My 2005 Audi TT quattro Sport

[RenesisEvo]

Audi TT - Black by PGDesigns.co.uk, on Flickr

I acquired a Audi TT quattro Sport [240] back in April, but for various tedious reasons only now have I got around to sharing it with you. I have provided some blurb about my car history, which is more a journey whose next destination was the TT, and then more waffle about the car itself. Thanks for your interest!

How & Why:
First, a brief car history (see my profile for more). I passed my test aged 20, and a few months later entered the world of motoring by exchanging £270 for the keys to a 1.6 Ford Sierra, which was equally brilliant and hopeless. I survived my first year largely intact, but soon after I had an altercation with a Ford Ka. Despite being repaired, I fell out of love with the car, and not needing it at uni, I sold it to my brother-in-law, who later broke it for parts, and finally scrapped the shell in 2010.



After a gap without a car, a Nissan Almera became mine mid-2008 when I needed to commute. Surprisingly fun to chuck about, it provided good service as I graduated into the world of work. Only increasingly-noisy protests from the clutch release bearing made me seek a replacement. A poor student for some time, suddenly having disposable income meant a splurge was inevitable. So in the fall of 2009, the Almera went in part-exchange for a nearly-new 1.6TDCi Focus on finance (a dirty word to some I know).




It was superb – and yet totally unlovable. It did everything I ever needed of it, but no amount of polishing and waxing and hooning (yes, you can enjoy driving a diesel) made it more exciting to own. It was just so frightfully dull. Knowing one day I might have no choice but to drive a practical, economical hatchback, I decided the time was right for something interesting. Something fun. Something to look forward to driving. Something that makes you look again when you walk away from it. And smile.

Having cleared the finance a year early, the search began in earnest. After three cars chosen by my head, this car had to satisfy my heart. I craved a bit of exclusivity – think Alpina, not M-car. I set out criteria of a big, naturally-aspirated petrol engine, rear or four-wheel drive, suitable for long motorway journeys, but not allergic to small runs across town, and that could live outside all year as I had no garage for it. The forums of PH were endlessly scoured for information and potential purchases. 6 months passed, and after several viewings and test drives, I was no closer to finding the one. Nothing had got under my skin, creating that intangible desire.

In the end those best laid plans went out of the window when I spotted the Audi in a local used-car dealership I just happened to be walking past. I was surprised when I took a closer look and discovered it was a quattro Sport. It looked great to my eyes, so I enquired about it. All seemed well, so a test drive was demanded. Come back in two hours said the dealer. Much intense research was done whilst I impatiently waited. On paper it looked good, but then so had all the others...

...so came the test drive. Just getting into it made me smile. Sitting low and far back, peering out the little windscreen, even pottering about slowly it felt special. Burying the throttle, launching the car up the road, it really made me smile. Even after trying a another Subaru Legacy 3.0R the next day, I still couldn’t stop thinking about it. After two and a half hassle-free years, I did worry I’d miss the Focus. But clearly this was the car I had been looking for. Two weeks later it was mine. And truth be told, I don’t miss the Focus one bit.

The Car:
With only 800 sold in the UK (there are more Aston Martin DB9s), the quattro Sport (qS) occupies a perch above the rest of the Mk1 TT range. The qS is quite a different beast to a regular TT, with wide-ranging changes to engine, gearbox, suspension, interior, and more. I’m not going to foolishly state the qS is outstanding dynamically, but in these hands it feels far from awful – I certainly can’t see how it warrants the criticism levelled at the lesser TTs on this forum and elsewhere. Perhaps more mini-GT in feel than sportscar, it's not a light car and it feels it. The steering is quick but can be a touch numb, it's not always easy to precisely place the car but the you can find and adjust the balance in corners, although forget understeer and oversteer unless you are being a tool, there's just so much grip. Instead, focus on carving through the corner and getting the power down early. Covering large distances in this car is as equal a pleasure as blatting down winding roads one early morn. 240bhp and nearly as many torques across a broad range means more than adequate response is available in all gears, provided you are above 3000rpm. Or just use the torque to potter about and return more than acceptable mpg. Traction is excellent as one might imagine; the brakes nicely progressive and not over-servo'd, but sometimes a hard stop reveals the weight of the car.

The eye-catching bucket seats are lacking in my example – realistically, they would have been great for about ten minutes, so I was happy to go without. Or so I'm telling myself. The leather/suede sports seats have proven sufficiently supportive , and this is easily the most comfortable car I’ve had. The interior is starting to date a bit – this is no surprise given the TT concept dates from 1995, a full ten years before mine was built. It’s still a lovely place to sit – a single theme so superbly executed in so many little details. The list of toys is not lengthy, but I am left wanting for little – the interior mirror is pants; a rear wiper would be great, but that would ruin those design-icon curves. How this car manages (to these eyes) to look both sexy and aggressive, I’ll never know. What I can say is that the car still turns heads.

Ownership
After I bought the car, it quickly developed a few faults – the N75 boost control valve failed, shortly followed by a coilpack. Both common issues and both mercifully sorted under warranty. Those issues did knock my confidence in the car a lot – having initially promised myself a simple N/A lump, I now fret that buying into the complexity of a high-output turbo 4-pot was a mistake. Time will tell. A subsequent thorough service by excellent VAG specialists Road and Sports Developments, careful warming up/down, and a diet of super-unleaded should hopefully prolong the life of the oily bits.

What next? Having been adorned with the calling cards of the superb TT Owner’s Club, a PH sticker is overdue. I can’t decide on a subtle window sticker, or a black one on the bumper. The wheels are crying out for a refurb, but that will wait until winter is through. Thoughts of going on track are mitigated by thoughts of tyre cost and fears of my own incompetence making a mess of those expensive curves. Modifications aren’t really my thing, but I’m not averse to tinkering. The car has been on display at a TTOC event, and will shortly make it’s Sunday Service debut. Phil of PGDesigns did a fantastic photoshoot of the car, the results of which can be seen below.

I do dream of a two-car stable, as my needs and desires are at the opposite ends of the spectrum (light/agile/fast vs. comfortable/practical/reliable) and it's hard to conceive of any affordable car that can satisfy all criteria. Until the day I can make that a reality, I shall enjoy the TT doing a superb job of balancing everyday usability, palatable running costs and enjoyable performance. I may not always smile when I get in, but I always do when I get out.



Audi TT - Black by PGDesigns.co.uk, on Flickr


Audi TT - Black by PGDesigns.co.uk, on Flickr


Audi TT - Black by PGDesigns.co.uk, on Flickr


Audi TT - Black by PGDesigns.co.uk, on Flickr

Edited by RenesisEvo on Thursday 1st November 21:41

[JayTee94]

Great write-up. Thanks for the in depth view and a bit of history that led you to the Audi. I was never a big fan of this shape TT, but it does look smart enough with the additions that the Quattro Sport adds. I would opt for a subtle window sticker if you are wanting a PH sticker.

Enjoy!