Audi TT 2.0T

I have always felt that cars are very similar to people in many ways.

And no, I'm not talking about how their front fascias may resemble a smiley, frowning or angry expression, I'm talking about the car's personality being akin to that of humans.

Take the BMW 750Li, for example; elegantly understated in appearance, very smart on the inside and with enough power to embarrass flashier cars on the road.

I would equate that to the personality of say, a self-made, well-off individual with a Swiss bank account. Low key, smart, and probably having a position of importance.

Now what, do you wonder, does this have to do with the Audi TT? For starters, it looks every bit a sports car with its massive front grille, aggressive headlamps, long flowing roofline and bulging fenders. On the inside, things get even better. The TT's interior is, for the lack of a better word, superbly laid out, very well finished and made up of high-quality materials. So you'd expect the car's performance to match its looks right?

Well, yes and no. From the moment I picked up the car I was very impressed with the stunning red leather interior, the perfectly laid out centre console and the clear instrument binnacle.

Pulling on to Dubai's main highway, Sheikh Zayed Road, I did a little bit of typical Dubai driving with some speed here, a bit of weaving between the lanes there, all in the interest of testing the car's driving dynamics.

The first thing that struck me about the TT is how much more stable it feels than the previous generation. It performed wonderfully on the highway, exuding confidence and feeling like it couldn't possibly step out of line. Steering input was better than the previous generation, making you almost forget that it has the same steering column as the Volkswagen Golf.

The engine pulled wonderfully whatever gear I was in and the turbocharger responded well to the throttle input with far less turbo-lag than on the previous model.

Apart from the power, the gearbox worked nearly seamlessly with the engine, downshifting immediately whenever you tug the paddle and matching the revs perfectly without any twitchiness or unexpected glitches.

The brakes are excellent once you've gotten them warmed up, although they do have a little too much bite right at the top of their travel.

This was definitely a superb car to drive on the highway, very well composed and confident in its abilities due also to the fact that the car I drove had the optional Audi Magnetic Ride feature. This adjusts the stiffness of the individual dampers that are filled with a magnetorheological fluid, which gets more or less viscous when the magnetic field around it is increased or decreased.

Unlike the sport settings on some other cars, the system constantly monitors the driver's input in order to adjust the stiffness of the dampers to make the car behave the way you want it to. It sounded like a lot of mumbo-jumbo to me too at first, but once you've experienced it you'll realise just how much this contributes to the car's driving dynamics.

The principle is wonderfully simple and very effective. The TT can become taut or supple as required by road topography or driving style; switch the system to Sport and it remains adaptive, unlike some lower-tech systems which simply go stiff and stay there.

Here, the 'map' simply shifts up the stiffness scale and the feeling of fluidity isn't ruined. If you know the old TT, with its stiff-jointed, hunch shouldered motion, you'll be amazed at the way the new one moves, breathes and flows. No TT has ever felt this composed before.

Exiting the highway and driving through some of the twisties revealed the other side of the TT's personality and reminded me of the painful fact that this is a front-wheel drive car and unless you're driving on a straight line on the highway, it certainly doesn't make a secret of it.

This is a good thing. The responsiveness isn't quite matched by steering feel, because the electric assistance (which works directly on the rack rather than, as with most such systems, the column) is short on feedback.

However, this 2.0-litre TT weighs 150kg less than the 3.2 quattro, thanks to its lighter engine and front-wheel-drive transmission, and this adds more to its agility than the lack of all-wheel drive takes away. There will be a quattro 2.0T later, but I have a sneaky feeling that it'll be a little bland. But I'd opt for all four driving wheels as I'm not a huge fan of the two fronts only, or more to the point - torque steer.

While the TT doesn't suffer from it, it is present and tends to make itself known at the worst possible moments. Going through a few corners at speed, the car's balance seems to be great until you're exiting the corner and realize that the steering wheel requires more force than usual to turn it in the other direction and realign the car. Audi makes up for this at least with that excellent electronic damping system.

Apart from that, the Audi is a very well designed and easy to drive car that functions equally well as an everyday driver while being a competent sports car for this class.

My advice to those of you who want something a little smoother to drive; either shell out the extra cash for a TT 3.2 Quattro or wait a few more months for the Quattro version of the 2.0T to come out.

See also:
Middle East International Motor Show news
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Review: VW Touareg