Audi TT Review & Prices

Like an annoying mate who is effortlessly good at everything, the Audi TT is a small sports car which is stylish to look at, fun to drive and very easy to live with. It isn’t quite as sporty to drive as the Porsche 718 Cayman, but it comes with a fabulous interior and looks sportier than ever thanks to a selection of subtle mid-life tweaks.

Take the front and rear bumpers for example – especially in S Line cars. These come with contrasting air intakes and a ground-hugging splitter, just like on the faster TTS model. The side skirts also have angular bulges jutting out behind the doors like chiselled cheekbones and you can get your TT in a range of colours ranging from a tasteful blue to a particularly in-your-face red.

Climb inside, and the current Audi TT doesn’t look all that different from the second-generation TT, which itself referenced the original model. Thankfully, that’s no bad thing. The TT’s cabin is one of the most instantly recognisable of any small sports car thanks to its neat trio of air vents, uncluttered design and huge digital driver’s display which you get as standard. It’s certainly more memorable than the BMW 2 Series’ rather mundane interior.

Sadly, the compact Audi TT coupe is nowhere near as spacious inside as the boxier BMW. Sure, there’s plenty of space for adults to get comfy in the front but the back seats are more of a token gesture than a genuinely usable proposition. It’s the same story with the Audi’s boot. It’s smaller than the BMW’s but at least there’s still space for a few small suitcases and a couple of soft bags. And more practical than the TT Roadster soft-top!

Chances are you won’t be using your Audi TT to carry big loads or lots of passengers around. More likely you’ll be taking the long way home from a big lunch on a quiet Sunday afternoon. In this respect, the Audi TT does very well indeed.

Its small size and light weight mean it feels very nimble in tight country lanes, yet it still has enough poke from its 2.0-litre petrol engine to put a smile on your face when you press the accelerator – especially the more potent 245hp models.

Another plus point is that the more powerful models, badged 45 TFSI, come with Audi’s Quattro four-wheel-drive system, which helps use all that performance even when the road is slippery. The TT is even reasonably quiet at speed so it’s pretty relaxing to drive for long periods. These days every TT comes with an automatic gearbox, which takes the strain out of stop-start traffic.

The S tronic ’box changes gear smoothly at speed and responds very quickly to the paddles on the steering wheel. It can be a little jerky around town and the Audi TT’s low-slung body means squeezing through a tight width-restrictor isn’t as easy as in the more upright BMW. But, you can order the TT with a self-parking system to minimise the risk of low-speed bumps and scrapes and its light controls mean it feels much like a humdrum hatchback when you’re stuck in traffic on the morning commute.

In fact, this is what makes the Audi TT such a great all-rounder. It’s huge fun to storm along on a quiet backroad, yet drives just like an Audi A3 when you don’t fancy letting your hair down and just want to head home.

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For a quick car with a prestige badge, the TT is pretty keenly priced. You could certainly spend a lot more to buy a car that’s neither more stylish nor better to drive.

If you want supercar-baiting performance, the Audi TT RS model pushes prices to a very different level. It’s savagely quick.

At the other end of the scale, an entry-level 40 TFSI is satisfying to drive and cheaper to fuel and insure than the TT RS or the slightly tamer TT S. For the best balance of price and performance, we’d go for the 45 TFSI. It’s really rapid without needing you to take out a second mortgage.

The Audi TT is fun to drive and impressively comfortable for a sports car, but alternatives are more exciting and faster

In town

The TT’s low-slung body, sloping roofline and small side windows make it slightly tricky to drive around town. It’s reasonably easy to spot approaching traffic but you’ll have trouble sneaking it through width restrictors without wincing.

Rear parking sensors come fitted as standard but, for a little extra peace of mind, pick either the optional reversing camera or the park assist feature that’ll steer for you into parallel and bay parking spaces.

As a sports car, you’d expect the TT to have a firm ride. It stays the right side of being harsh, though, and doesn’t clout into potholes or raised drain covers. The bigger the alloys, the less forgiving the ride, so if a lot of your driving is around town stick with the standard wheels rather than paying extra for larger alloys.

If you are shopping for a used TT you will have a choice between manual and automatic gearboxes. For new car buyers, the TT is only available with an automatic gearbox. Keen drivers may miss the extra level of involvement that comes with a manual gear shift, but the auto is better suited to urban driving in stop-start traffic. Your left leg will be glad of the rest.

On the motorway

Any TT makes a fine motorway car, with enough performance for punchy overtaking and a stable drive at speed.

There’s some tyre noise, but you can easily drown it out with the excellent stereo. For a sports car, the TT is easy to live with.

You get cruise control as standard to help make long journeys more bearable, but you can upgrade your Audi TT with plenty of additional safety features for extra peace of mind. Traffic-sign recognition, blind-spot detection and lane-keeping assist to help stop you wandering out of your lane on motorways are all available as optional extras.

On a twisty road

Entry-level cars come with a 197hp engine which drives the front wheels. This car will accelerate from 0-60mph in 6.6 seconds so it feels pretty nippy and – as an added bonus – it’s the most economical TT you can buy.

The faster 245hp model is much more fun, however. It’ll sprint from 0-62mph in as little as 5.8 seconds so it’s easily fast enough to put a huge smile on your face on a twisty road but won’t cost the earth to run.

Even faster TTS and TT RS models are available, powered by 306hp four-cylinder and 400hp five-cylinder engines respectively. Both are seriously rapid – the TT RS will happily eat a Porsche 718 Cayman S for breakfast – but they’ll cost significantly more to buy and run than the standard car.

The TT is quote roomy for two, but the back seats are cramped

There’s a real sense of anticipation when you slide behind the wheel of the Audi TT. It’s a very stylish cabin. For a sports car it’s reasonably practical too, provided you don’t plan on using the back seats often.

