Audi TT RS (2016 – 2023) Review

Audi’s current TT line-up is headed by the TT RS, those two letters turning Audi’s cool-looking coupe and roadster into a seriously capable performance car that’s got the power to humble rivals from Porsche, among others. Power comes from a turbocharged five-cylinder engine with 400PS, it driving all four-wheels via Audi’s quattro system and a twin-clutch paddle-shifted automatic transmission. It’s not just fast, either, the TT among the most useful of its coupe competition.

The Audi TT absolutely wowed when the original was launched back in 1999, and with the current, third-generation TT, Audi’s stuck with the same winning formula of head-turning looks, a 2+2 hatchback layout (in the coupe), quattro four-wheel drive and a range of engines to cover every expectation of performance.

The TT RS heads that line-up, it powered by a turbocharged in-line five-cylinder engine, which is enough to give the TT serious firepower, it managing a 3.7 second 0-62mph time and onto an electronically limited 155mph maximum speed.

That can be raised to 174mph should you pay Audi a little bit extra, but unless your driveway’s the length of a runway, or your commute regularly takes Germany’s unrestricted autobahns, then it’s not really worth paying for. 

The TT RS provides plenty of performance then, its output putting among the most potent among its potential rivals, these including cars like the Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman range, the BMW Z4 or M2 Competition or CS models, Toyota’s Supra, the Jaguar F-Type and, at the more purist end of potential rivals, cars like the Alpine A110 or a Lotus Elise/Exige.

To get the sort of output the TT RS delivers with a Porsche badge on the bonnet you’ll be looking at the GTS or GT4 models, which still can’t match the plucky Audi against the clock, nor on the price lists. 

That makes the TT RS a compelling buy if outright power and pace is your goal, but for all the big numbers associated with it, the TT RS lacks the sort of fine agility and engagement of the best of its competition.

That won’t bother many, though, as while it might not be quite as engaging, it’s a lot more useable than the majority of its rivals, with the hatchback rear, and the (admittedly tiny) rear seats making it a more practical proposition than most rivals, while the four-wheel drive mean it’s surefooted even in typically British conditions – read wet, most of the time.

Throw in the TT’s cool looks, gaining a more overtly sporting style with the RS addenda, and interior quality that’s a league above pretty much all of its rivals – the cool virtual cockpit instrumentation likely to win the TT RS a good few buyers alone – and it’s not difficult to see why the TT RS is appealing to so many. 

The Roadster loses some of the coupe’s usefulness, the opening roof robbing the TT of its hatchback rear and small pews in the back, but the gains, hearing that rousing five-cylinder more clearly and having the sun on your neck, more than make up for the loses.

Even so, there’s talk of Audi discontinuing the TT in the next year, instead attaching the badge to yet another crossover model, though powered by an electric drivetrain. An era ending car, then, get one quick, while you still can.  

The headlines all shout about the TT RS’s power, and rightly so, because while the RS’s chassis is certainly surefooted and capable, it’s a little short on involvement and interaction.

The suspension sits some 10mm lower than its TT relations, that improving things slightly, and the quattro four-wheel drive is able to diverts all its power to either axle, but it never serves up the sort of playfulness that defines its most talented rivals – like the Porsche 718 range, the Alpine A110 or BMW’s M2.

That all makes for an undeniably fast TT over a favourite road, but not the most fun car out there among its competitors.

The standard TT RS’s 19-inch wheels and passive suspension is the best all-rounder if you’re looking for some ride comfort, with the 20-inch wheels of the Audi Sport Edition adding some unwelcome busyness to the ride, the Vorsprung’s magnetic damper system only ever likely to be on its Comfort mode, because the other settings only add compromise to the ride comfort. 

There are other engines elsewhere in the TT model range, but the TT RS gets the best, and most historically correct one, with the 5-cylinder turbo engine harking back to Audi’s most celebrated racing engines.

It sounds fantastic, too, with a characterful whuffle note emanating from under the bonnet and the exhaust, it worth optioning the Sports Exhaust to hear it at its best. It’s responsive and revs quickly, but there’s real flexibility at low revs, too, the RS’s in-line five being quick pretty much everywhere. Y

ou can alter its responsiveness by messing about with the drive mode settings, with these also changing the speed of the gearbox’s response, the TT RS coming as standard with a seven-speed paddle-shifted automatic transmission. It’s quick and easy, though take over yourself and you’ll find the paddles behind the steering wheel disappointingly small, and, very uncharacteristically for an Audi, a bit cheap feeling. 

The TT has been tested independently by EuroNCAP and it scored a four-star rating, which is commendable here, particularly given the TT RS is no longer in its first flourish of youth. It should protect you well in an accident, then, though the plentiful driver aids (as well as the four-wheel drive and big brakes) help out here.

