Audi TT coupe review

Verdict - Is the Audi TT a good car?

The Audi TT Coupe has now been on sale for more than 20 years and is set to bow out of production soon, with no direct replacement on the cards. It’s been a great success for Audi, thanks to its sporty looks and handling, plus its everyday usability. This isn't a hardcore sports car or one that forces you to leave all your luggage behind. That helps it stand out against rivals like the Alpine A110 and Porsche 718 Cayman, both of which are somewhat more focused. The Ford Mustang is larger and more expensive to run, while the Toyota GR 86 is great fun but doesn't feel as upmarket as the Audi, and is already sold out.

Audi TT models, specs and alternatives

The Audi TT’s ability to blend exciting performance together with daily usability gives it a large amount of appeal across a broad spectrum of buyers. Part of this appeal is a reasonable amount of interior and boot space, alongside a chassis and engines that are easy to live with for the sort of town driving or long-distance motorway cruising most of us find ourselves tackling.

The Audi TT was facelifted in early 2019 with tweaked styling, and a further revision in 2022 brought a simplified engine range and changes to the standard equipment, while a Final Edition spec arrived in March 2023. The engine range now consists of two turbocharged petrols, while the diesel model was discontinued in 2018. There’s a front-wheel-drive 195bhp 2.0-litre 40 TFSI model with a seven-speed automatic gearbox that sprints from 0-62mph in 6.6 seconds. The more powerful 242bhp 2.0-litre 45 TFSI comes with Audi’s quattro all-wheel-drive system, which cuts the 0-62mph time to 5.1 seconds.

The third variation wears the TTS badge. This model uses a 316bhp version of the 2.0-litre TFSI petrol engine, together with quattro all-wheel drive, to give truly Porsche-rivalling performance figures – 0-62mph in 4.5 seconds is possible with help from the sharp S tronic automatic gearbox.

In 2018, the 2.0-litre diesel version of the TT Coupe was discontinued.

Meanwhile, for supercar-baiting performance in a compact package, the TT RS can get from 0-62mph in under four seconds and thanks to its 2.5-litre five-cylinder petrol engine – we've reviewed it separately.

Despite its advancing years, the Audi TT’s interior is still one of the best in a shrinking class. Its minimalist design incorporates clever circular air vents with climate control information displayed within them, as well as Audi’s Virtual Cockpit digital instrument setup, which does away with traditional analogue dials and replaces them with a TFT screen. This display can show all manner of information, including sat nav maps, media and directions, so you never have to glance far from the road ahead, but it’s only visible to the driver.

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You can technically describe the TT as a four-seater, but it's really a '2+2', with rear seats only really big enough for small children, emergency use or carrying a few soft bags. Handily, those seats fold down, making the large boot even more practical.

Audi has a middling reputation with owners, coming 22nd out of 29 manufacturers in our 2022 Driver Power survey, but the TT feels supremely well-engineered and built.

We'd expect this Audi TT to become collectable in the next few years, with the news that the next-generation TT is likely to become an electric four-door coupe.