RE: Audi TT S: Review

Tuesday 9th September 2014

2015 Audi TT S (Mk3) | Review

Audi's all-new third-gen TT - content as well as style this time round? PH gets behind the wheel



The fact that we're sat on a world-class racetrack, ready to test the totally new Audi TT S says a lot about the new car's ambitions. Throughout the TT's long history it's been continually labelled as both understeery and soft. A low-roofed Golf for purveyors of fine coiffures, some would have you believe.

While it's true we might have laughed at the little TT's dynamics, it was Audi who were laughing all the way to the bank as it outsold its competitors by two to one in some markets. They're on a sales high right now.

So imagine the cynically cocked eyebrows in a room full of journos as Doktor Ulrich Hackenberg, Audi's member of the board in charge of technical development, describes the new Mk3 as "sportier". In his native tongue the word "oversteer" escapes, alongside a wry grin. Strong words indeed for a car with such mass appeal.


Our test cars are specced to the hilt - very yellow TT S models equipped with the latest six-speed S Tronic double-clutch gearbox.

There's now 310hp from the tweaked 2.0-litre TFSI engine, and a mostly new chassis. While overall length remains similar to the last model at 4.18m, the wheelbase has actually increased by 37mm. Width and height are also the same as before. The resulting short overhangs give the new model some extra visual aggression, but little else.

Inside the changes are a little more dramatic, with a wonderfully driver-focused cockpit. Passengers might whinge about not being able to see the beautifully crisp Huracan-styleTFT display, but who is this car for - drivers or passengers?


Access to the vast array of multimedia content and vehicle controls is relatively simple for anybody who can drive a regular desktop computer. Selecting menu items with a 'left' click and drilling into the options with a 'right' click means it's easy enough to start messing with the many different driving modes. Do you want to know more about the modes?

All new TTs, from Sport, through S Line and up to these TT S machines, benefit from the Adaptive Driving System. Standard fit to the TT S are the 'magnetic ride' adjustable dampers. So combined with throttle pedal mapping, adjusted front/rear torque bias, programmable electronic steering assistance, shift-speed changes and some overly dramatic engine noises, this allows you to trim the TT S between five very different modes.

Efficient is surprisingly efficient, Comfort is almost passably comfortable, Auto will hover around the middle ground and Dynamic turns everything to maximum. Last is Individual, which you can tune yourself. You can even mess with the 'coasting' function of the gearbox and the auto stop-start. But we've digressed...


The glorious backdrop of the Ascari Race Resort has done little to curb our enthusiasm. The format is simple, albeit strictly managed. Each journalist shall enjoy five laps in 'their' canary yellow Audi TT S. It's not a full five kilometre lap of Ascari though, only a shorter four kilometre sprint from pitlane to pitlane.

The first two runs are in lead-follow fashion with all nannies turned on and the car in 'normal' mode.

The next three laps are a clear run, effectively three 4km sprints with no lead car. From Efficient, through Comfort and finally a lap in Dynamic. Understeer is more than apparent. It's the one consistent factor in every corner. Mostly the slower-speed hairpins and 90-degree turns. The steering lacks feedback. And that's neither surprising, nor upsetting.

Because while there's little denying the suspension is firmer, especially on the beautiful road from Ronda down to the coast, it's clear that Audi isn't willing to mess with such a winning formula. The massive handfuls of understeer might make for a frustrating track day experience, but it's still pointier than the old model. Honestly.


The speeds at which the TT S defaults to ploughing on are pretty high. There's no violence, no sudden, nasty, snap back into oversteer. The little Audi just pushes for the outside, no matter how much you yank at the wheel or lift from the gas. Utterly retarded Scandi-flicks won't unseat this little grip monster, despite the obviously stiffer rear end over the standard TT.

It's still pointy enough at street legal-ish speeds, up to the limits of adhesion. And concrete-booted throttle mashers will rejoice at the Audi's ability to stomp all over mini roundabout exits with the permanent and slightly quicker-to-react Quattro drivetrain.

