The Mk.1 Audi TT Quattro as reviewed by a guy who owned one.

"Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge)" (thejonnyedge) 03/04/2014 at 08:44 • Filed to: AUDI TT, 2015 AUDI TT, AUDI, COUPES, TT

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Audi have at last unveiled the third generation Audi TT, and I registered my interest a few hours ago as soon as I saw a tweet go out on my timeline (@Jonny___X if you're interested guys!) from the people at Top Gear. I frantically typed Audi into Google, clicked my way onto the Audi webpage, and got my registration all sorted out in a millisecond. As you've probably noticed, I'm actually rather excited about it.

My excitement is founded upon one thing only- the feelings I had for my first proper car, my Mk.1 Audi TT. For four years of my life I owned a car that had starred in a film. I owned a car that took me to places I'd never even dreamt of seeing before. I owned a car that guided me all the way through Normandy and into the streets of central Paris where I remained lost, alone, and confused for 9 and a half hours. That's why I'm excited. I loved her to bits. Maybe it was more for the experiences I had whilst owning her rather than the performance of the car, but who can really say exactly why we form attachments to machines.

I'm not going to get into specific stories I had at the wheel of my TT in this article, I might write about those another time. For now, I'm just going to talk in fairly basic terms about how my ownership experience was. How she drove, how much she cost me, and how, most importantly, she made me feel. But first, let's answer a few basic questions shall we?

Q: Jonny, was your Mk.1 TT fast?

A: No, not really.

Q: Jonny, did your Mk.1 TT handle well?

A: No, it didn't.

Q: Jonny, was your TT good value for money?

A: No, no it wasn't.

By any traditional means of measurement, my Audi TT was not a great car. It was powered by the 180bhp version of the 1.8 turbo engine but that doesn't mean a thing, because the car weighed about 9 tonnes and as a result, it didn't feel very fast at all. Quick-ish is how I would describe it. Handling wise it wasn't great either, it suffered from far too much body roll and that combined with her weight problem meant you kind of never had much idea what was going on underneath you.

Costs, oh my God the costs. You guys probably know enough about me by now to know I live in England. Well, petrol prices in England are bonkers compared to the USA. In fact in the four years I owned my TT the price of petrol went up by over 30 pence a litre. So we're talking around nearly £80 a tank for a fill up, and it only did at best a rather pitiful 23mpg. So, combine that with the £280 pounds a year road tax I had to give to the government, my £600+ insurance, and the yearly service bills (averaging around £300) and you'll soon see how much this car was costing me. My wallet twitches at the sound of the word 'Audi' even to this day.

Right now, you as the reader are probably wondering why on earth some grumpy English chap has wasted your evening blabbering on about how bad his old Audi TT is. Well stay here a little longer, because now I'm getting to the good part. Here it comes...

What the Audi TT did for me is the same thing that the Disco Volante did for Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear a couple of weeks ago.

As a tool for making you feel good, there aren't many other cars in its price group that can compete with the Audi TT. Go and look at the original Audi TT. What do you see? You see that it still fits in with the cars of today, it still looks fresh, cool, and relevant. The design of that first TT hasn't aged in the slightest. When the new TT was unveiled today, once again you can see that it hasn't changed from that stunning, beautiful, and original design from back in the 90's. You have to remember that this is a design that was first showed to the world in 1995. That famous shape and style of the Audi TT is coming up for its 20th birthday and it still looks great! The Mk.2 and now the Mk.3 have just evolved on the classic design, it has stayed true to its original form and I love that. My TT made me feel like I owned a concept car every time I even looked at her.

I think it's important that a car is at least moderately fast and handles well just like the rest of us. I love cars that drive as good as they look. Ok, so maybe the TT didn't do that, but it didn't make it any less special for me. Wherever she was, at whatever time or season she always looked fantastic, and she always made any simple drive into an occasion.

Oh, and that film she was in? My particular car was sold to me with paper work authenticating her role in the Hugh Grant film 'About a Boy' where she was Hugh Grant's characters' car. She was one of two identical cars, but the only one given away in a national newspaper competition. Not the coolest film in the world I know, but it added to her allure a bit and always made a good topic of car conversation. I miss my TT, I really do hope I can get myself into a Mk.3 at some point and if I do... I'm ticking the silver paint box.

jkm7680 > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) 03/04/2014 at 08:48

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They sell fairly cheap, in the United States at least. I always liked the looks of them, but it just wasn't a car for me.

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > jkm7680 03/04/2014 at 08:50

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I completely understand, it isn't the car for everybody. As I outlined, by conventional means, it isn't a good car. But the one thing it does as well as anything else on the road is it makes you feel good. I don't believe the TT will ever be a true sports car, but to the right person it really is special.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) 03/04/2014 at 08:57

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I've always loved the looks of the TT. I just get terrified whenever I see the phrase 1.8T on a VW product. I love the engine, it's good fun to drive, but I've heard so many horror stories about owning one.

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 03/04/2014 at 09:09

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I never ever had trouble with it while I owned it, it's just the general upkeep was shockingly expensive. Part of that was down to the taxes I have to pay in the UK on fuel and road tax, but part of it was also servicing costs etc, etc.

The car makes you feel very special, even if the Mk.1 suffers a bit with it's weight and handling. When you drive a TT you truly are driving a concept car. Even now in 2014.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) 03/04/2014 at 09:16

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I'm still always considering one. I'll probably go look again once the Si is paid off. Can't deny the allure of a small AWD coupe.

jkm7680 > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) 03/04/2014 at 09:18

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Yeah, Nice way of putting it!

