I just got back from test driving a TT-RS at my local Audi dealership.
What a great car! It might be the best all around sports car that I have yet driven in terms of having a lot of practicality to go with its performance and attitude. I was a little bit worried going in that it might be too diluted and too filtered of an experience to really be fun (because Audi, right?) but I am happy to say that was not the case here, at least in my opinion.
Compared to my previous two test drives in the F-type R and LC500 the TT-RS has much more of that light-weight, go-cart type feel that my MX-5 has and felt much more "me" than those two big GT cars, as good as they were. The TT-RS has super quick steering, at least as much road feel through the steering wheel as my MX-5 and a similar type of short-wheelbase agility and dartiness and it is a feeling that I am at home with. At 3300lbs it is 1000lbs less than the LC500 and at least 500lbs less than the F-Type and because of that I felt more connected to the car and to the road. And, Audi lets a surprising amount of engine and exhaust noise into the car (but almost no wind noise, hooray!) and I absolutely love the way it sounds at full boil. Despite having listened to a ton of exhaust clips of that 5 cylinder online there is nothing like hearing it in person, both in and out of the car. The real thing is fantastic.
There was some road noise but certainly no more than my MX-5 and even in dynamic mode (harshest ride / most aggressive mode) the ride was better and more composed than I am used to. And then that interior and those seats! Extremely high quality, very well built and super comfortable. I also tested the sound system with a USB drive that I brought and I put three different music file types in three different folders and the MMI located them immediately, loaded all of the album artwork and performed seamlessly and flawlessly for all three file types. Audi's tech and virtual cockpit is excellent and does more than I would ever need it to do but I am pleased to say it does the things that are important to me.
The dealership was extremely nice although the sales manager did tell me they dont allow test drives in brand new TTRS's (this one had 6k miles on it) and even though allocations were few and far between they would be glad to order me one to my specifications. For that reason, I am glad I took the opportunity to schedule the test drive on the used one. Wait time on the special orders would probably be 5 - 6 months and I am absolutely ok with that. I have some more thinking and driving to do but it could happen.
Edit - Random thoughts I forgot with the initial posting:
1) The TT-RS is silly fast, as expected. Taking the on-ramp to the Interstate and merging with traffic I was playing with the paddles and busy locating the car and looked down and I was doing 96mph. The shove-into-the-seat power is very strong, especially above 4k rpm which is that motor's happy place.
2) Accordingly, I like the fact that the motor "wakes up" above 4k rpm. Like the rest of the car, it has a bit of a dual personality. Docile and approachable down low but really, really angry and rapid up top.
3) The shifts with the S-Tronic make the motor give a bit of a "chuff" between gear changes when there's a lot of throttle and that also sounds fantastic. The S-Tronic in manual mode was great, which is really what I was testing. Left to its own devices it isn't as predictive or as keen as the Porsche PDK but then again, nothing else is either.
4) Light cars with high-horsepower is a winning recipe and it really shows here. Accordingly tires and brakes will last longer on the roads that I drive (and if you saw the video then you know those things will get a work-out on a daily basis) and cost to own and service will be much lower on the Audi than on a comparable Porsche car and that is something I have to take into consideration.
What a great car! It might be the best all around sports car that I have yet driven in terms of having a lot of practicality to go with its performance and attitude. I was a little bit worried going in that it might be too diluted and too filtered of an experience to really be fun (because Audi, right?) but I am happy to say that was not the case here, at least in my opinion.
Compared to my previous two test drives in the F-type R and LC500 the TT-RS has much more of that light-weight, go-cart type feel that my MX-5 has and felt much more "me" than those two big GT cars, as good as they were. The TT-RS has super quick steering, at least as much road feel through the steering wheel as my MX-5 and a similar type of short-wheelbase agility and dartiness and it is a feeling that I am at home with. At 3300lbs it is 1000lbs less than the LC500 and at least 500lbs less than the F-Type and because of that I felt more connected to the car and to the road. And, Audi lets a surprising amount of engine and exhaust noise into the car (but almost no wind noise, hooray!) and I absolutely love the way it sounds at full boil. Despite having listened to a ton of exhaust clips of that 5 cylinder online there is nothing like hearing it in person, both in and out of the car. The real thing is fantastic.
There was some road noise but certainly no more than my MX-5 and even in dynamic mode (harshest ride / most aggressive mode) the ride was better and more composed than I am used to. And then that interior and those seats! Extremely high quality, very well built and super comfortable. I also tested the sound system with a USB drive that I brought and I put three different music file types in three different folders and the MMI located them immediately, loaded all of the album artwork and performed seamlessly and flawlessly for all three file types. Audi's tech and virtual cockpit is excellent and does more than I would ever need it to do but I am pleased to say it does the things that are important to me.
The dealership was extremely nice although the sales manager did tell me they dont allow test drives in brand new TTRS's (this one had 6k miles on it) and even though allocations were few and far between they would be glad to order me one to my specifications. For that reason, I am glad I took the opportunity to schedule the test drive on the used one. Wait time on the special orders would probably be 5 - 6 months and I am absolutely ok with that. I have some more thinking and driving to do but it could happen.
Edit - Random thoughts I forgot with the initial posting:
1) The TT-RS is silly fast, as expected. Taking the on-ramp to the Interstate and merging with traffic I was playing with the paddles and busy locating the car and looked down and I was doing 96mph. The shove-into-the-seat power is very strong, especially above 4k rpm which is that motor's happy place.
2) Accordingly, I like the fact that the motor "wakes up" above 4k rpm. Like the rest of the car, it has a bit of a dual personality. Docile and approachable down low but really, really angry and rapid up top.
3) The shifts with the S-Tronic make the motor give a bit of a "chuff" between gear changes when there's a lot of throttle and that also sounds fantastic. The S-Tronic in manual mode was great, which is really what I was testing. Left to its own devices it isn't as predictive or as keen as the Porsche PDK but then again, nothing else is either.
4) Light cars with high-horsepower is a winning recipe and it really shows here. Accordingly tires and brakes will last longer on the roads that I drive (and if you saw the video then you know those things will get a work-out on a daily basis) and cost to own and service will be much lower on the Audi than on a comparable Porsche car and that is something I have to take into consideration.