In the front, there’s plenty of room for the driver and passenger to get comfortable. Both the seat and steering wheel have a wide range of adjustment, so whether you are tall or short you will have no trouble finding a supportive driving position. Four-way lumbar support is standard, a big plus if you suffer from back pain. High-spec models have electrical seat adjustment.

The seats are quite figure-hugging, so some may find them a bit on the narrow side. The cabin itself is quite wide, though, so you won’t be bumping elbows with your passenger.

Nobody buys a sports car expecting the last word in practicality, but the TT is better than most. The door bins are a reasonable size and can just about hold a large bottle of water. There are two cupholders, although you may have to go hunting for the second one which flips out from under the armrest.

For a car that is all about the way it looks and drives, the TT’s cabin is surprisingly sensible.

Space in the back seats

The TT has an advantage over sports cars like the Alpine A110 and the Porsche Cayman – rear seats.

In theory, that makes the TT a four-seater. In practice, anyone who travels in the back is unlikely to ask for a lift again.

Clambering into the back is a struggle, and even kids will be short of legroom. On the other hand, there are ISOFIX mounting points for child seats. And even if the back seats aren’t great for carrying people, they are handy for chucking in a little extra luggage.

If you regularly need space for four, the TT probably isn’t for you. But compared with a Cayman, the extra space is a point in the Audi’s favour.

Boot space

Luggage space is another reason so many people choose the TT over alternatives from Alpine and Porsche. The 305-litre capacity is similar to the boot space in many small hatchbacks. The weekly shop won’t be a problem.

The boot is very shallow, though, so it’s not easy to carry tall items.

Folding the back seats down more than doubles the luggage capacity to 712 litres, and you can fit a bicycle inside with a wheel removed. Try doing that in an Alpine A110…

The TT’s interior looks absolutely fantastic and comes with bundles of neat features, but you’ll have to pay extra for sat nav unless you buy the Final Edition model

The Audi TT’s cabin is absolutely fantastic. It not only looks smart but everything feels well-built and comes trimmed in a wide range of soft materials – only the glovebox lid feels slightly scratchy.

A big part of the wow factor is the standard-fit digital display behind the steering wheel. This Virtual Cockpit system replaces analogue dials with a customisable 12.3-inch high-resolution display that feels more like something you’d find in a jet fighter than in a small sports car. You’ll wonder how you managed without it.

You can switch between customisable satellite navigation, instrument and media screens using buttons on the steering wheel or a rotary dial in the centre console. The menus are easy to navigate and the system responds rapidly to your inputs, whichever buttons you use.

Surprisingly, there’s no separate infotainment screen, just the Virtual Cockpit. This set-up actually works really well and saves you from having to take your eyes far from the road to view the display. It also means there are no grubby finger marks on a touchscreen that need cleaning.

Other nice touches include the three central air vents with built-in digital screens showing the temperature. These metal turbine-like items look great, although they are part of an option pack rather than a standard feature.

The automatic gearbox has a sporty gear lever and the small, flat-bottomed steering wheel with heavily sculpted leather grips is satisfying to hold. All TTs have aluminium interior trims and a set of supportive racy-looking bucket seats trimmed in leather and Alcantara as standard.

DAB digital radio and Bluetooth connectivity are standard on all models but satellite navigation is only available as part of the Technology pack, which seems a bit mean of Audi. All TTs come with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, however, so you can mirror your phone’s sat nav app through the in-built screen instead.

The Technology Pack is standard on the high-spec Final Edition, which also comes with red stitching, an Alcantara steering wheel, red inserts on the air vents and centre console, and red piping on the floor mats.

For the lowest economy and emissions, go for the 40 TFSI. This can return 40.4mpg according to the official figures and emits 158g/km of carbon dioxide. Those are reasonable numbers for such a fast car.

Upgrade to the more powerful 45 TFSI and the extra power and Quattro four-wheel-drive system take their toll on economy, which drops to 35.3mpg while emissions increase to 182g/km.

The rapid TTS is a little thirstier, returning 34.0mpg and emitting 189g/km of CO2. If you have deep enough pockets for a TT RS, economy drops to 31.7mpg and emissions climb to 201g/km.

Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) payments on registration range from £645 to £1565, but you’ll hardly notice as the cost is part of the on-the-road price.

Most models in the range are priced at over £40,000, which means there’s an extra VED cost of £390 for the next five years, bringing the total annual charge up to £570. The exceptions are the 40 TFSI S Line and Black Edition, which avoid this because they are under £40,000. Owners will pay the standard £180.

None of the range is particularly tax-efficient as a company car, but sticking with one of the 40 TFSI models will keep the bill down. That’s as much because of their lower taxable value as it is due to lower emissions.

The safety experts at Euro NCAP haven’t tested the TT since 2015, and that was so long ago that the rating has expired. For what it’s worth, the TT scored four out of five.

It’s disappointing that the TT doesn’t have autonomous emergency braking. However, there are some high-tech aids on the option list, including Audi side assist to help guide the driver safely on multi-lane roads and motorways by warning if there’s a vehicle in the blind spot.

Camera-based traffic sign recognition is another option, providing information about the current speed limit in the Virtual Cockpit.

High-beam assist switches between high and dipped beams automatically to prevent dazzling oncoming traffic.

Audi doesn’t have the greatest reputation for reliability, but this does vary from model to model.

The TT is one of Audi ‘s more durable efforts, performing well in reliability studies. Given that today’s car has been around for nearly a decade, Audi has had plenty of time to iron out any kinks. Expect few unscheduled trips to the dealer.

If something does go awry, the Audi TT is covered by a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty, which is the basic level provided by all major manufacturers.