Long-Term Road Test
Of the many automobiles that have passed through our parking lot over the years, few have had more visual wattage than the Audi TT, and fewer still-dare we say none?-have retained their head-turning quotient to the degree that this car has. We make this observation buoyed by the confidence that comes from having had a TT Quattro coupe for 14 months, a 40,000-mile eyeball orgy marked by lurid stares from start to finish. Admiring stares. Envious stares. There are certain all-too-rare cars that make the ownership experience pleasurable simply by rewarding the visual gratification centers, and this is one of them, inside and out.
Of course, it didn't hurt that the subject car also delivers better-than-average gratification in the fun-to-drive department. That word-"fun"-popped up regularly in the TT's logbook, and we think it has as much to do with stylin' around town as it does with how this little Audi performs at the limits of adhesion. Although the TT pulled a respectable 0.85 g on the skidpad and stopped in an impressive 163 feet from 70 mph in its initial track test, it required 7.6 seconds to hit 60 mph-not really slow, but well short of face distorting. We attribute this relatively languid forward progress to the coupe's substantial curb weight-3252 pounds, which is pretty chunky for a car this size, all-wheel drive notwithstanding. The acceleration numbers did, however, improve appreciably as the engine loosened up with mileage, as our final test numbers reflect. With 40,198 miles showing on the clock, the TT clipped to 60 mph in 7.3 seconds and ran the quarter-mile in 15.5 seconds at 88 mph, which was 0.2 second and 2 mph faster than the green TT.
But let's start at the beginning. Like many lovers of automotive art, we lusted after the TT from the moment we first beheld it as a prototype at the Frankfurt auto show in 1995. So when production versions finally appeared in 1999, we were among the first in line. Even so, we had to wait while Audi made some factory fixes to early TTs to correct a high-speed rear-end lift problem that had precipitated several crashes on the German autobahns, although the phenomenon didn't show up in North America. Audi altered the rear-suspension geometry and installed a small spoiler on the decklid. The latter didn't exactly enhance the TT's Bauhaus bolide profile-"the best thing about the wing," observed one logbook chronicler, "is that you can't see it from the driver's seat"-but it did reduce lift.
Because we were impatient, we elected to go with the 180-hp, 1.8-liter DOHC 20-valve turbocharged engine that was first offered, rather than wait for the optional 225-hp version that came with the arrival of 2001 models. Our test car had a manual transmission, natch-a five-speed, as distinct from the six-speed that goes with the more powerful engine-and Audi's all-wheel-drive Quattro feature, a $1750 option that added 221 pounds to the car's weight. Then again, how can you order an Audi without the Quattro system?
Other options included a $1200 Audio package (a Bose sound system with a six-disc CD changer); a $1000 Performance package (xenon high-intensity headlamps, 17-inch cast aluminum alloy wheels, P225/45YR-17 Bridgestone Potenza RE040 tires); and a $700 Comfort package (heated front seats, a driver information display). Added to the manufacturer's suggested retail-$30,500-along with a $525 destination charge, this gave us a grand total of $35,675. That's not exactly tag sale pricing, but it does include a lot of stuff: anti-lock brakes, ASR full-time traction control, automatic climate control, leather, one-touch power windows, power mirrors, a tilting and telescoping steering column, keyless remote entry, and cruise control.
