While the environment is always a top concern in the smoggy Los Angeles basin, there's still plenty of car enthusiasm around to embrace a tidy sports coupe like the 2009 Audi TTS. In addition to its smart shape and compact dimensions, the TTS offers thrilling road manners with even more performance than the standard coupe.
The latest TT, with its new hybrid aluminum/steel structure and revised Quattro all-wheel-drive system that shuffles torque seamlessly fore and aft depending on grip (rather than splitting it 50/50 as in the old model), is dynamically far ahead of the original. But even with the old TT, there was always the feeling that the chassis was crying out for more power. The new TTS model now has that power, in the form of a new 2.0-liter turbocharged engine with direct injection, a technology first used by Audi in the V-8 gasoline engines campaigned so successfully at Le Mans.
The headline figures for this new 4-cylinder are: 265 bhp at 6000 rpm and a diesel-like 258 lb.-ft. of torque on tap from 2500 to 5000 rpm. With Audi's latest 6-speed dual-clutch transmission (developed from the shifters used in Audi's Quattro rally cars and Porsche's 962 endurance racer) and magneto-rheological adaptive suspension, the TTS has a dream recipe of specifications.
But does it deliver? The simple answer is "yes," and in spades. Top speed is limited to 155 mph, 0–62 mph (0– 100 km/h) is achieved in 5.4 seconds, yet the car still returns an average of 29.3 mpg. With the adaptive suspension set to Sport mode, the ride gets jittery even on excellent German blacktop. There's a bit more body roll, but the car flows fast and evenly through bends with just a hint of understeer. Reset the ESP and you can drift the rear wheels slightly, balanced with a touch of opposite lock. Add to that a rorty exhaust note and beautiful auto-blip downshifts, and the grin is difficult to wipe from your face.
On another positive note, the slight lurch on take-off experienced with the original DSG has been eliminated. What's more, the faster-reacting Haldex center differential shuffles torque between the axles more smoothly and faster than before.
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