Bagging on our TTs
02-20-2005, 05:56 PM
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Bagging on our TTs
I love my TT, but apparently some people don't like our cars. What do you guys think of this review of the TT?
"I used to be an Audi TT fanatic. I took about 10 test drives (yes, I'm sick). Love the look but, from my perspective, there are problems.
First and foremost, my wife has a 2004 VW Jetta, and you can't get away from the Jetta-ish feeling when you're in the TT. The interior layout is virtually identical and the odometer and other gauges are exactly the same. Yes, Audi put some nice Aluminum trim around them, but they're the same gauges as the Jetta. The air vents, though round, are in exactly the same place as the Jetta. The emergency blinker and heated-seat dials, though round, again, are in exacly the same place with the exact same configuration as the Jetta. I read somewhere that the TT is even based on the Jetta platform. Don't know if that's a fact but, as I said, it sure feels like a Jetta. Now that's not necessarily a bad thing, all things being equal, but they're not, which leads me to my next point.
Another thing that bothered me was my Wife's Jetta cost me 23k and change, fully loaded. The TT with the meager 2 option package they offer would run about 45K, so there's the cost differential for what, in essence, is a souped-up Jetta with nicely-styled exterior sheet metal. Add to that the fact that a fully-loaded TT is no where near as equiped as a fully loaded Jetta, and things, at least for me, fail to add up.
In my test drive of both the coupe and the roadster, the one word that immediately slammed to mind was "bumpy", though the coupe was less so. The first few drives the dealer told me the harsh ride was because of the performance tires. What the heck? I believed him. After all, what do I know? I made an apointment to drive a few without performance tires. They weren't much better, if at all, so I was kind of disappointed there.
I was really interested in the roadster because not only was it a convertible, which was key for me, but I actually liked the shape of the vehicle better than the coupe, which was too hatchbacky for my tastes. I had three main issues with the roadster (besides the Jetta-like interior that is), the miniscule trunk, the convertable "boot cover", and the fact that it's impossible to get the hard top in the US (see link). Ahhh, you didn't know there was a hard top for the Audi TT, did you? Well there is...just not for us Yanks.
The trunk in the roadster is teeny-tiny; smaller than the back trunk of the Boxster, if you can believe it. Briefcase? Sure. Suitcase? Not likely. Wife's suitcase? Hahahahahaaaa!!!!
I don't know how Audi gets away with a manual boot cover on a 45 thousand dollar vehicle in today's market. Woefully inconvenient, so much so that most people stop using it after a while.
Now, you might say "Allen, you said you wanted a roadster. Why the heck are you pineing over a hard top?" Well, I live in the Northeast. I was very concerned about how the soft convertable top would fare through the various snow and ice storms we get in the winters here (As a matter of fact we're supposed to get another 8 to 10 inches here tonight, oh joy). I like the option of the hard top in the winter and rag top in the summer. It also gives me two distinct vehicle looks.
Another thing that was kind of annoying was the viewable area out of the windshield. It's uncomfortably small (for me). I felt as though I wasn't seeing everything I needed to while driving. This impression became more pronounced in the roadster after I drove the coupe. The dealer told me the windshields were the same dimensions in both vehicles, though to me the roadster's seemed much smaller. Not until the dealer sat in first the coupe, then immediately the roadster, did he realize and agree that the viewable area was indeed different. Turns out, from the outside, the windshields are the same dimensions, but on the inside, the latching mechanism of the convertable top covers the top of the windshield, thereby making it seem much smaller in the roadster than the coupe.
Next, let's look at the coupe. Nice looking vehicle, but what's with those back seats? They're so small they're virtually useless for anything other than a place to throw a briefcase and a jacket.
Bottom line is I still like the look of the Audi TT. What finally broke the deal for me was the price. Why the heck would I pay 45K for a TT when I can get a Porsche; a real sports car, for a few K more?
The Audi TT is a nice looking car. It just needs to be fifteen thousand dollars less. It may be a moot point however since, for 2006, Audi has decided to do a massive design overhaul of the vehicle. I've seen it. In a word, ugly. "
"I used to be an Audi TT fanatic. I took about 10 test drives (yes, I'm sick). Love the look but, from my perspective, there are problems.
First and foremost, my wife has a 2004 VW Jetta, and you can't get away from the Jetta-ish feeling when you're in the TT. The interior layout is virtually identical and the odometer and other gauges are exactly the same. Yes, Audi put some nice Aluminum trim around them, but they're the same gauges as the Jetta. The air vents, though round, are in exactly the same place as the Jetta. The emergency blinker and heated-seat dials, though round, again, are in exacly the same place with the exact same configuration as the Jetta. I read somewhere that the TT is even based on the Jetta platform. Don't know if that's a fact but, as I said, it sure feels like a Jetta. Now that's not necessarily a bad thing, all things being equal, but they're not, which leads me to my next point.
Another thing that bothered me was my Wife's Jetta cost me 23k and change, fully loaded. The TT with the meager 2 option package they offer would run about 45K, so there's the cost differential for what, in essence, is a souped-up Jetta with nicely-styled exterior sheet metal. Add to that the fact that a fully-loaded TT is no where near as equiped as a fully loaded Jetta, and things, at least for me, fail to add up.
