Audi TT: Driven by TopGear!

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Our favorite car magazine has driven our favorite car (at the moment): the new Audi TT coupé.

All the visual clues were right. So were the hints we'd gathered from the technical description. The new Audi TT is indeed much more of a sports car then the old one.

For a start, it's pretty quick. There are two versions, one using Audi's 200bhp 2.0 Turbo FSi engine - the one that's most famous from the Golf GTI.

Compared with the old TT's peaky boost, this engine has a far more even spread of power delivery, kicking up big urge whenever you press the throttle. It's also smooth and keen to rev, and comes with a bonus big-bore exhaust burble (not too loud, you understand, but just a gentle emphasis).

I drove it in snow, fog, driving rain and dry sunshine, all in an afternoon. Up some of Europe's highest mountain roads, down on a no-limit Autobahn, through cobbled towns. It never once felt out of its depth.