RE: Audi TT RS: Review

[cerb4.5lee]

356Speedster said:

From what you've said, there's certainly been a step change between the two generations then.... no such concerns with the Mk3, the front end grip is strong. The 4WD is very "quiet", it does it's thing unobtrusively, only a couple of times under extreme provokation when hussling in "Dynamic" have I felt it moving the power. Certainly I'd never have classed one as sporty, but the test drive immediately put it above Golf R, Focus ST and the S3. I doubt wifey will let me try it on track tho'

That's positive to hear and I really liked the cars size and it didn't feel too heavy either, the reviews of the new one have been very complementary as well.

Have fun in it.

[J4CKO]

unpc said:

SuperchargedVR6 said:

It's certainly an improvement on the MK1 TT interior, in my opinion. Round dials are pretty old school now. People want 'smart' everything these days and it wouldn't be very smart of Audi to ignore what their customers want.

Whilst I agree that the best feature on the new TT is the virtual cockpit I also agree with the other poster that this stuff dates quicker than yesterday's news. Nothing dates faster than technology. Just look at a mobile phone screen from 5 years ago compared to the latest Super AMOLED stuff.

Not sure what will date that badly, resolution looks fine, would need higher res eyes installing to tell much difference, they keep increasing the pixel density of Iphone/Ipad screens but I havent seen a pixel since the Ipad 2, even on my old banger the screen is sufficiently high resolution and sharp enough not to look too dated and still fulfils its job, this is still cutting edge, the new iphone doesnt look any different to the 2 year old one really, they have hit a point where there are no more huge improvements, and to be honest what a screen looks like in five years isnt the first owners massive concern, Smiths dials still look good.

[rtz62]

I actually wonder how many PHers are actually committed drivers?
By that I mean how many would own up to driving other than fast along straights and braking in plenty of time to negotiate a corner rather than either trail-braking or giving a good dab of oppo to scoot around aforementioned curve.
Granted, on a track a TTRS may possibly be found wanting compared to a rwd competitor, but the real truth is that most of us plough motorways or A roads on our commute, to which this would be suited.
My school run is a great 7 mile back roads blast, but even then I wouldn't perform heroics or opposite lock around any bends, as I may meet another 'me' travelling in the opposite direction doing just the same thing; messy.
I can't say I am a customer for either the TT, a Boxster / Cayman or an M2 so mine are purely observations...

[hufggfg]

rtz62 said:

I actually wonder how many PHers are actually committed drivers?
By that I mean how many would own up to driving other than fast along straights and braking in plenty of time to negotiate a corner rather than either trail-braking or giving a good dab of oppo to scoot around aforementioned curve.
Granted, on a track a TTRS may possibly be found wanting compared to a rwd competitor, but the real truth is that most of us plough motorways or A roads on our commute, to which this would be suited.
My school run is a great 7 mile back roads blast, but even then I wouldn't perform heroics or opposite lock around any bends, as I may meet another 'me' travelling in the opposite direction doing just the same thing; messy.
I can't say I am a customer for either the TT, a Boxster / Cayman or an M2 so mine are purely observations...

I'm repeating myself a bit from above here, but; yes I think you're entirely right about most of us not driving in a "committed" way most of the time (or any of the time for that matter), but a really good drivers car feels engaging even when you're not at the limits of grip.

With the TT, it's not (only) the difference between 4wd and rwd (or fwd) but the package of drivetrain (haldex, not that I really know much about it), and set it up.

You can have hugely engaging well balanced 4WD cars (the R8 is supposed to be, I've not driven one myself), you can have terrible RWD cars (my old 135i was dull as ditchwater), and you can have great FWD cars. It's not just about the spec sheet, but how it all works together (which is largely down to the engineers). The "problem" with the TT is that it's not designed as a "driver's" car.

