BTTI

I took this out for a spin the other day:
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/71949/dscf1175.jpg">

My car in the background
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/71949/dscf1176.jpg">

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/71949/dscf1177.jpg">

I went up to the dealer in Wallingford, CT on Saturday. They have a black 3.2 S-tronic TT. No 6-speed though The quick version of this story is that I liked it more than I thought I would. But I'm still not totally sold. For those who are interested, here's the longer version......

First off, the pictures I've been seeing of the new TT didn't thrill me...at all. Every time I looked at it I saw too much influence from other cars EXCEPT for the TT. But it's only right to see it in person before making final judgement. And seeing it in person was MUCH better. All those other cars influencing it went away for the most part and I could actually see that the new TT is in fact a TT. It's more masculine and more aggressive, esp. from the front. There are a few design changes they made that I don't like - like the entire rear of the car, but design changes are just that - changes. I'm still not in love with the new look, but I like it.

When I got inside the first thing I noticed were the seats. They "hug" you more than the mk1. Nice. My skinny *** felt good in that seat! And although I have no pics, the interior is nice. I still like the mk1 better. The new TT seems to have lost the simple and elegant design that I think is just classic. Nothing beats the original, imho. Also, it's supposedly roomier, but I felt slightly claustrophobic in the mk2. I am not a big person (5'8" / 150ish pounds) but I like the open-ness (if that's a word) of the mk1. Specifically the center console. The mk2's center console was too big and bulky for me. Not a deal breaker...just too big. It's like Audi tried just a little too hard.

I LOVED the flat bottom steering wheel...and I don't even know why. It was just nice. It had a good feel to it. The dash was pretty nice. Everything from the radio to the rpm/speedo gauges seemed to flow fairly well. The only thing I didn't like was the three vents in the center dash. For some reason I just don't like that - never have. Like Schwing says "5 is the correct number of spokes for a wheel" - I believe that 2 is the correct number of vents in the center. Kind of a weird thing to pick on, but I'm pretty particular. Oh, and I hated the climate control. It's just...bad. The ***** were too big and knoby. I like things simple and the mk1 is perfect for me. Audi tried too hard again with the mk2's climate control.

I'm also particular on what features a car has. For instance, some may think this is ridiculous, but if my TT had daytime running lights, I wouldn't have bought it. Maybe that's a little too nit-picky, but...well...deal with it :-P Anyway, the new TT has an "auto" option for the headlights. Set it and forget it OR turn them on and off as you please. It's just nice to have the choice. I'm sure other cars have that feature as well. It also has bluetooth capability through the radio to connect to your phone. Actually...up to 4 seperate phones and you can dial and scroll through your phonebook through the center display. Just hit the controls on the steering wheel...the awesomly flat bottomed steering wheel!

It also has those rain-sensing wipers. Just switch them to "delay" and they'll do the rest. And powerseats! Personally, I never really cared about power seats. As long as they can be adjusted I'm fine, but it's a nice option to have. There were some other things here and there about the interior and features and all that, but enough about the inside...

Let's go driving! So I pulled out of the lot and took off toward the highway. The salesguy - Ronald - a really nice guy who really knows his cars well - I'd buy from him instantly if I was ready to buy something. He was really cool. He told me that the onramp was about a 70mph onramp with a nice sweeping turn to it. I hit it at about 65mph and the suspension felt firmer than the mk1's stock setup, but failed horribly compared to the eibach/bilstein setup I'm used to. There's an option of "magnetic ride suspension" ($1400 extra I think) that this car did NOT have, unfortunately. I'd love to test that out. For those who don't already know, it supposedly firms up the ride a LOT with the touch of a button by sending current through the shock which has pieces of metal in it.

Later on driving through some backroads, he took me through some decent twisties - he knew I was looking for some without me even asking - the steering is really light and easy. The car handled pretty well, but felt a little "leany" when in a turn for too long. Too much body roll. I didn't like that. There was also a little too much uhhh...understeer or oversteer - I always forget which is which. It felt like the front tires were sliding a bit too much and wanted to go straight while in the middle of a turn. So yeah...whatever that means. However, for a stock car it felt as neutral as it gets. I'm just used to my sway bars...and I love them dearly.

So anyway, the ride felt smooth. The 250 horseys definitely had some giddy-up. But a nicely modded 225 feels faster. I realize that they're two completely different cars and completely different engines, but the turbo is just so much more fun to drive.

The S-tronic has "launch control" which is nice, but really kind of unnecessary. So of course I had to try it out...three times. From a stop, you step on the brake hard and floor the gas peddle. The rpms hold at just above 3K. You take your foot off the brake and a half second later, you "launch!" And when you do, it moves. It works well and its fun! Damn fun! But it's not a must have option for me. How often would anyone really use that anyway? Other than the occassional stop-light race or the testing-it-to-make-sure-it-still-works. The 3.2's 0-60 is said to be 5.3. Not bad. I was up to 60+ very quickly. The 3.2 6-speed manual's 0-60 is 5.5 seconds and the 2.0 is 6.1 seconds. (All for the coupe. Roadster times are slightly slower.)

I was very disappointed with the color options. Or LACK of color options. There are 7 colors to choose from - 3 of which are a different type of silver. Then there's white, red, black and blue (the fastest!) The white, red and black are free...other colors are more $$. If I were to buy one I'd get blue - which I think he said was $465 extra. Other colors are more costly.

I think Audi did a good job. I could tell that they put a lot of thought into this new car. At the same time, I can't help but wonder if they threw in lots of stuff - options, features, etc. - everything they could think of into this car to get more sales. There are some little details that are just plain cool. Like one thing - if you look into the highbeam headlight light, there's a little shield looking sorta thing in front of the bulb and on it you can see a little "TT" on it. It's barely there, but that just made me smile. It's simple and subtle.

All in all, it's a really nice car. It still felt like a TT. I didn't think I would like it as much as I did. However, I wouldn't trade my TT for it. Gratuitous shot of my car One of my favs - taken by Kirby at TT East in Vermont
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/71949/mg_4168.jpg">

Razor1973

You mean understeer. The ***** were to too... er... knoby???

BTTI

They're too big. It's like they are saying "HEY! Look at me!" I like things more subtle so I thought they could've been smaller or maybe designed differently altogether. I'm not sure how I would have redesigned them, but that wouldn't have been it.

353/s/

There is only 6 colors available... 2 silvers... Light/Ice Silver and Sahara

BTTI

Actually, to be more precise, one of the silvers is going away at the end of May. After that happens a different silver replaces it. So yeah, in a way there are only 6.

Drollomite Man

Black, red and silver you gotta have. But ocean blue, though a very pretty color, doesn't seem quite the right blue for the Mk2, and besides, it's a repeat from the Mk1. BMW, Porsche and even Saab have several blues available. Also, the lack of any gray, which is a very popular color right now, is notable. And why no Phantom Black? We want some answers (to say nothing of more colors).

353/s/

Yes we know Silver Ice replaces Light Silver. They are virtually the same color.

353/s/

6 colors for 3000 cars is actually pretty good if you ask me.

JeffreyTT

In other words, if they had all the options, the dealers would have a difficult time predicting what to order and have available on the lot. Of course, then you may put-off some potential purchasers because they don't like what's being offered.

In the UK, there is some 13 standard paint colors and 10 leather options. With only the rumored 3000 TTs coming our way this model year, it could be difficult to impossible for a dealer make the correct choices.

We also miss out on the interior options such as light-grey headliner with the black seats, or black headliner with grey or beige seats.

4CTER

Does the Black look great in person? because the pic's are not a great clue for me.