Audi TT S 2015 Review

Audi TT S Coupe and Roadster

Australian Launch Review
Lake Mountain, Victoria

The Audi TT is now an integral part of Audi’s model line-up, helping sell its technical and progressive image. But the TT coupe and roadster have struggled to be accepted as drivers’ cars. This is where the TT S comes in. Like other Audi S models, it takes the standard model and ramps it up to a more sporting and intense level. The first TT S was regarded as a successful execution of the concept, but this new generation has taken the show a significant step further.

The term that usually springs to mind when thoughts turn to Audi is ‘admirable’.

OK, putting ‘dieselgate’ to one side – as hard as that is – Audis have consistently delivered quality, engineering depth and the ability to charge a premium price for what is often a rebodied Volkswagen (cue outrage).

But passion? Yep, the R8 is a stunner, the RS 5 is glorious and the B8 S4 a rare tune-up of a standard Audi that stands out.

Now you can add the second-generation TT S. Well, based on a first drive in optimal circumstances you can.

How optimal?  How about the delicious 10km stretch of road that leads to the Lake Mountain ski resort outside Melbourne closed just for us to drive on? That’s right, no traffic to hold us up, let alone coming the other way.

OK, it wasn’t a case of take the brain out and park it in a box. We were led by professional racing drivers up and down the sinuous, relatively smooth and very entertaining road at a pace that was fast enough to keep our attention, but not so fast that hands become sweaty and pupils dilated.

In fact, it was a pace very much in this car’s sweet spot, showing it could turn without loading up the steering, stick to its line without traditional all-wheel drive understeer and power out with gripping surety and substantial urge.

All rather enjoyable and a bit un-Audi, really.

If you’re having trouble placing the TT S within the conveyor belt of new and overhauled models Audi keeps rolling out, that’s understandable. Like others in the S vernacular, it’s a warmed over version of the standard car, rather than a hyper-hot RS. There is an TT RS coming too, incidentally, but not this year.

So just like the TT it is based on, the TT S comes as a coupe and a roadster, has a 2.0-litre turbocharged and direct-injected petrol EA888 engine mated to a six-speed ‘S tronic’ dual-clutch transmission and the latest fifth-generation quattro ‘on-demand’ all-wheel drive. It shares the same fundamental construction as the TT and adds cool stuff like bigger brake discs with four-piston fixed calipers and magnetic ride dampers.

It benefits from engineering efforts put into the new TT such as the coupe’s 45kg weight reduction and a 23 per cent increase in torsional rigidity. The aluminium-intensive structure also helps the Roadster shed 23kg.

Take it as read the TT S has more of everything good compared to both the new third-generation TT and the old TT S.

TT S versus TT S power goes up 10kW to 210kW and 30Nm to 380Nm. The 0-100km/h dash claim drops from 5.3 to 4.7 sec for the coupe and 0.5 sec to five seconds flat for the roadster. Claimed combined fuel consumption also drops from 7.7L/100km to 6.8L/100km for the coupe and from 7.9L/100km to 6.9L/100km for the roadster.

Pricing is up $1000 for the coupe to $99,900 and $600 to $103,900 for the roadster. But Audi is claiming the addition of $12,000 in value, something we investigate further in our accompanying product news story.

At first glance the TT S doesn’t look a whole lot different to the standard TT, which isn’t a bad thing because the shape strikes a nice balance between the original’s minimalism and the second-gen’s prettier lines.

The TT S rolls on bigger 19-inch wheels (20s are also an option), sits on 10mm lowered suspension and is externally distinguished by its platinum grey grille and bespoke bumper. Out back are signature 2x2 exhausts carried over from the previous TT S.

Inside, the virtual cockpit instrumentation shared with TT is a brilliant design feature. The panoramic sat-nav view within the instrument panel is the headline act, but the TT S also allows a central tacho to dominate the screen.