[Jam12321]

J4CKO said:

Not sure what will date that badly, resolution looks fine, would need higher res eyes installing to tell much difference, they keep increasing the pixel density of Iphone/Ipad screens but I havent seen a pixel since the Ipad 2, even on my old banger the screen is sufficiently high resolution and sharp enough not to look too dated and still fulfils its job, this is still cutting edge, the new iphone doesnt look any different to the 2 year old one really, they have hit a point where there are no more huge improvements, and to be honest what a screen looks like in five years isnt the first owners massive concern, Smiths dials still look good.

The screen is just part of it, a mobile phone from several years ago is noticeably slower to use in all situations. The technology employed here is evolving continuously, in 5 years just browsing the menus will feel slow even if it is running at the same rate it is now. Just think about how quickly you get used to using fast internet..

Chances are we will soon see more apple and android based systems in new cars rather than a manufacturers car software, apps like GMaps, Itunes, spotify, youtube. The technology just moves forward.

It just guarantees that in a number of years time the car will have an irritating 'feature' thats stuck in front of you all the time. little chance of one of those becoming a classic, who's going to fix the screen in 15-20 years if that goes?

[unpc]

Jam12321 said:

The screen is just part of it, a mobile phone from several years ago is noticeably slower to use in all situations. The technology employed here is evolving continuously, in 5 years just browsing the menus will feel slow even if it is running at the same rate it is now. Just think about how quickly you get used to using fast internet..

Chances are we will soon see more apple and android based systems in new cars rather than a manufacturers car software, apps like GMaps, Itunes, spotify, youtube. The technology just moves forward.

It just guarantees that in a number of years time the car will have an irritating 'feature' thats stuck in front of you all the time. little chance of one of those becoming a classic, who's going to fix the screen in 15-20 years if that goes?

Also these operating systems will become unsupported in the future and you'll be unable to update them.

[hufggfg]

Jam12321 said:

The screen is just part of it, a mobile phone from several years ago is noticeably slower to use in all situations. The technology employed here is evolving continuously, in 5 years just browsing the menus will feel slow even if it is running at the same rate it is now. Just think about how quickly you get used to using fast internet..

Chances are we will soon see more apple and android based systems in new cars rather than a manufacturers car software, apps like GMaps, Itunes, spotify, youtube. The technology just moves forward.

It just guarantees that in a number of years time the car will have an irritating 'feature' thats stuck in front of you all the time. little chance of one of those becoming a classic, who's going to fix the screen in 15-20 years if that goes?

Think those are fair points. The other thing is that I think all those people with the attitude of "but it's a screen so software updates will keep it looking current" are actually 100% wrong. Audi know their customers well, the typical Audi customer (for new cars) is probably relatively image conscious, and likes to have the latest things (tech particularly). The chances are that Audi will purposefully not update the software as soon as there is a newer version of the car out (of course they're not going to say they're refusing to do it, but you won't see any updates), as its hugely beneficial to them to have the guy that bought a new TT 3 years ago yearning for the new one because it's got the newer screen etc that does all these new things. Even if they technically could give you that in a software update, they won't.

Edited by hufggfg on Tuesday 13th September 19:04

[Jam12321]

I think it could go either way! A guess here but i suspect few peoples first car is brand new audi? a few people i know's first audi was second hand maybe 5-10 years old because they wanted a fast one! So we might have people buy a brand new cheap car full of new tech for their first car and then go on to buy a second hand audi next with older tech..

Its just tech for techs sake and only ever looks great for the first owner or two.

[J4CKO]

Jesus, the screen is bang up to date and fulfils its purpose, the menus will be snappy enough, the resolution will be fine, humans arent evolving at the same rate as the technology, I declared earlier that I am not perhaps the worlds most descerning wheelman but I know I am not going to worry about a slightly out of date screen, like I said the one in my merc isnt exactly bang up to date but it does the job, not sure what you are expecting, if its that important, just ensure you have the latest model, one of these in five years would still be plenty good enough for me.

[Jam12321]

The point is that its in front of your face and cannot be ignored like you can in all other cars as it is integral to the 'driving experience' in a new TT. Computers do have a lifetime expectancy what happens MOT time when your screens dead and no one makes replacements?