In my test drive of both the coupe and the roadster, the one word that immediately slammed to mind was "bumpy", though the coupe was less so. The first few drives the dealer told me the harsh ride was because of the performance tires. What the heck? I believed him. After all, what do I know? I made an apointment to drive a few without performance tires. They weren't much better, if at all, so I was kind of disappointed there.
I was really interested in the roadster because not only was it a convertible, which was key for me, but I actually liked the shape of the vehicle better than the coupe, which was too hatchbacky for my tastes. I had three main issues with the roadster (besides the Jetta-like interior that is), the miniscule trunk, the convertable "boot cover", and the fact that it's impossible to get the hard top in the US (see link). Ahhh, you didn't know there was a hard top for the Audi TT, did you? Well there is...just not for us Yanks.
The trunk in the roadster is teeny-tiny; smaller than the back trunk of the Boxster, if you can believe it. Briefcase? Sure. Suitcase? Not likely. Wife's suitcase? Hahahahahaaaa!!!!
I don't know how Audi gets away with a manual boot cover on a 45 thousand dollar vehicle in today's market. Woefully inconvenient, so much so that most people stop using it after a while.
Now, you might say "Allen, you said you wanted a roadster. Why the heck are you pineing over a hard top?" Well, I live in the Northeast. I was very concerned about how the soft convertable top would fare through the various snow and ice storms we get in the winters here (As a matter of fact we're supposed to get another 8 to 10 inches here tonight, oh joy). I like the option of the hard top in the winter and rag top in the summer. It also gives me two distinct vehicle looks.
Another thing that was kind of annoying was the viewable area out of the windshield. It's uncomfortably small (for me). I felt as though I wasn't seeing everything I needed to while driving. This impression became more pronounced in the roadster after I drove the coupe. The dealer told me the windshields were the same dimensions in both vehicles, though to me the roadster's seemed much smaller. Not until the dealer sat in first the coupe, then immediately the roadster, did he realize and agree that the viewable area was indeed different. Turns out, from the outside, the windshields are the same dimensions, but on the inside, the latching mechanism of the convertable top covers the top of the windshield, thereby making it seem much smaller in the roadster than the coupe.
Next, let's look at the coupe. Nice looking vehicle, but what's with those back seats? They're so small they're virtually useless for anything other than a place to throw a briefcase and a jacket.
Bottom line is I still like the look of the Audi TT. What finally broke the deal for me was the price. Why the heck would I pay 45K for a TT when I can get a Porsche; a real sports car, for a few K more?
The Audi TT is a nice looking car. It just needs to be fifteen thousand dollars less. It may be a moot point however since, for 2006, Audi has decided to do a massive design overhaul of the vehicle. I've seen it. In a word, ugly. "
02-20-2005, 06:03 PM
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Dunno, I don't consider the TT or the Porsche a "real sports car"...
... one is a very stylish coupe or convertible designed for daily use or for weekend touring with decent luggage space. One is the replacement for the 968 and 928 (the 986) that does a few things well but is only available as a convertible and is still a heavy touringmobile designed around potential daily use.
FWIW, we've owned two TT's and one Porsche (my C4S).
Dunno... the TT is limited by its platform, that's no question. But so is the Boxster. Both take a lot of work to be turned into okay sports cars, but begin life as comfortable daily-usable vehicles with a compromise of ride, handling, trunk space, performance, tec.
I would argue that Gyor's build quality is as high as or better than the Porsche's build quality.
One is a unique vehicle vital to a brand's comeback. One is a downmarket misstep spawned from reusing parts from the steering wheel forward on what is arguably history's worst 911, the 996.
Guess those are my thoughts.
The Jetta comparison doesn't really resound with me. The center switches on the Gallardo are shared with the Steppenwolf concept. The door handle design comes from the VW parts bin, the engine cover release was the door handle on the Diablo 6.0
I have no objection with reusing what works.
Honestly, the idea that anything with two doors and a manual transmission is suddenly a sports car is just plain wrong. The number of purpose-built sports cars in the world is dwindling as people compromise and cars become do-everything-mobiles to compete with SUVs at similar pricepoints, etc.
Both are daily-usable cars and they perform this task well. They have reasonable maintenance requirements, they are not uncomfortable on secondary roads, and they provide an option for folks who want some sportiness but only have one car. Personally, I think the TT solves this problem with better trade-offs than the Boxster, but to say one is an item limited by what it reuses without acknowledging that the other is similarly limited by what it reuses is an inaccurate way to construct a comparison.
Funny how the 911's back seats are nearly the same as the TT's in usefulness (I didn't use either my TT back seat nor my 911 back seat once) and yet the guy authoring the comments doesn't bother to comment on that...
FWIW, we've owned two TT's and one Porsche (my C4S).
Dunno... the TT is limited by its platform, that's no question. But so is the Boxster. Both take a lot of work to be turned into okay sports cars, but begin life as comfortable daily-usable vehicles with a compromise of ride, handling, trunk space, performance, tec.
