Testing the Audi TT RS Roadster 2.5 TFSI quattro

In Audi, Car Reviews by Tom Scanlan

“It’s a first for Audi!

 
Tom Scanlan was reluctant to hand back the Audi TT RS Roadster Quattro
 
I’ve lost count of the number of Audi cars that I have driven over the years, but it’s going to be quite a few dozen. Now, for the first time, I have found a fault. In fact, not just one fault, but THREE.

My test TT RS Roadster arrived and I was really looking forward to seeing if I would enjoy it as much as the brief drive I had had last year in the entry-level 1.8 TFSI version. 400 PS was obviously going to be more than enough for any road car, but would it add up to that much more fun?

Given that I live in a typically suburban world, my first outing was at a sedate maximum of 30 mph for several miles; immediately apparent was a rather irritating tapping sound from somewhere within the right-hand side of the dashboard.

Soon after came the squealing brakes; in heavy traffic, this was embarrassing.

Then I got a warning that the rear nearside tyre pressure was low. I got out to have a look and it seemed OK and the car seemed to be behaving normally in this respect, too.

However, to be fair, at the first opportunity, I got it checked – the pressure was indeed a bit low. After the car had gone back to Audi after my week with it, investigations came up with the other answers: a build-up of brake dust caused the squeals and a piece of loose trim behind the dashboard was the other culprit.

But, look, what I really should have started with was when I first got in and started the Roadster up. Wow! Roar, bang, pop! went the exhaust and the boy racer was born again…

Once out of town, the Roadster began to make itself known to me. The ride was remarkably firm and I realised that it was probably, as delivered to me, in Dynamic mode. A closer look at the display would, I admit, have told me that. My case is that there is a lot of information to see, although you soon get to know where to look for whatever you need to know.

  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 38
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 37
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 36
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 35
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 33
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 29
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 32
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 30
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 31
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 28
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 27
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 26
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 25
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 24
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 23
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 22
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 21
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 20
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 19
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 18
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 17
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 16
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 15
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 14
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 13
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 3
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 12
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 2
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 1
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 4
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 11
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 8
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 7
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 10
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 9
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 6
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 5
  • Tom Scanlan reviews the Audi TT RS Roadster for Drive 34

So, eventually, I discovered how to re-select (have Audi yet again fiddled around with their MMI?) and that I did, choosing Comfort for my general driving around and Auto for longer journeys on faster roads.

Slowly, as the miles went by, and as condition changed day by day, I fell in love.

It was sometimes the little things…one very wet evening I got back into the car and it began to steam up. There is a tiny little switch on the central dash that suggests maximum warm airflow to the windscreen; press that and within a few seconds you’re back to 100% visibility. Very nice, that, with no silly fiddling around with more complicated controls that can take your eyes off the road.

Another little button, on the central console, allows the exhaust note to be amplified, so more (nice) noise for your bucks.

The handling was a joy. All the main driving functions were faultless. In the end, then, the TT was another car that I was reluctant to hand back..



Car reviewed: Audi TT RS Roadster 2.5 TFSI (400PS) – On the road £53,550 0-62mph 3.7 secs Top speed 155mph limited, optionally 174mph Fuel Economy combined 34mpg CO2 emissions 194g/km Engine inline 5-cylinder 2480cc turbo Max Power 400PS@5850-7000rpm Torque 480Nm@1700-5850rpm Transmission 7-speed S tronic quattro permanent all-wheel drive


  • A car to fall in love with

  • Excellent controls

  • Joyful performance and handling

  • Sadly a few niggly faults on test car

About the author

Tom Scanlan

'Tom Scanlan has written for a wide variety of magazines and newspapers, particularly the Reading Evening Post for ten years, having got into motoring journalism in 1973 via the somewhat unlikely back door of the British Forces Broadcasting Service. BFBS produced a weekly radio motoring show for the services overseas and Tom produced it, as well as interviewing experts and eventually reporting on cars. He is into classic cars and has owned Porsche, Ferrari, pre-war Alvis and Rileys and currently owns his fifth old Alfa Romeo, a 1984 GTV 2.0. In his spare time, Tom is a professional cricket coach.'

[cs_sjc_svg_separator enable_top_separator=”true” top_separator_style=”blob-left” top_separator_color=”hsl(0, 0%, 100%)” top_separator_height=”60″ enable_bottom_separator=”false” bottom_separator_style=”stamp” bottom_separator_color=”hsl(218, 17%, 82%)” bottom_separator_height=”100″ orientation=”vertical” border_type=”solid” heading_color=”#000″ style=”background-color: #fff;”]
 
 

No items found, please search again.