There’s stability and traction control, ABS, active lane assist and a pair of ISOFIX child seat mounts in the rear (of the coupe) the front passenger seat also benefitting from ISOFIX mounting points. There’s a first aid kit, tyre pressure monitoring system and the option (standard on the Vorsprung) of traffic sign recognition and Audi Side Assist. If all that fails to stop you having an accident, there are driver, front passenger front and side airbags, too.

Forget it, the TT RS isn’t a car for towing with, the rear bodywork not allowing the fitment of a towbar.

It’s a coupe, but unlike the majority of its rivals, BMW M2 aside, there’s a pair of rear seats. We say seats, but they’re best actually thought of as additional storage, and, usefully, fold flat to increase the loadspace in the already usefully sized, shaped, and accessed boot, which measures 305 litres with those ‘seats’ in place, or a genuinely generous 712 litres with them down.

That’s plenty of room for the old golf clubs measure, but nobody puts there sticks in a car these days, so it’s perhaps more worthwhile saying you’ll get your carbon-fibre framed racing bike in there, so long as you’re happy to take the wheels off it. 

The Roadster loses all that, for a more conventional, and smaller boot, and no rear seats, but if coupe buyers buy with an expectation of a few compromises in relation to practicality, Roadster customers are always happy to make even more sacrifices for the ability to have the sky open above them.

In the cabin in both there’s decent cubby storage for bits and bobs, and if you really want the TT RS’s performance but need some more space, then you could always buy the RS 3 Sportback, which shares its powertrain, but gains a proper five-seat hatchback, four-door body.

The original TT was instrumental in changing the design of Audi’s interior design, the material quality already being a cut above.

And so it continues to prove. The team who deal with this sort of stuff at Audi are obsessive about such details and its apparent in every element of the TT RS’s interior. Others try, but none quite match Audi for this, the TT RS worth buying for its cabin alone.

As the range-topping model in the TT RS doesn’t want for much when it comes to the standard infotainment set-up. It features Audi’s cool Virtual Cockpit, one of the first systems to replace dials with a TFT screen, and still one of the best.

In the TT it’s not supplemented by a centre screen for things like the audio or nav, so you’ll not be able to get a passenger to help should you want/need it. Most of the functions can be controlled via steering wheel buttons and the MMI controller between the front seats is also easy enough to use. 

There’s DAB as standard, and sat nav, and all work with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The standard TT RS and the Sport Edition need the Comfort Pack if you want the best audio, though, it adding Bang & Olufsen sound, as well as keyless go and a handy rear-view parking camera.

You’ll get in a TT RS from around £55,000, that for the base model. Up that to £5 shy of £60,000 and you’ll get in the TT RS Audi Sport Edition, it gaining an inch on the wheel size for a standard 20-inch wheel as well as benefitting from the addition of a standard RS Sports Exhaust system and a black styling pack.

There’s a good bit more carbon fibre trim inside and out, too, for that additional outlay. Above the Audi Sport Edition is the Vorsprung, which like all RS models is the range-topping trim within the range-topping model. 

The TT RS Vorsprung  gains magnetic dampers, Matrix LED headlights and the most complete of Audi’s Driver Assistance systems, with things like Audi Side Assist and Park Assist joining the standard equipment.

You’ll also get the best audio, which you’ll need to option as part of the Comfort Pack on the other two cars, though the Vorsprung does push the TT RS into the realm of a £66,000 purchase, which even with its performance potential, does look a little bit hefty. You do get that raised, to 174mph, speed limiter on the Vorsprung, though you’ll still have to pay an extra £345 if you want the brake callipers painted red… 

If you want the TT RS Roadster then you can add nearly £3,000 to the list price of any of the above, which sees the TT RS Roadster cost £57,745, the TT RS Audi Sport Edition cost £61,745 and the TT RS Vorsprung cost £67,725.

Officially it returns around 30mpg on the WLTP combined consumption test cycle, though it’ll be in the mid-20s in reality, and less if you’re particularly heavy of foot with it. Insurance groupings are high, too, with all in group 38 and above, while servicing, and in particular consumables like tyres, brake pads and discs, will be more than merely warm TT models. 

Audi does offer fixed price servicing packages, as well as extended warranties, these well worth considering if you’re wanting to keep costs predictable. VED charges in all are in the upper end of the payment sphere, so you’ll pay the penalty payment for the first five years of ownership, though, again, that’s not likely to surprise, nor influence your buying decision, either.

TT RS has 19-inch alloy wheels, DAB with Apple CarPlay, Audi Virtual Cockpit, Climate control, LED headlights and RS Sport Suspension while the TT RS Audi Sport Edition adds 20-inch black alloy wheels, RS Sports Exhaust System, Black Styling Pack and Carbon Inlays.

The TT RS Vorsprung hets a B&O hifi, Audi Magnetic Ride suspension, Matrix LED headlights plus further Driver Assistance Systems including Side Assist and Park Assist.