Does the new TT has the substance to impress coupe buyers?

Photos: Joel Tam and Azfar Hashim

During a recent boys' night out, I was quizzed with this very question: 'If you have three hundred thousand dollars and you can only buy one sports car and one only, what would it be?' And if I couldn't give a good answer that satisfy the rest of the other four lads, I would have to pay for two rounds of drinks (on top of already being the designated driver for these jackasses).

Well I’m sure many of you have been asked the same exact questions too. And the problem for us car guys is that we could never figure out on the spot “what car” would be “perfect”. Generally, a reply like “err…can I get back to you on that?” will follow. Surprisingly, it’s that hard to find an answer. Ok, let me have a go at it - granted, if some three hundred grand dollars were to ever fall onto my lap, the car I’d buy will be…

Darn, I can’t come up with a good answer either. Now let me try quickly gather my thoughts.

The boy-racer in me says I should buy a Nissan Qashqai 1.2 DIG-T as my daily car, and a used Lotus Elise SC as my weekend/track car for the best of both worlds — but then again, maintaining two cars in the long run is no cheap thing. The Mercedes-Benz GLA45 AMG would be an interesting choice as well, but I'm not sure whether my mum could survive the stiff suspension when we head up North to visit relatives…

Wait. If I do have that money, what coupe can I get? And for that money, I want excellent performance, good handling and a lovely interior but at the same time, something that’s not too loud. Sure, there’s quite a long list to choose from, for example the BMW Z4 or even an AMG-kitted Mercedes-Benz E250 Coupe, but these two are quite the usual sights on our roads. I want something that isn’t common, subtle and at the same time, punchy. And also won’t cost too much to pay road tax and insurance for.

Ahh… Enter the new Audi TT then.

It largely retains the bulbous profile of its predecessor, but in case you can’t mark out the differences, the obvious ones would be the sleeker headlamp with matching aggressive front grill and detailed bumper, LED head lamps, redesigned tail-lamps and a rear bumper diffuser that houses a pair of exhaust tips.

Keeping the TT in contact with the tarmac are lightweight 18-inch alloy wheels wrapped in low-profile, high-performance 245/40 R-18 Continental ContiSportContact 5 rubbers.

The sports seats offered in the TT, besides looking posh, provides both support and comfort. What I've also noticed during my time with the TT was how spot-on they are at providing both lateral and lumbar support, even keeping you in place during enthusiastic blasts. It accommodates my slightly-bigger-than-normal frame (I have big bones you see) adequately; but it’s a different story for the rear seats though — unless they’re children, I highly recommend you don’t even think of ferrying adults back there. Ok for short distance, but over longer distances, you risk being sued for making them develop Economy Class Syndrome. Really.

Most of the interior is surrounded by premium leather — door panels, centre console and steering wheel for example. Aluminium details bring the sporting intent of the car a notch further, and yes, the accelerator and brake pedals are both aluminium too. That said, you must love Audi for paying so much attention to details - the air-con controls are housed within the central air-con vents, control buttons are clearly marked and feels solidly assembled and last but not least, a high quality TFT display placed in front of the driver that allows them to toggle between the car's myriad of control (e.g. Drive Select), navigation, and Bluetooth; a brilliant innovation that should see other carmakers follow suit soon.

Press the engine start/stop button and then “whump!”, the EA888 engine booms to life with a great exhalation through the exhaust pipes like a boxer emptying his lungs hard through his mouth before entering the ring. The engine then settles down to a strong but hardly over energetic 1,100 rpm idle; you can hear the power in the steady beat and you can feel it slightly on the pedal too. You can just sense it somehow — it’s not plain illusion either for there is power here. Real power, and not baby stuff.

So what does the rest of the figure say, besides the 230 bhp @ 4,500rpm? A maximum torque of 370 Nm from as low as 1,600 rpm, a century sprint timing of 5.3 seconds, 6-speed S-tronic dual-clutch gearbox, top speed of 250 km/h and a kerb weight of only 1,335kg; even lighter than its predecessor.

It gets to speed effortlessly, with that familiar exhaust fart every time you use the pedal shifters to shift gears at high rpm. This is one car that feels powerful, with a linear power delivery that doesn’t seem to run out of puff. What Audi has engineered and came up with the TT is simply superb stuff — it’s the sort of car that is such a pleasure to drive fast. Even driven normally, the TT can still cruise comfortably. It does so steadily, and when you need to overtake, just give the accelerator pedal an extra prod; no need to downshift at all. Stopping power is equally strong — it does so with much assurance, and you’ll be surprised how equally fast it stopped the car when you stomp that middle pedal.  

Thanks to quattro all-wheel drive system, it feels almost Elise-like, sticking to the road like velcro even. Twist and turn the steering wheel, and control the power input — heck, even body-roll is almost non-existent. Better still, you can choose the suspension setting based on your mood of the day at the touch of a button.

There’s this bit I’m quite surprised with, unfortunately. Wind noise intrudes at three figure speeds, and tyre roar can be heard within the cabin. Come to think of it, this is probably why Audi fitted the TT with a well sorted sound system.

And so, this is my choice if I have to buy a sports car for $300,000 ($265,600 with COE to be precise). It's not exactly the world's fastest or the most practical money can buy but in its entirety, the TT is a convincing package. Sure, it does need further improvement in the cabin insulation department, but the way it goes about its business is really respectable and hard not to love.

Suffice to say, I was saved from paying for the rounds of drinks that night...