My dad has a 1972 Ford capri that he bought from new, kept in the garage and pampered whenever it needs it. Anything on that car can be fixed if without too much hassle. Cant imagine it will be the same on the TT in 15 years time let alone 40+

Edited by Jam12321 on Tuesday 13th September 20:00

[356Speedster]

J4CKO said:

Jesus, the screen is bang up to date and fulfils its purpose, the menus will be snappy enough, the resolution will be fine, humans arent evolving at the same rate as the technology, I declared earlier that I am not perhaps the worlds most descerning wheelman but I know I am not going to worry about a slightly out of date screen, like I said the one in my merc isnt exactly bang up to date but it does the job, not sure what you are expecting, if its that important, just ensure you have the latest model, one of these in five years would still be plenty good enough for me.

Yes, the TTS Virtual Cockpit screen is bloody good. I'm not sure what the resolution is, but it's certainly right up there and the panel used is certainly good quality. Glare in direct sun isn't an issue, the graphics are very slick and everything works in an instant. I don't recall the update period specified by Audi during handover, but I do remember thinking, that it'd be a long time after we've sold it, LOL!!

The sat nav is super impressive and it even used live Google maps pics, which is very swish (and of course is updated as Google update their images). Granted I like tech and am used to updating gadgets & gizmos when they date, but the VC is so well implemented that I don't see this looking out of date any time soon at all.

[urquattroGus]

FFS.

So predictable, I have just watched 3 video reviews that all say a bit dull handling wise.

I take that with a pinch of salt, but there was just so much potential here!

[Carman2]

Point is with remap etc 500hp easy with sub 3secs.for 50k. Still want a Gayman?

[Lowtimer]

TheOversteerLever said:

Not knocking the reviewer themselves but this has to be the most predictable car review I've ever read!

possibly because the car is the most predictable car ever... or at least since the last superheated Audi.

[dunc_sx]

Carman2 said:

Point is with remap etc 500hp easy with sub 3secs.for 50k. Still want a Gayman?

Yup

[peter450]

Jam12321 said:

J4CKO said:

Not sure what will date that badly, resolution looks fine, would need higher res eyes installing to tell much difference, they keep increasing the pixel density of Iphone/Ipad screens but I havent seen a pixel since the Ipad 2, even on my old banger the screen is sufficiently high resolution and sharp enough not to look too dated and still fulfils its job, this is still cutting edge, the new iphone doesnt look any different to the 2 year old one really, they have hit a point where there are no more huge improvements, and to be honest what a screen looks like in five years isnt the first owners massive concern, Smiths dials still look good.

The screen is just part of it, a mobile phone from several years ago is noticeably slower to use in all situations. The technology employed here is evolving continuously, in 5 years just browsing the menus will feel slow even if it is running at the same rate it is now. Just think about how quickly you get used to using fast internet..

Chances are we will soon see more apple and android based systems in new cars rather than a manufacturers car software, apps like GMaps, Itunes, spotify, youtube. The technology just moves forward.

It just guarantees that in a number of years time the car will have an irritating 'feature' thats stuck in front of you all the time. little chance of one of those becoming a classic, who's going to fix the screen in 15-20 years if that goes?

You can't go wrong with a nice set of analogue dials

[redroadster]

we get to page 4 until someone points out the fantastic acceleration ,quite a rapid thing faster than an fq400 without 4000 mile servicing what a great daily driver would smoke nearly everything off the line .

[ultimateporka]

I think we can all agree that the once hairdressers TT is now seemingly attracting a wider customer Base and some could argue the cayman has also evolved. The tyrs will have plenty of buyers and although some have pointed out the cheap plastics overall it's a very nice place to be. Quite a good proposition

[J4CKO]

redroadster said:

we get to page 4 until someone points out the fantastic acceleration ,quite a rapid thing faster than an fq400 without 4000 mile servicing what a great daily driver would smoke nearly everything off the line .

Indeed, 3.7 to sixty, remember when 7.3 to sixty was pretty bloody quick ?

[EricE]

Is that Co2 emissions number accurate?
301g/km would make this more expensive than a well equipped 991S due to taxes in the country I'm in.