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“This is the most orange car I’ve ever seen.”

“Wow, you are soooo getting pulled over in that.”

“What do they think this thing is, a Lamborghini?”

-Reactions from my girlfriend, cameraman, and intern upon seeing the Solar Orange 2010 Audi TT-S pull into the driveway.

I was immediately smitten. I’d never thought much about the TT before; it’s always been kind of a girl’s car, the kind of car someone my size looks very silly driving. Its miniature, curved body, short overhangs, low roofline, and small engine make the perfect up-and-coming female executive’s car. It’s stylish, but those who really thought about driving dynamics (read: men) would traditionally be looking elsewhere, like to the TT’s bigger brothers, the S4, S5, or Porsche Cayman.

But wait, I hear the TT-S is fast. Can adding a bit of flair, more boost, and some orange paint turn the “secretary’s Audi” into a real man’s corner carving dream? More importantly, is it fast enough to justify the color? Hit the jump to find out.

I loved the first-generation TT. That car was the best example of retro-future styling I had ever seen up to that point, and the chrome-ringed interior, light weight, and free-revving turbocharged engine made it an absolute joy to drive. The second generation lost me, and didn’t win me back until the Orange Julius showed up in my driveway, wearing the 2010 S4’s 19” wheels, LED lights, and flared fenders. This car looks good.

The TT-S may appear small, but it’s really just an illusion based on the low roofline, and short overhangs. It’s bigger than a Mini Cooper, but smaller than a Nissan Z. Despite the low roof, it’s very easy to get in and out of, and once inside, you realize how roomy they have managed to make the interior. There’s more headroom than the Genesis Coupe, more legroom than my girlfriend’s Volvo V70, and more shoulder space than a Porsche Cayman. There is a back seat, but discussing it would simply lead me to references about midgets and amputees, and you’ve heard it all before. On the other hand, folding down that back seat reveals a Corvette-rivaling trunk volume. Never once did I want for additional room. Speaking of the trunk, Audi’s cargo net is brilliant, holding my meats and produce in place no matter how ridiculously fast I drove home from the grocery store.

The TT-S’s seats and steering wheel come straight out of the R8, and both are best in class. Steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters used to bother me, but with dual clutch transmissions and all wheel drive, there’s no reason not to be shifting mid-corner anymore. The seats are firm, bolstered, and very adjustable, and keep you in place without feeling cramped or pinched. Ergonomics in the TT are second to none, with every function, button, and control well within reach and exactly where you’d expect it to be, with two exceptions: After driving the A4 and S4 for the past 2 weeks, going back to the TT-S’s last-gen radio/navigation controls really did feel like a step backwards in design. The 2011 refresh of the TT will most certainly update that feature. And I really would like to see a real armrest, not just a piece of padding on top of the parking brake handle.

The TT-S is powered by a 2.0L, 265 horsepower, turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, mated to Audi’s DSG dual-clutch 6-speed gearbox, and of course, Quattro all wheel drive. 265 horsepower may not sound like much for a $52,000 (as tested) car, but the relatively low curb weight of 3,200 pounds, seamless shifting, and endless amounts of boost at high revs make the TT-S feel much faster than the sum of its parts. Sixty comes in 4.9 seconds if you use Audi’s launch control system, which you must, because if you don’t, you may as well measure acceleration with an hourglass. If you don’t use launch control, the TT-S is dangerously slow from a stop. NOTHING happens below 3,500 RPM in this engine. Zero to twenty takes about 4 seconds, so leave plenty of room pulling out into traffic. On the other hand, once the turbo spools up, hold on to your license, because the TT-S will be rocketing down the road at extra-legal speeds in no time. That 3,500 RPM mark on the tachometer may as well be an on/off switch. Audi says the car is limited to 155 mph, but I can tell you that it also runs out of gear at the same time it hits the limiter. On the other hand, the car is rock solid at that speed, and it’s just so easy to drive fast, that I was able to average 94 mph for over 2 hours on a recent road trip. The acceleration from 75 to 155 is amazing, on par with much more expensive cars, and reinforcing my opinion that Audi’s are designed for the Autobahn, not the dragstrip.

The window sticker claims the TT-S can achieve 21/29 fuel economy, which it can, but only if you leave the shifter in “D-automatic,” which is Audi-speak for “never go into boost, ever.” If you are planning on spending $50,000 on a sports car and driving in this mode, I have one word for you: don’t. Even if you floor it, the eco-mode requires THREE downshifts to get into boost. By then, you’ve been rear-ended by a road-rage-filled Prius driver. Then there’s “S-automatic” mode, which keeps the engine in boost all the time. Great, if you don’t want to shift on a country backroad, but around town, having the engine in boost all the time makes this car go waaaay too fast, and you’ll find yourself slamming on the brakes at every red light, after realizing you’re going 85 in a 30. Fortunately, the brakes in the TT are nothing south of stellar.

After day 1, I found myself driving in manual shift mode all the time, because it was the only way I could keep the lag vs. boost under control. Shifts come immediately and with a satisfying burble from the quad-exhaust tips, and before you know it, you’re going 120 mph shifting into 6^th at redline. The result of my “spirited” driving style? 16.4 miles per gallon of Premium fuel. The TT-S can easily burn through a full tank in under 200 miles if boost is your friend.

In the twisties, keeping the engine right on the edge of boost while entering a corner will allow you to get back on the gas way early, and the car will spool up right as the Quattro system is pulling it through the corner. It’s a fantastic feeling, and the TT-S makes a great corner-carving companion. If you live in the mountains, this car is for you.

At the end of the day, I wouldn’t buy this car though. Why? Because I know that there’s a TT-RS out there, with a 5-cylinder engine, 80 extra horsepower, and 70 extra lb/ft of torque. I have no doubts that the TT-RS cures everything I don’t like about the TT-S, and possibly some of the things that I haven’t even thought of yet. The TT isn’t enough, and the TT-RS isn’t available in the US (so far). Which leaves the TT-S in a middle ground between two non-options.

Kind of a shame really, because beating the snot out of this thing is damn fun.

[Edit: On the last day of testing, the TT-S showed a TPMS, or Tire Pressure Monitoring System fault. All 4 tires have plenty of air in them, but the car is convinced there is a flat. This is the second electrical problem encountered in the last three Audi’s we’ve driven. The first was a major electronic transmission control problem in the A4 Avant, which Zack experienced as “being confused into neutral” and I experienced as “the engine will not rev over 4,000 RPM after shifting into 3^rd at redline while in manual mode. I was not able to rectify the problem by restarting the car or disconnecting the battery for a few minutes, and told the issue to Audi, who claims to be working on it. I hope that Audi is not falling victim to “Toyota Synrdome” and quality control of the electronic systems in these brand new cars will remain reliable.]

Audi provided the car, a tank of gas, and insurance for this review.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 15th, 2010 at 11:26 am and is filed under News, Photos, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.