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Follow-Up Test: 2001 Audi TT Roadster
Audi's Little Beauty
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By Neil Dunlop
Date posted: 01-01-1999
We loved the Audi TT Coupe when we first tested it. The interior and exterior design delighted us and we were thrilled that the German automaker saw their audacious little sports car through from concept to production with minimal modification. However, we were disappointed by its 1.8-liter turbocharged engine. We thought it too weak for the stocky (2,655-pound) vehicle.
What a difference a year makes. Now the TT is available with a 225-horsepower engine mated to Audi's quattro all-wheel-drive system. With this drivetrain, the TT is a lot more fun to drive and is certainly closer to qualifying as a bona fide sports car.
Retaining the same 1.8-liter, inline four-cylinder turbocharged five-valve configuration as found in the original TT, this version of the motor is tweaked to generate 225 horsepower at 5,900 rpm and a vigorous 207 foot-pounds of torque between 2,200 and 5,500 rpm.
At 3,473 pounds, the TT Roadster quattro is still too heavy to be tossed around corners and shot down straightaways. For most of us, though, normal motoring does not allow us to indulge our Schumacher fantasies. So, unless traffic citations, court appearances and hefty fines are irrelevant to you, the bulk of your driving is likely done at legal and sane speeds.
Some roadster purists (read: snobs) may say you shouldn't be buying a $40,000 sports car in that case, but shopping for a more sedate convertible, such as the soft-top Toyota Solara or Chrysler Sebring.
Ignore them. If you can afford it and driving like snot is not a priority, the TT is a wonderful ride.
Start with the cabin. We call it "art." Sliding into the TT's snug seats is like entering a modern design emporium. Using high-quality aluminum, leather and plastic, Audi combined German Bauhaus design acumen with Teutonic functionality to create an interior that is both beautiful and comfortable. The interior alone makes the TT worth owning. You could sit in your driveway for hours and be entertained.
The TT Roadster interior does have some design quirks that irritate, though. The door on the rear center storage bin opens every time it's bumped with your elbow, which happens often in the relatively tight cockpit. Also, the CD changer is oddly placed behind the driver's seat.
Outside, the TT's tour de force of design continues. Appreciation, however, may be in the eyes of the beholder. Some have criticized the TT's exterior design as resembling a squashed New Beetle, but many others rave about its smooth, sleek lines and compare it favorably to the classic Porsche Speedsters of the 1950s. We leave the final decision up to you.
While the TT may not possess the road-hugging abilities of the Honda S2000 and the Porsche Boxster, it more than holds its own in the curves. The steering may be a little too light on-center for some drivers who like to feel more connected to the road. The TT absorbs a lot of road feel.
For some, this may be ideal, as many sports cars are extremely rigid, providing a bumpy, kidney-shaking ride in the process. Out on a hilly, two-lane blacktop is where the TT Roadster really shines, absorbing bumps and providing a solid, confident ride aided, not hindered, by its bulky weight.
Despite this solid feel, the TT Roadster is disappointingly flexible. The dash shakes and rattles on bumpy or uneven road surfaces. Here, the Boxster, and especially the S2000, win hands-down for exemplary stiffness. The TT's lack of torsional rigidity helps explain its cornering and road feel shortcomings.
There is one area in which the TT will outperform any of its roadster competitors: on slippery roads. Whether you find yourself on rain, sleet, snow, slush or loose gravel, the TT's quattro system will keep you on the straight and narrow.
The all-wheel-drive system uses an electro-hydraulically controlled torque distribution mechanism that senses changes in road conditions and grip at all four wheels and makes lightning-fast adjustments to ensure the TT stays where it's pointed. During a rip over some gravel-strewn dirt roads, the system performed admirably, holding its line despite oversteer and quickly snapping back on course. Try that in a Boxster.
Another area in which the TT shines is in protecting its passengers when the roof's down. While other manufacturers make do with a clip-on windscreen behind the headrests, Audi outfitted the TT with a power glass windblocker that raises and lowers behind the headrests, like the power tailgate window in dad's old station wagon. It really works. With the glass screen up, wind turbulence inside the cockpit is lowered dramatically. Combined with the TT's multi-setting seat heaters, drop-top driving is pleasant even when temperatures drop below 60 degrees.
Despite the coddling of its open-air passengers, the TT Roadster is not as much fun, nor as practical, as its hardtop coupe sibling. For one, the TT Coupe has a lot of cargo area accessed via its hatchback liftgate. It's enough room to fit a mountain bike with the wheels removed or luggage for a week's vacation. This area is sacrificed in the roadster to make room for the convertible roof.
This, combined with the problems associated with the roadster's lack of torsional stiffness, makes the TT Coupe a more desirable, year-round, everyday car. If you don't have to have a ragtop but you have to have a TT, go for the coupe.
See all the Ratings: 2001 Audi TT 225hp Quattro AWD 2dr Roadster (1.8L 4cyl Turbo 6M) Road Test Scoreboard
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(Enlarge photo)
Though the TT's quattro system provides great traction, we suggest you don't park the gorgeous drop top this close to the surf.
(Photo courtesy of Audi USA)
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