll start with the diesel. Because even though Audi call it the TT Ultra at every opportunity, it's definitely 'just' a TT TDI.

Unsurprisingly for a new diesel engine, the official consumption numbers are impressive. How about a combined fuel economy of 67.9mpg in conjunction with 184hp, a top speed of 150mph and 0-62 time of 7.1 seconds? Serious performance given the CO2 figure of just 110g/km - it could be an interesting green option for your next company car, couldn't it?

Walking towards such an overtly sporty little coupe with the background soundtrack of a Golf TDI clearly audible, it's hard not to have some mixed feelings. Don't worry about it too much though because as soon as you're sitting in the wonderful new cockpit you won't be too bothered about what other people are listening to. Inside, it's a great sounding diesel. Plenty of tone, a little warble near the top end and lots of shove in the sweet spot of the turbo's power band.

Peak torque is 280lb ft, albeit delivered in a typically brief diesel fashion. By comparison, the base petrol is now up to 230hp but only 272lb ft. Though the petrol keeps that torque going to over 4,000rpm, with power not tailing off until over 6,000rpm. Neither of them are slow. And the petrol 230hp does sound almost as good as the TT S too.

Both of these versions are noticeably more fun to handle in the corners than previous iterations of the TT too. Though the stiffer-feeling damping might annoy over poorly surfaced roads, it does help both cars deliver a lot more feedback when pushing into a corner. The tighter rear end really changes the sensations at the wheel - lifting off on turn-in will genuinely get the nose pointing towards the apex, even in the 35kg heavier diesel car.

Yes, at corner exit there's still a lot of that word that starts with a 'U' and ends in 'steer,' but what can you expect with this much torque heading through the front wheels alone? The active braking reigns in any excess wheelspin on heavy-footed corner exits, though the steering wheel will still fight when the power comes in, even in a straight line. That torque steer is especially pronounced in the petrol version, though it's not enough to upset the dedicated hooligan.

Oddly both of these front-wheel drive models are restricted to a manual 'box. If you want to do away with the clutch pedal and enjoy burping through town with the DSG (or S Tronic in Audi parlance) then you have to spend nearly £3,000 more on a petrol Quattro. No S Tronic and no Quattro for the diesels, sorry.

Not that it matters, as both have easy gearshifts. Though neither are the paradigm of sporting gear changes, they're actually quite hard to fault.

While it's tempting to draw comparisons to more hardcore coupes like the 200hp BBR MX-5 we tested last month, or a similarly priced Renaultsport Megane 265, that's really missing the point of the TT. It's not a real sports car when measured by those demanding standards. It's more like a luxurious and fantastically equipped mini GT. Many current TT owners would label what we call feedback and sportiness as noise and vibration.

The diesel in particular could serve as a really sexy mile muncher, and if you do have to drive 20 to 30 thousand miles in a year, then either TT would be a great place to sit while you're doing it. Accepting the limitations of any possible sports car pretensions (there are plenty of hatchbacks and saloons which handle so much better than these coupes), we'd actually forego the 230hp petrol car and just save money on the diesel. PistonHeads: where CO2, fuel economy and a nice nav system matters - oops! Normal service will resume shortly.

SPECIFICATION | 2015 AUDI TT SPORT (Mk3)
Engine: 1,984cc 4-cyl, turbocharged
Transmission: 6-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 230@4,500-6,200rpm
Torque (lb ft): 272@1,600-4,300rpm
0-62mph: 6.0 sec (claimed)
Top speed: 155mph (limited)
Kerbweight: 1,305kg (EU)
MPG: 47.9mpg (claimed)
CO2: 137g/km
Price: £29,860

SPECIFICATION | 2015 AUDI TT TDI (Mk3)
Engine: 1,968cc 4-cyl, turbocharged diesel
Transmission: 6-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 184@3,500-4,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 280@1,750-3,250rpm
0-62mph: 7.1 sec (claimed)
Top speed: 150mph (limited)
Kerbweight: 1,335kg (EU)
MPG: 67.3mpg (claimed)
CO2: 110g/km
Price: £29,770