Category: Roadsters 
Price Range: No data available
Great wind-in-your-hair thrills, fantastic S-tronic gearbox; positive handling and look-at-me style.
There are still more affordable TT Convertible variants that do the job just as well.
A very fine sporting roadster, but not quite as special-feeling as a Porsche Boxster.
The Mk2 TT range is far stiffer in its construction than the first-generation model, with a lower centre of gravity, lighter-weight body, and wider front and rear tracks, all contributing to a much sportier, more rewarding drive.
The magnetic ride suspension (magnetorheological, to use the boffins' terminology) depends on magnetic particles within the damper fluid, which are charged by a variable electric current: this changes the fluid's density according to demand or driving conditions, and thus the resistance of the dampers. It makes for flatter cornering with less wallow - the suspension stiffens up - and the selectable Sport mode lowers the ride by 10mm for closer contact with the road. You can also select a later-intervention mode for the ESP stability control, to invoke a more on-the-edge feel, though only within conservative limits.
In truth, you'd have to push on pretty hard to notice much of a difference between this and a mainstream, non-magnetic TT: the basic car is so good these days anyway, with superb balance and stability, and predictable, confidence-inspiring responses.
Same goes for the engine. Though the on-paper figures (155mph, 0-60mph in 5.6 seconds, or 5.2 seconds with the S-tronic gearbox) suggest Porsche Boxster-beating acceleration, the TTS does not feel like a superlatively fast car, not least because it is so civilised. There is not a substantial advance in performance over the perfectly fast-enough 2.0 TFSI or heavier 3.2 V6, though where this engine does win out over the entry-level version is with its continued strength at the top end of the rev range, making for relaxed high-speed highway cruising.
Given then that the TTS, for all its lowering, stiffening and butching-up, is still more of a cruiser than a hardcore road-racer, it makes sense to opt for the S-tronic gearbox in place of the standard six-speed manual transmission. This smart set-up gives relaxed automatic-style progress, yet is super-quick to react when asked for rapid acceleration (it'll change gears quicker than a driver could) and even allows for a nice, rewarding growl and throttle-blipping on downchanges - it's so intuitive that there's really little gain in trying to over-ride it in the 'manual' sequential-shift mode, unless you want to rev the engine to near-ridiculous levels.
The TTS is all very accomplished, then, but it doesn't really offer enough of an advantage over the excellent 197bhp 2.0 TFSI - our favourite TT in the current range - to justify its higher price. And consider this: it's an upmarket, specced-up version of a mainstream, relatively affordable car, whereas the Boxster is an entry-level ticket into another sphere, something altogether more rarified. To which would you aspire?