The power, the mid-range torque as that turbo spools, you'll want to be pushing the noisy pedal a lot. A fantastic sound fills the cockpit, so off-beat and warbling that you might just be popping the bonnet to look for a fifth spark plug. Bypass valves in the exhaust mean the rest of the world get to share your racket too, especially those noisy 'burps' on flat-out upshifts.

It's easy to applaud the decision to let us loose on the Ascari circuit, but the most important driving experience of the two days is actually the thrash from the circuit back to the hotel. Furious clicks of the paddle shifters, big boots of throttle and a yellow blur ploughing into hairpins in a fashion that would make a Cayman pilot wet his pants. And where the sharp (but not grabby) brakes faded on track, they seem to love a good workout on the road.

This is really where the TT S hits its stride. Audi didn't risk anything creating the new TT, despite the 'sporty' talk. And thousands of lucky buyers will definitely agree with the results. It's a really good car, despite the understeer. It makes you want to push, it flatters mediocre abilities and it's unlikely to punish idiots. Even on racetracks. We tried...


 Audi TT S Coupe (Mk3) Specification
 Engine 1,984cc 4-cyl, turbocharged
 Transmission 6-speed double-clutch automatic, four-wheel drive
 Power (hp) 310@5,800-6,200rpm
 Torque (lb ft) 280@1,800-5,700rpm
 0-62mph 4.9 sec
 Top speed 155mph (limited)
 Weight 1,460kg (EU)
 MPG 39.2mpg (claimed)
 CO2 166g/km
 Price £38,900
Author
Discussion

strummerville

Original Poster:

1,014 posts

126 months

Tuesday 9th September 2014
quotequote all
A fair review - let's face it, 95% of the TT's target customers are never going near a racetrack or want a twitchy, pointy B road weapon. It's all about style and about town 'showing off' - hence the exhaust mods!

Audi will still shift loads of them and car enthusiasts will keep the hairdresser tag going. Plus ca change.

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Tuesday 9th September 2014
quotequote all
Sounds like it still does what it's always done and will presumably continue to sell as well as it always has. smile

soad

32,829 posts

175 months

Tuesday 9th September 2014
quotequote all
A nice place to sit in.

Lost soul

8,712 posts

181 months

Tuesday 9th September 2014
quotequote all
sounds like a great little car smile

mrclav

1,281 posts

222 months

Tuesday 9th September 2014
quotequote all
I think this is a great car for the market it's aimed at. Personally I've never understood the whole "hairdresser" concept/accuusation levelled at TTs - why is an MX-5 seen as a great "drivers" car when they are regularly driven by hairdressers for example?

jakesmith

9,461 posts

170 months

Tuesday 9th September 2014
quotequote all
Looks like a nice motor. Maybe not for the purists but a big improvement over before. 95%+ of owners won't know or care what under-steer is.

cerb4.5lee

30,189 posts

179 months

Tuesday 9th September 2014
quotequote all
It looks to be more of the same then with a little added performance and a swanky modern cockpit, my mrs has had her 2012 TTS from new and has covered just over 62k miles in it and she loves it and you do learn to just get used to the understeer and just accept it for what it is.

Its made a pretty unlikely mile muncher for her and this new model certainly looks tempting too.

britsportscars

281 posts

177 months

Tuesday 9th September 2014
quotequote all
Doubt many that own or covet these will know what understeer is

Alfa159Ti

827 posts

156 months

Tuesday 9th September 2014
quotequote all
I was in the market for a fun daily driver last year and a used TTS was top of my list. When I drove one however I found it a dull and sterile thing.

Would be interested to drive this new one, but sounds like more of the same, albeit with a little more character.



anonymous-user

53 months

Tuesday 9th September 2014
quotequote all
So underneath the usual motoring journalist "new is better" hyperbole it drives pretty much exactly as you'd expect and is in no way a meaningful departure from the last two?

