Audi TT RS coupé, a superb Gran Tourer

If I’m honest, I probably would not opt for the increased top speed of 174 mph.

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I mean, £1600? Where can you check out that you actually get what you pay for? So it’s the good old ordinary 155mph max.

So that reduces the price of our test Audi TT RS, still with lots of options, down to £65,020. Worth it?

I was wowed when the car was delivered.

Yes, ‘Wow! That looks great! Just look at that fantastic red colour…really emphasises the TT’s classic shape.’ (Classic, now, maybe, but a drag-coefficient figure of 0.33 is nothing special.) And the Audi did turn out to be a head-turner, as I noticed quite a few times during my week with it.

The colour was Tango Red Metallic and the theme even extended to red edging on the seat belts. Of course, the stitching on the black seats is also red. Very smart.

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400 PS potentially on tap from the 2480cc 5-cylinder engine was always something to look forward to, not to mention 480 Nm of torque on board from a mere 1700 rpm for fast, safe overtaking.

That adds up to a car that has few equals on your average stretch of road. This all-wheel-drive car, with its 7-speed S tronic dual-clutch automatic gearbox, can shoot to 62mph in just 3.7 seconds. This puts it close to supercar territory. What’s more, there’s this great, exciting noise adding to the shock-pleasure. It’s the main reason that you will have spent all that money.

Of course, the TT offers all the other sorts of benefits that such a financial outlay affords.

So the list of features in the various categories of safety, convenience, comfort and connectivity would even challenge one of those memory experts.

You pay for these in the cost price, but can easily be tempted to add more options. The Comfort and Sound pack, for example, would set you back £1495; in monthly terms, this might seem to be minimal, of course; the £945 matrix LED headlights are worth it if plenty of night-time brisk driving is on the cards; power seat adjustment is £995 extra…worth it only if the car is likely to be regularly driven by someone other than the owner; Audi magnetic ride is another option also at £995.

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The TT RS can give a vast amount of sheer fun. Perhaps, however, a significant amount of driving time will be the mundane A-to-B stuff. In which case, magnetic ride gives, at the touch of a button, the choice of modes from comfort to eco to sport to individual. I tended to go for comfort and have to admit to about the only aspect of the RS that was less than satisfactory: ‘comfort’ just didn’t smooth out enough the lousy road surfaces that we suffer these days, mainly in urban situations. Away from these, the car was a joy: excellent brakes; precise steering; glue-like handling.

Naturally, such available performance costs a bit at the pumps. Depending on the tyres and wheels you have, the consumption rates from 31mpg to 37mpg in official figures. I only occasionally drove the car really hard and finished up, according to the trip computer, at 30mpg.

Overall, I rate the Audi TT RS as a superb grand tourer for two people. It has a really handy boot area. It eats up long distances. It still looks great and it says to you ‘get in and drive me!’