2008 Audi TT Review

Specifications

When it was launched in 1999, there were few vehicles that were moreeye-catching than the TT Roadster. There were plenty of two-seat open-top sportscars on the road at the time - the Mercedes-Benz SLK with its folding hardtop roof, the mid-engined Porsche Boxster, the howling Honda S2000 and the sporting BMW Z3 - but none of them could turn heads like the TT Roadster. As pretty as the TT was, mind you, it was found by many to be lacking in the performance department. Some found its handling a little on the soft side, while it had a tendency to understeer. But things are different with Audi’s second generation TT. It’s been getting nothing but positive remarks and glowing reviews. It seems as if Audi has the handling and ride department of the new car nailed down tight.

The success of the original TT Roadster meant that therewas no hesitation when it came to lopping the roof off the new car, in fact a roadster was in the plans from the beginning. But where the previous car was an arguable case of style over (performance) substance, there’s much more going on under the skin of the new generation car. Unlike the old vehicle which shared its roots with everything else that rode on VW’s A-platform, spanning the Audi A3 to the Volkswagen New Beetle, the new car received special treatment to appease sports car enthusiasts. Yes, it still shares some elements of its architecture with the humble Jetta, but part of its frame has been made out of lightweight aluminum to improve its weight distribution. You won’t find that on a GTI (or a Rabbit, or a Jetta for that matter).

To keep things simple and light, the TT Roadster will once againuse a cloth roof, although the system has been updated from the previous car. Audi cleverly integrated the tonneau cover right into the design of the roof so a separate one wasn’t needed, thereby saving weight and increasing its folding efficiency. At the touch of a button, the roof neatly folds up in just twelve seconds, which is quick by convertible standards. What’s more, the roof mechanism is strong enough to be operated at speeds of up to 30 mph, so no more pulling over, stopping, or even slowing down excessively when dropping or raising the top - and no more embarrassing incidents when the light goes green. To keep your hair or hat in place, the TT comes with an electrically-operated wind buffeter that’s raised or lowered at the touch of another button. As for the roof, it’s available in two colors, black or gray to pair up with the body. No burgundy, navy, green or beige, though.

If you look at the TT Roadster with its roof up from the rearthree-quarters angle, it looks different than the TT Coupe. It doesn’t have the hardtop’s sloping rear fastback lines, but instead features a bit of a bubble-like bulge which reminds us of the car it replaces. But there are more important issues to address in a convertible than just styling; there’s the matter of safety. Convertibles are inherently less rigid than their hardtop counterparts and therefore are more prone to flex. Audi has stepped up to the plate by offering the new TT with a chassis that’s vastly more rigid than the car it replaces, due partly to the stronger platform which it rides on as well as strengthened A-pillars and various underbody reinforcements. This prevents unwanted squeaks and rattles, plus scuttle shake which can be felt when traversing over bumps or ruts. Being a premium sports car, the TT Roadster is stocked with safety equipment that includes front and side airbags, ABS brakes, ESP stability control and anodized aluminum hoops that, aside from looking great, protect occupants should the car flip.

As with the coupe, the Roadster TT is not only a better driving vehicle, but it’s also more practical. The trunk,for example, has grown in volume from 7.4 cu-ft to 8.8 cu-ft, which is a very reasonable amount for a vehicle of this size. Since Audi designed the TT to include a convertible variant from the start, it engineered the roof system to retract in such a way that there is no impact on the cargo volume. That’s a big reduction in cargo-related hassles if you ask us. Also available is an optional ski sack, which allows objects as long as 75 inches in length to be carried on board, meaning that the TT Roadster should at least be capable of fast jaunts to the snowbelt (especially when equipped with quattro AWD). Of course, the adaptation of the convertible top means that the car has been reduced to a two-seater, so your ski entourage will need to be limited to one.

When it arrives next spring, fresh from its LA auto show debut, the TT Roadster will be available with the same engines that are found in the TT Coupe. The base model gets a 2.0-liter FSI turbocharged four-cylinder (from GTI fame) that makes 200 horsepower and 207 lb-ft of torque. It’s a pretty quick machine in that it can move the front-wheel drive TT Roadster to 60 mph in just 6.4 seconds when equipped with the twin-clutch S-Tronic (read: DSG) gearbox, and 6.7 seconds with the standard manual gearbox. But as good as this entry-level power plant is, Audi also intends on making the TT Roadster a vehicle that can out-hustle the Porsche Boxster and BMW Z4 3.0si in the bends as well as on the straights. As it previously did, the new top-tier TT Roadster will pack a 3.2-liter narrow-angle V6 under the hood, which continues to make 250 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque. As with the current car, this engine can only be had with quattro all-wheel drive and S-Tronic, although in Europe it will be offered with either manual or paddleshift transmissions. The quickest combination, V6, quattro, S-Tronic, is capable of cracking 60 mph from standstill in 5.8 seconds, while the stick shift takes 6.0! Average combined city and highway fuel consumption for the 2.0T is a thoroughly acceptable 30 mpg, and 24 mpg for the V6.

It looks like the new TT Roadster is a car where style and substance aren’t mutually exclusive attributes, and therefore should be a car well worth the wait.

Preliminary Specifications: