When you open the driver’s door of the new TT, you see an interior that – much like the exterior – lacks the appealing individualism of the original car, but which feels and looks extremely tidy. The designers have made sure everything in here is just so.
You sit really low, with the dashboard in front of you, rather than below, and the beautiful RS4-style flat-bottomed leather steering wheel is ideally placed to interact with.
The centre console is angled towards you in the manner of an old BMW, and ahead are a pair of beautifully crafted dials for revs and speed. Every switch, surface and dial is cleanly styled and perfectly weighted in its operation, and there’s even a unique-to-the-TT set of controls for heating and ventilation. Little touches like that show Audi’s commitment and pride towards the TT.
It goes beyond its place in the brand’s price structure; Audi wants you to feel good about owning this car when you’re sitting within its snug confines, irrespective of how much money you could have spent on a coupé.
You may feel slightly guilty if you need to give friends a lift anywhere, though, because although there’s more room than the old car up front, the rear seats are still very much for occasional use only. Nevertheless, they’re a useful dumping ground for luggage, and when they’re folded flat there’s 700 litres of space from the boot end to the front seat backs.
Nevertheless, unlike its predecessor, this is a fun car, and a very stylish one that appeals to a wide cross-section of owners. Its price dramatically undercuts the £36,220 you have to stump up for a Cayman, and the list of standard equipment on the Audi puts the stingily equipped Porsche to shame. And while it costs almost £2k more than a 350Z, in terms of sophistication and perceived quality, it’s on a different planet.
