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Audi TT Roadster
Soft-top is given harder edge by Audi
It’s a brave carmaker that chooses the road to Beachy Head as the launch point for its new model. In the small print of that elusive tome, How to be an Instant Motoring Marketing Mogul and Survive, I would expect to find a paragraph that states: “Cliffhangers are fine — but not when applied literally.”
With quattro all-wheel drive, loads of safety electronics and adaptive “Magnetic Ride”, there was no fear that Audi’s new TT Roadster would go OTT. It nipped around the winding stretch of road that parallels the cliffs with a tight grip on reality and security.
If it was unusual, to put it mildly, for a manufacturer to include Beachy Head on a test route for a new model, it was equally unlikely that the UK version of a soft-top sports car would be launched in this country in February. Audi, though, was confident of the roadster being a total all-weather solution — and it is.
Like its Coupé sibling, the new Roadster (prices from £26,915) is better in every way than the model it replaces. The original TT Roadster may have been regarded as something of a styling icon, but it also had a mildly dumpy look. Now longer, wider and fractionally higher, the new version has crisper styling and enhanced road presence. Its aluminium and steel body successfully fights the flab, trimming up to 90kg off the weight of its predecessor. It has a fine front-rear balance, too, and its bodyshell is 120 per cent more rigid, feeling more like a coupé of a few years ago. Quite an achievement.
The Roadster’s folding top opens and closes in only 12 seconds at speeds up to 19mph (a big plus on a now-wet-now-dry, chilly winter’s day) and is totally automatic. It fits precisely, to give the car almost a coupé ambience, and folds away into a compact space, leaving plenty of luggage room. The cockpit is roomy for tall drivers, very comfortable and acceptably draught-free with the roof down. There is a power-assisted mesh wind deflector, a nifty addition to the toy box.
Engine choices are 2.0litre turbo or 3.2litre V6, with manual six-speed gearbox standard on both cars. An auto-plus-manual paddleshift S tronic twin-clutch system (it used to be called DSG) is optional. The paddles could be bigger but otherwise it suits the car totally.
Audi only took along the 3.2 version of the roadster to the car’s UK launch. At £31,535 plus £1,400 for the S tronic, it is a big price jump compared to the front-wheel drive Turbo but has quattro as standard. The manual V6 makes 62mph in 6.1sec — versus 6.7sec for the Turbo — but fuel consumption, acceleration and emissions figures (29.7 mpg, 5.9sec, 227 g/km) are all better with S tronic.
Snuggled down in the superbly engineered and trimmed cockpit, wind deflector in place, hot air blasting out, the TT gives a great drive. Its speed-sensitive steering controlled by a chunky wheel, is sufficiently sharp, and the optional (£1,150) Magnetic Ride suspension gives a choice between smooth comfort and very firm sport settings. The system uses dampers filled with a fluid containing minute magnetic particles.
Apply a current to electromagnets, the dampers firm up, and the result is tightly controlled roll and pitch.
Audi says that the Roadster will be bought mainly by “young, dynamic, upwardly mobile people” aged between 30 and 45, having an average monthly income of £4,500. A high proportion will be women but the TT is in no danger of being labelled “girlie”.
Compared to the Turbo, as well as all-wheel drive, the 3.2 gets 18-inch alloy wheels (19inch are an option but don’t help the ride), bigger brakes and Nappa leather upholstery. For style, quality, engineering excellence, handling and performance, the TT Roadster is a thoroughly impressive package. And after a few years of ownership, its expected high residual values shouldn’t be a cause for depression — an added feeling of security when you are in the area of a well-known drop-off point.
Specification
Car Audi TT Roadster 3.2 quattro.
Engine V6 3.2litre 250 PS
Transmission Six-speed manual or S tronic.
Performance Manual, 0-62mph, 6.1sec; S tronic, 5.9sec; top speed 155 mph.
Fuel consumption combined Manual 27.2mpg; S tronic 29.7mpg.
CO2 emissions Manual 250g/km; S tronic 227g/km.
Price £31,535.
On sale Now.
Alternatives:
Porsche Boxster Great drive, fine engine, looks good. Cockpit a shade tight for tall folk.
Mercedes-Benz SLK Folding hardtop, handsome, handy, good value.
BMW Z4 Individualistic looks, competitively priced.
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