► Welcome to our newest long-termer
► TTS packs a punch, and looks too
► Month one with the Audi TTS
Let’s rewind 17 years. President Clinton was on a sticky wicket after a fling with a White House intern, the Good Friday peace agreement promised stability in Northern Ireland and Audi tossed a firework inside the affordable sports car camp with the dashingly handsome TT. It’s easy to forget what an impact the Bauhaus-influenced coupe made in 1998 – a harbinger of the Volkswagen group’s platform-sharing vision for making humble oily bits sizzlingly attractive.
Two generations later, the new TT has arrived and I’ve been getting to know our new S model, the sportiest available for now until the high-boost RS lands later in 2016. I’m looking forward to this test for two reasons: I’ve spent much time with the Mk1 and Mk2 and am keen to know if they’ve finally added the brio to match the beauty; and the TTS’s promise of 4.6sec 0-62mph performance sounds mouth-watering on paper, and should soften the loss of CAR’s second-hand 997, which we’ll be saying goodbye to in next month’s issue.
Packs punch, looks and a cabin to die for
Our car arrived in rather grandiose Audi TTS Coupe 2.0 TFSI Quattro 310ps S-tronic spec. We prefer the easier-on-the-lips TTS moniker. Finished in Glacier White and rolling on the largest wheels available (20-inch, 10-Y-spoke rims), it looks very fetching. Such bling footwear sits uneasily with my preference for smaller wheels but – hey – manufacturers like to spec their press vehicles to look good. And it sure does, with a lithe menace that has eluded earlier TTs, yet retaining the motifs and character that’s made this coupe such a smash hit in the intervening two decades. It’s winningly handsome and you won’t mistake it for anything else.
Swing open the chunkily wide front door and you’re faced by a cabin redder than the president’s face during that fateful one-to-one with Lewinsky. The fine Nappa leather sets the cabin off with a reassuringly expensive ambience, especially with the £100 extended leather package covering the armrests, centre console and top of the dash, but the Express Red trim would be better suited to Fireman Sam’s company vehicle. Our crimson cabin is further perked up by an optional front armrest (£175), electric seats (£995) and extra quartz silver brightwork (£250).
Let’s take a moment to consider what a fabulous interior this is: the new TT’s cockpit is, on first acquaintance, the standout feature of the car. Quality is fastidious, of course, but it’s the design – the purity of the architecture that’s always marked out the TT – that impresses most. The Mk1 wowed us with its metallicised air vents and Allen-bolted gearlever, the Mk3 continues the wow factor with a clean layout, the bare minimum of switchgear, tactile air vents with digital controls integrated into the actual vent and that digital screen dominating the instrument panel.
In case you haven’t seen it in action, we’ll be filming a video to show the TFT widescreen in action on carmagazine.co.uk. This is the only display in town and its party trick is to flip back and forth between regular dials, radio, comms and – most strikingly – full-width nav. ‘Epic,’ as my eight-year-old said when the map seemingly burst across half the dashboard in a riot of high-def colour.
The omens are encouraging for a long and happy relationship, for the new TTS is an absolute blast to drive. Ours has the £455 Advanced Key option (essentially keyless entry and start-up) so it’s just a question of jumping in, thumbing the starter button and haring off; you clock the instant torque from the 2.0-litre four-pot, a growly throb through a surprisingly perky sports exhaust and some whip-bang gearshifts of the S-tronic twin-clutch six-speeder.
Even though we’ve reined-in the revs in the first few miles, it’s clear this car is quicker than an official White House denial in scandal-mode. That 4.6sec 0-62mph time is, let’s face it, borderline comical for a humble sports car based on a Golf.
Is the style more than skin-deep? Will bits fall off and will we rue the lack of two more cylinders? And won’t that price – ours tops out at nearly £47k! – make it too expensive for most to consider? Stay tuned over the coming months as we suck it and see for ourselves.
How we specced our TTS
Electric front seats: Single priciest option on our car? Those motor-driven pews, for £995. Yikes!
Audi Matrix LED headlights: With autumn around the corner, we’ll appreciate these £945 lamps soon
20in multi-spoke alloys: Look mighty fine, but will they ruin the ride? We hope not for £850
Extended leather kit: ‘Express Red’ Nappa leather standard, but we’ve got dash covered too for £100 more
Glacier White paint: No Tipp-Ex employed in this ice-cool paint job. Sizzling look a £550 option
Logbook Audi TTS Coupe
Engine: 1984cc 16v 4cyl turbo, 306bhp @ 5800rpm, 280lb ft @ 1800-5700rpm
Gearbox: Six-speed dual-clutch auto, all-wheel drive
Stats: 4.6sec 0-62mph, 155mph, 159g/km CO2
Price: £40,270
As tested: £46,565
Miles this month: 972
Total miles: 972
Our mpg: 29.3
Official mpg: 40.9
Fuel this month: £47.19
Extra costs: £0