Every so often, you get into a car that feels just right.

You are immediately comfortable; everything is in the proper place and out on the road it doesn’t put a foot wrong.

 
My latest experience like that was in Audi’s entry-level TT Roadster1.8 TFSI. What a delightful machine! (And I am not even particularly a fan of open cars.)

The price for this 180PS sports car is £28,915, although the test car added £550 for the metallic Glacier White paint and £265 for the auto dimming rear view mirror with light and rain sensor package.

The manner of the 1.8’s performance is impeccable; it’s not a hugely fast car, although a zero to sixty two mph time of 7.2 seconds means that it is no slouch. The six-speed gear change is excellent, and its slick operation and perfectly spaced ratios add much to the experience.

The engine is a straightforward four-cylinder turbocharged unit that feels smooth and eager to please, with a pleasant exhaust note as you press your foot down to the floor. The brakes — ventilated discs at the front are totally up to the mark and the all-important steering and handling complete the picture beautifully, Given a good view of the road ahead, cornering at speed is superb in this front-wheel-drive car. I only had dry roads to try this out, but the inbuilt safety systems are all there to help prevent loss of traction on slippery surfaces.

The ride was good, too, with a strongly supple feel to the suspension whenever it had to deal with unfriendly road surfaces.

The hood can be lowered and raised in just ten seconds, and at speeds up to 31 miles an hour and the clean contours of the Roadster are not spoiled by any bulging fabric with the top in its lowered position. And, by the way, even when the hood is down, the boot still has a reasonable amount of luggage capacity.

Audi’s excellent virtual instruments are on board and are not just a gimmick; just press a switch and you can reduce the speedo and rev-counter in size, to allow, for example, a bigger map for your satnav mode.
With the hood up, the Roadster is just as quiet, I would imagine, as the Coupe version that I drove last year, so all your music and any other audio features are in no way compromised; this is thanks to three layers of acoustically-designed fabric material

On my drive over a variety of roads on the test, The trip recorder showed 34.7 mpg after a cold start. That would give a tank range of around 375 miles although you’d get more on long motorway journeys. The official combined cycle figure is 47.1 mpg. Emissions are 138 g/km.

Verdict: Strongly recommended!