I would argue that Gyor's build quality is as high as or better than the Porsche's build quality.
One is a unique vehicle vital to a brand's comeback. One is a downmarket misstep spawned from reusing parts from the steering wheel forward on what is arguably history's worst 911, the 996.
Guess those are my thoughts.
The Jetta comparison doesn't really resound with me. The center switches on the Gallardo are shared with the Steppenwolf concept. The door handle design comes from the VW parts bin, the engine cover release was the door handle on the Diablo 6.0
I have no objection with reusing what works.
Honestly, the idea that anything with two doors and a manual transmission is suddenly a sports car is just plain wrong. The number of purpose-built sports cars in the world is dwindling as people compromise and cars become do-everything-mobiles to compete with SUVs at similar pricepoints, etc.
Both are daily-usable cars and they perform this task well. They have reasonable maintenance requirements, they are not uncomfortable on secondary roads, and they provide an option for folks who want some sportiness but only have one car. Personally, I think the TT solves this problem with better trade-offs than the Boxster, but to say one is an item limited by what it reuses without acknowledging that the other is similarly limited by what it reuses is an inaccurate way to construct a comparison.
Funny how the 911's back seats are nearly the same as the TT's in usefulness (I didn't use either my TT back seat nor my 911 back seat once) and yet the guy authoring the comments doesn't bother to comment on that...
02-20-2005, 06:31 PM
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say WHA??
no really.. WHAT???
ok... I had a gti before the TT... and my ex's sister had a Jetta... and I've driven/riden in both extensively... and I wanna know what crack he's been smokin to say that the interiors are identical? The vents are in the same place?? OMG! the vents in the TT are in the same place as the vents in my 95 mustang were.... and the same place as my dads 04 F150, and my sisters honda accord! come to think of it... virtually every car made has vents in those exact spots.
and I dunno about you guys... but my TT sure as hell doesn't feel like a jetta when I'm driving. Completely different animal.
Oh and my GTI rode alot 'bumpier' than the TT... the TT is smooooth. He should take a ride in a BMW if he thinks the TT is bumpy..... lol
oh and I call complete BS on the last line too...
hope he's happy with his porsche
ok... I had a gti before the TT... and my ex's sister had a Jetta... and I've driven/riden in both extensively... and I wanna know what crack he's been smokin to say that the interiors are identical? The vents are in the same place?? OMG! the vents in the TT are in the same place as the vents in my 95 mustang were.... and the same place as my dads 04 F150, and my sisters honda accord! come to think of it... virtually every car made has vents in those exact spots.
and I dunno about you guys... but my TT sure as hell doesn't feel like a jetta when I'm driving. Completely different animal.
Oh and my GTI rode alot 'bumpier' than the TT... the TT is smooooth. He should take a ride in a BMW if he thinks the TT is bumpy..... lol
oh and I call complete BS on the last line too...
hope he's happy with his porsche
02-20-2005, 06:34 PM
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My thoughts...fwiw
I think the TT is a car that is not for everyone. No car is a car for everyone. People will always have their opinions about cars. Some of what was said I can't disagree with, but for me that doesn't make me not like the car. A lot of it is all about personal preference...with any car. I could care less that the vents are in the same place as a Jetta. They're in the same place in a lot of cars! As for trunk space...I don't think many people buy a TT for their spacious cargo capacity. Day trip, weekend trip...sure! But no one buys a TT thinking that they're going to open up a moving company with it. (Although, I've seen pics of TTs with much more in them than one would think could fit!) It's all about preference. And sometimes it's a matter of getting used to what you're driving. Like the windshield being small. I thought it was small too the first time I drove one. Now, I'm fine with it. I'm used to it. And I think most people buy a car for practical reasons. The TT is not the most practical car...maybe that's why sales aren't that high. But for the people who do own one, they know what they have and they love what they have. They're great looking cars, great in all sorts of weather (well, maybe not tornados hehe), and great as an every day driver with the option of adding a lot to it in the way of mods and it can still be a great every day car, and it's something that's unique. That combination is what sold me. It's my taste...that's what I like. And since it's my car, I'm the only one who really has to like it.
Thanks for reading my nonsense...
Thanks for reading my nonsense...
02-20-2005, 06:38 PM
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Buy an Honda Accord! Last I checked...
nobody was holding a gun to your head and forcing you to buy a TT. I have plenty of issues with things on the TT, but it was my choice to buy it all things considered. If you do not like the car...buy something else!!
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02-20-2005, 06:46 PM
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I have owned a Boxster prior to the TT and do not agree with you at all...
The ONLY reason that I traded my Boxster in was lack of good ole HP. If that thing came with 275-300HP I would still own it. In my opinion, the Boxster platform is superior to even the 911 platform, but lacks HP. If Porsche placed a 911 powerplant in the Boxster they would have an unbelievable sports car. They will never do that because then the 911 would be the second best car they sold. They will not allow the Boxster to displace the 911 at the top of the heap even in the face of evidence that the Boxster is the better platform. Just my opinion.