Audi's small sports car ideal for technophiles and track-day enthusiasts alikeIf you want to check out a fantastic pair of TT's, you needn't look much farther then your local Audi dealership. The hot new models are in, with slim, sexy styling, muscular lines and scandalous figures. I hear that one of them will even go topless on demand, for a bit of extra money. That's the
TT Roadster, by the way.
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The new TT has a more dramatic and stern look compared to the previous model. |
Memorable styleUpdated for 2008, the look is even more dramatic and daring- less tubby and vastly more meaningful and stirring. The tall front grille is flanked with bi-xenon headlights, while energetic lines adorn the wind-swept body which is outlined in a classic 2+2 silhouette. The TT terminates in back with a set of 3-D taillights perched atop dual outlet exhaust. Its styling is truly memorable- sure to go down in the books. It doesn't look even slightly like an overturned bathtub, anymore.
Technology The high tech "S-Tronic" transmission lets you make the tachometer needle dance to your hearts content. The shifter can be left in drive, in a sport mode, or parked off to the right allowing for steering-wheel mounted paddles to send gear-change commands down into the computer. Swapping of gears takes place in milliseconds, blipping included. There's even a computer guided launch control function to extract the best possible off-the-line acceleration while keeping the transmission shop's phone number out of your speed-dial.
S-tronic is a treat, and enables an F-1 soundtrack and a real euphoric rush. But the transmission can sometimes become clumsy in slow traffic: occasionally displaying a confused state of mind, holding a gear too long, selecting the wrong one for the situation, or lurching abruptly for no apparent reason.
These occasional clutzy decisions and the resulting harshness are unbecoming of a car wearing a $70,000 price tag.
Safe SpeedThe suspension has an adaptive sport setting that can be selected to intelligently firm up the struts and actively tighten the TT's death-grip on the road. A speed-deployable rear spoiler helps in this department too, and always gets noticed by the occupants of the vehicle behind you.
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The TT feels as though is it riveted to the ground thanks to its sophisticated adaptive sport suspension. |