Lift your gaze and the dashboard, doors and cabin are modern, technical and high-quality in their design and execution. It’s busy, but in a really pleasing way.

The front seats are single piece and body hugging. Forget about the rear seats other than as added luggage space. Storage is, er, adequate. This is a compact car and feels it. The S-specific steering wheel is small and squared off at the bottom. Flappy paddles handle gear changes, or you can also shift via the lever.

There are five modes covered off by Drive Select that affect various aspects of the car’s behaviour. The modes are eco, comfort, auto, dynamic and individual. Key tuneables are steering, engine, transmission and throttle characteristics, plus quattro power distribution and dampers.

For our driving experience, which started with a run across Melbourne’s leafy northern suburbs into the Yarra Valley, it quickly became apparent that comfort mode was the pick for commuting. Rolling on Hankook Ventus rubber, the TT S was relatively quiet, almost lived up to the comfort tag and slurred through the gears in a pretty unobtrusive way.

The most intrusive thing about the suspension in comfort mode in the coupe we drove was a distinct rattle from the left corner of the four-link rear-end. This knock was especially obvious in rough, left-hand corners, when that wheel was relatively unloaded. No other car we drove displayed this trait.

A shift into dynamic mode quickly established it is very much a racetrack setting and the damper tune was not at all at home on our rough roads. That even applied when pushing hard at Lake Mountain.

But every other key adjustable worked at its best in dynamic mode; Engine, transmission and sound were all dialed up and gave the car a keen and excited edge that its sports-oriented buying audience is after.

Involvement, response and eagerness are all delivered by the TT S and, importantly, it does it without any edge of nervousness. You don’t have to possess elite skills to have fun in this car. It’s the balance of power, dynamics and personality that really impresses. No aspect overwhelms or dominates. It’s all just really nicely balanced.

At its core of the TT S, like the Golf R with which it shares its drivetrain, is an absolute reliable ability to get power down via the combination of well tuned stability and traction control systems and an all-wheel drive system that becomes rearward-biased in dynamic mode.

It means you can exit just about any corner and slam the throttle to the floor confidently. There is an enjoyably rapid rather than explosive response as peak torque streams manageably through the system from as low as 1800rpm all the way to 5700rpm.

And it sounds great, with a gravelly bark reminiscent of a boxer four. Shifts are decisive in sport mode, but even better via the flappy paddles. Although, why doesn’t the S tronic hold gears on the upshift in manual mode? That’s a sporting oversight.

The variable-ratio steering rack never goes heavy or gluggy, even at that transition point in a corner where loads are at their maximum and throttle input is trying to muddy response. It’s relatively light, nicely direct and clean in its feedback. A run in the roadster suggested just a little tremor in the steering column, but both cars were uniform in their ability to retain front grip in even the tightest hairpins.

Nor was body roll an issue, while brakes – albeit smoking in some cases -- proved well and truly up to the job.

Obviously though, 20 privileged kilometres on a closed road definitely isn’t enough to declare the TT S a winner. No doubt the Porsche Cayman is a faster car, especially in highly skilled hands.

But it was impossible to jump from the TT S without a smile. In a world of admirable yet cold and distant Audis, meeting one that likes to get up close and personal is a pleasant and positive surprise.

2016 Audi TT S Coupe pricing and specifications:
Price: $99,900 (plus on-road costs)
Engines: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Outputs: 210kW/380Nm
Transmission: Six-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 6.8L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 157g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Four-star ANCAP (based on 2.0-litre front-drive TT)

What we liked:
>> Terrific all-paw grip
>> Lovely handling and engine balance
>> Funky, charismatic interior

Not so much:
>> Suspension too harsh in dynamic mode
>> Interior predictably cramped for more than two passengers
>> S tronic shifts up for you, even in manual mode

Also consider:
Alfa Romeo 4C (from $89,000)
BMW Z4 (from $79,900)
Porsche Cayman (from $106,200)