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Tuesday 9th September 2014
quotequote all
dme123 said:
So underneath the usual motoring journalist "new is better" hyperbole it drives pretty much exactly as you'd expect and is in no way a meaningful departure from the last two?
Couldn't you sum up almost every model refresh in that way? "It's the same as the old one but a bit better" would get boring after the first 5000 reviews that said it. smile

PorkRind

3,053 posts

204 months

Tuesday 9th September 2014
quotequote all
Great, but who wants understeer? As a 8J tts owner who's a bit disgruntled he bought a tts, I reckon this will be fine for the girls, a typical Audi fashion accessory with the questionable haldex system. For the keener driver I wish i'd gone Cayman or Z4M coupe.

scherzkeks

4,460 posts

133 months

Tuesday 9th September 2014
quotequote all
"Forget the racetrack"

Why? It's the best place to remind yourself that you've bought one of the most rapid and flattering driving machines in its class. Looking forward to comparos with lap times (and objectivity).

SuperchargedVR6

3,138 posts

219 months

Tuesday 9th September 2014
quotequote all
As with nearly all VAGs, I find their engines more interesting than the cars they are in.

280lbft @ 1800rpm from a 2.0 petrol turbo is impressive, but unlike a diesel, it holds it to nearly 6000rpm. So the point of diesel again, is, erm?


cerb4.5lee

30,189 posts

179 months

Tuesday 9th September 2014
quotequote all
PorkRind said:
Great, but who wants understeer? As a 8J tts owner who's a bit disgruntled he bought a tts, I reckon this will be fine for the girls, a typical Audi fashion accessory with the questionable haldex system. For the keener driver I wish i'd gone Cayman or Z4M coupe.
As said in my previous post my mrs loves hers and I think they are more aimed at women(no offense)and I had a Z4M(apologies it was the roadster but I had never had a soft top before and wont again it lasted only 5 months and should have got the Coupe) at the same time and the Zed was a far more involving and rewarding car to drive and had a more raw feel about it and I recommend you having a blast out in one to see what you think.

The Cayman is pretty much rated by everyone so I wouldn't think you could go wrong with that either.

HeMightBeBanned

617 posts

177 months

Tuesday 9th September 2014
quotequote all
What's so bad about Haldex?

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Tuesday 9th September 2014
quotequote all
HeMightBeBanned said:
What's so bad about Haldex?
Mechanically, the biggest problem in cars like this seems to be that it results in putting the engine in front of the front axle.

smaybury

87 posts

148 months

Tuesday 9th September 2014
quotequote all
It may be sacrilege to some, but a lot of people want a fast coupe that clings on in all weather conditions and with spare traction to burn.

My old TT was a frustrating drive sometimes, but some suspension/ARB mods made it pointier, and it was more than quick enough about town, and I took it to the Lakes in the snow and it was quite happy. I'd never get another, because I'd instantly be thinking 'hmm... maybe some fatter rear ARBs would sort this out'. I guess the adage about buying the car you actually want (as opposed to trying to turn a car into the one you want) rings true.

Lost soul

8,712 posts

181 months

Tuesday 9th September 2014
quotequote all
britsportscars said:
Doubt many that own or covet these will know what understeer is
Who cares , not all of us are a driving god like you rolleyes


PorkRind

3,053 posts

204 months

Tuesday 9th September 2014
quotequote all
cerb4.5lee said:
As said in my previous post my mrs loves hers and I think they are more aimed at women(no offense)and I had a Z4M(apologies it was the roadster but I had never had a soft top before and wont again it lasted only 5 months and should have got the Coupe) at the same time and the Zed was a far more involving and rewarding car to drive and had a more raw feel about it and I recommend you having a blast out in one to see what you think.

The Cayman is pretty much rated by everyone so I wouldn't think you could go wrong with that either.
Yes, i think thats the plan - maybe over winter when the prices of the softtops come down slightly - winter tires and instapant changer might also be required.

HeMightBeBanned said:
What's so bad about Haldex?
Who wants the benefits from a full time 4wd system, especially in a sporty application like this: most, except for the chicks I guess.