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 03/04/2014 at 09:22

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Yeah, take a look at least. If you can get in the silver I had it in that really gives it that '95 concept' look. Which is cool! The outside of the car is very feminine in its lines and shape but the inside is very masculine. Metal and leather all over the place.

If you do decide to get one, get a 225bhp version because the 180bhp isn't enough for the car in my opinion.

Meatcoma > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) 03/04/2014 at 09:37

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My son has looked at some used ones, but I am fearful they will cost him soo much.

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > Meatcoma 03/04/2014 at 09:44

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In the UK, it will definitely cost him a lot and you're right to be concerned about that. As for other nations, I really can't be too sure. I'd keep plenty of money back for servicing and repairs just in case, but I would like to emphasize that I actually didn't look after my TT particularly well but it never once broke down on me. So, in my experience it is a reliable and tough car.

I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have on the TT, I had it for a long time and did some big adventures in it so I can pretty much cover all angles I think!

ksmay71 > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) 03/05/2014 at 12:31

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Thanks for writing this. The "Boy meets car, boy falls in love with car, boy eventually has to sell car" template could be recycled a million times and I would read it every time.

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > ksmay71 03/05/2014 at 13:16

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Thank you for reading it! I really appreciate it. And yeah, it's a Hollywood script that everybody's starred in!!

truebeliever > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) 03/05/2014 at 22:29

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Frankly, I always called this thing the Snow Leopard. Quattro and some snow tires and this thing would be so fun to drive in the snow. Never cared for the convertible version but love the lines of the hardtop. Yes, you could buy a Lexus or some Korean piece of shit for less money, hpwever you wouldn't get any of the style that this car exudes.

Mr-Clutch > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) 03/05/2014 at 22:38

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I feel the same way about my MK4 R32. The one thing that makes it special is it's 3.2 power plant and all wheel drive. My car is heavy at 3700 pounds, it has a perfect spartan interior and she moves. It's not the fastest out of it's group it's the character and the engine/exhaust sound it makes, some cars that cost 3X as much wish they sounded like that.

Although I don't have too pay taxes like you do every year. On the other hand I pay $500 a moth for insurance and garage space, that's not including the price of gas, maintenance and incidentals.

Question, I have heard people paying $1 per cc an engine puts out. So if you have a 1000cc engine you have too pay $1000 dollars a year on taxes. Is that correct.

Maxaxle > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) 03/05/2014 at 22:55

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Respect!

Collin > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) 03/05/2014 at 22:56

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I know it's a hairdresser's car, but I can't help liking the TT. It confuses me.

Maxaxle > ksmay71 03/05/2014 at 22:59

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Bug me when the following cars get that treatment (because I'm interested in them):
-Mid-80s-to-mid-90s Nissan Zs.
-Toyota Supras, anything from after the '84 redesign.
-Toyota Celicas, anything from before the overhyped early '00s version.
-Honda CRX and/or Del Sol.

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > truebeliever 03/06/2014 at 06:41

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Yes! In fact I forgot to mention in the article just how good the Quattro is in the snow. Its awesome. We had some nasty snowy months while I owned it and my TT was one of the only cars on the road along with serious off-roaders.

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > Collin 03/06/2014 at 06:42

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It's not a true sports car, but it makes you feel special.

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > Mr-Clutch 03/06/2014 at 06:53

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Here in the UK are taxes are governed by the specific Co2 figure of the car. Unfortunately the older performance cars didn't have manufacturers that really went out to look at keep those figures down so a slow old Audi TT costs more in tax than modern cars with twice the horsepower. On top of this, the government puts it up every year because well, their the government.

But I totally get what you're saying about character. Unfortunately, my Audi had to go when time caught up with it.

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > Maxaxle 03/06/2014 at 07:43

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GT for life mate!!!

Brad B > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) 03/06/2014 at 08:17

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Mk wife's Mk1 TT225 just rolled over 150k miles. The past year has been very trying as every single plastic and rubber part has been decaying to dust.

Maxaxle > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) 03/06/2014 at 09:39

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...Weeeell maybe not "for life", but it's pretty great.

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > Brad B 03/06/2014 at 09:40

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Has she enjoyed owning the car? How long has she had it for?

It's sad when a car starts to die, I'm hoping in the future I can resurrect my TT in the form of a new Mk.3.

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > Maxaxle 03/06/2014 at 09:43

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I used to have a limited Edition GT4 keyring but it broke when I was out somewhere and it was lost for evermore.

That night; whilst wearing dark sunglasses, I drunk three bottles of whiskey in a smokey jazz club.

Note: The whiskey may have been cold tea. Not sure.

DETROIT > Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) 03/06/2014 at 10:51

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I really love the TT and driven some - you are right, obviously not a sports car but still really great. Nice interior, nice steering tension, capable of driving in snow. I liken it to a really nice pair of designer boots - they aren't really capable of anything, will break if used they way you would think a boot would work and cost more than a solid pair of boots. But damn they look good and feel good to wear.

Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge) > DETROIT 03/06/2014 at 10:57

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You've got it.

This is why I love Oppo! Sure there's some good and some bad, but the good is very, very good. I love getting comments on my articles like this.

Saracen > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather 03/06/2014 at 14:41

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Depends on how well you treated it. I took great care of my B6 1.8T Avant and I had an excellent 150k miles ownership experience.