SOUTH HAVEN, Michigan — The Audi TT has always been plagued by criticisms that it’s not a serious sports car. People have long knocked its Volkswagen Golf roots and bubbly styling, writing it off as a half-hearted performer without the handling chops of a rear-wheel-drive car. For a slew of reasons, those claims are a lot harder to make these days. Not only does the 2016 Audi TTS look the part of a proper sports car, but it hustles around a track like it’s out to prove it belongs there.
So why this feeling that $57,525 is still too much for too little, at least around a road course?
At first, the TTS is quick to earn its keep around GingerMan Raceway. It makes easy work of the wet pavement on this drizzling afternoon, the all-wheel drive working its magic around the placid stillness of GingerMan’s deeply satisfying bends. Slimy and damp sections are mowed over like they were barely there. We’re sure to be in Dynamic mode, increasing throttle response, tightening the steering, and firming up the standard magnetic ride suspension. Crucially, while in Dynamic the TTS has a rear bias and can send 100 percent of its torque to the rear axle, while still constantly monitoring conditions and delivering torque to the tires with the most grip.
The dual-clutch transmission fires off shifts with perfect execution time and time again, blipping the revs to just where we need them as we brake hard into corners and never shifting unexpectedly when we need instant throttle response. The transmission and engine were such competent dance partners we never once deferred to the steering-wheel-mounted shift paddles. Few cars are this easy to just jump in and drive, and soon we’re carrying thrilling speed through GingerMan’s tightest sections while barely breaking a sweat.
While 2016 Audi TTS is no longer a servant of the foul force known as understeer, that doesn’t make it an oversteering buffoon, either. You have to snooze the stability control and put in serious work to make the TTS break out of its fiercely neutral bubble. That kind of trust and predictability is exactly what we want out of an everyday sports car, but track driving begs for a little more dialogue between you, your courage, and your car. It’s definitely quick, but for the most part, the TTS is soft-spoken.
Steering is quick and accurate, which is a gift from above whether on a road course or the street. There’s some good feedback coming through the steering wheel about what the front tires are doing, as well. The trouble is that Audi has filtered out too much of the bad, creating a degree of distance between you and the road.
We fly down the back straight well into the triple digits, watching the digital speedo nestled into Audi’s slick virtual cockpit display climb north. Urged on by the pleasant belches of the sport exhaust, the TTS and its 19-inch wheels and summer tires claw at the supremely smooth asphalt, until we plunge our little piggies into the brake pedal. The 13.3-inch front brakes with painted four-piston calipers bite hard — at least at first. After only few short sessions the pedal turns to mashed potatoes, which is something a comparably priced BMW M2 would not abide.
The flip side, of course, is that the TTS is supremely livable. On a winding road, it’s almost effortless to get up to speed and start carving corners, but the car doesn’t punish you in rush-hour traffic or on the highway. It’s in those moments we take stock of Audi’s new driver-focused interior, which is mirrored in the new R8 supercar. Ingolstadt has always had a knack for great materials and assembly. But the innovation that went into this new center-screen-less design, perfectly ergonomic steering wheel, plus the ever-so-lovely optional Nappa leather seats, is just a huge step above any car the TT competes with. Neither the BMW Z4, M2, Mercedes SLC, nor Mercedes-AMG CLA45 have done anything quite this special and thoughtful.
Especially when it comes to the coupe, the 2016 Audi TTS makes a really strong case as an everyday luxury sports car. The 12 cubic feet of cargo space in the trunk is a huge improvement compared to the 7.5 cubic feet in the roadster, and dropping the rear seats easily makes the TTS a viable chariot for a couple on a road trip. Although the design has devolved into a geometric shell of the once mind-blowing shape, the TTS undeniably looks the business, especially when it blasts around a corner in a blur of bright yellow paint.
Still, the 2016 Audi TTS wouldn’t be our first choice for a day of lapping a track as enjoyable as GingerMan. Understandable as they are for the average TTS customer, for a sports car in the mid-$50,000 range and below there are faster and more communicative cars to be had, including purebred track stars like the M2 and the Camaro SS. Of course, the competence and balance of the TTS chassis does leave us thirsty for a crack at the upcoming TT RS, which will add one cylinder, more than 100 extra horsepower, and beefier brakes for a considerably more track-focused approach.
2016 Audi TTS Coupe Specifications
| On Sale: | Now |
| Price: | $52,825/$57,525 (base/as tested) |
| Engine: | 2.0L DOHC 16-valve turbocharged I-4/292 hp @ 5,400 rpm, 280 lb-ft @ 1,900 rpm |
| Transmission: | 6-speed dual-clutch automatic |
| Layout: | 2-door, 4-passenger, front-engine, AWD coupe |
| EPA Mileage: | 23/27 mpg (city/hwy) |
| L x W x H: | 165.0 x 72.1 x 52.8 in |
| Wheelbase: | 98.6 in |
| Weight: | 3,241 lb |
| 0-60 MPH: | 4.6 sec |
| Top Speed: | 102 mph |
The post Track Drive: 2016 Audi TTS appeared first on Automobile Magazine.
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