MattRG

I think the last of the 2018 production cars should be shipping out now and arriving soon at the dealerships. After that I would expect we'll have a better idea of when to expect the 2019's but my guess would be late summer or early fall. And as far as the interior, I completely agree. The TT has one of the nicest small sports car interiors out there and is a major selling point.

-Yeti-

That's fantastic news, as i'll be planning on buying late summer or fall. Left over 18 or new 19? Sign me up! Would be fantastic to see a bit more "competitive" pricing on the TTS. Its a VERY expensive car given the competition is around $50k

MattRG

I agree with you on the pricing situation. I would love to see some strong discounts on the outgoing 2018 models. I'm not sure what you mean about competition around the $50k mark though. What directly competes with the TTS in terms of a luxurious 300'ish horsepower hatchback? Funnily enough, mostly the Golf R? (except with far less personality)

And I actually think the same thing about the entire TT lineup. You *can* make comparisons to a lot of different cars but at the end of the day the TT's are somewhat unique in terms of what they offer and most comparisons that I see made are more apples to oranges rather than like for like.

Vegas-roadster

For some reason, Audi USA has chosen to increase the cost of the TT and TTS by about 25% over the past 5 years while inflation has increased only 8%, putting it at a cost disadvantage of better performing cars. Strange marketing strategy for a car with poor sales. I agree that the TT/TTS interior is best in class. It is also a rare car with distinctive styling if you enjoy being unique. However, if you value performance over styling, you can buy a BMW M240 which is on almost every magazine's 10 Best List and has excellent reliability according to Consumer Reports for the same price as a base TT and will far outperform a TTS (much less a base TT) on the track. (The MSRP of the M240 may be slightly higher depending on options but BMW offers much bigger discounts.) The negatives are an average interior and styling that looks like every other BMW that you see daily. For my first 3 TTs, buying it was a no brainer because it was less expensive than comparable cars. (My new 2001 roadster with baseball interior and several options cost $31K in 2001 which would be $44K today but a similarly equipped 2018 roadster would be $50K after discounts. Engine performance has not changed much since then but the handling has improved markedly. My baseball interior was far nicer than any Mk 3 interior.) I'll be replacing my Mk2 in a year or so and if I had to do it today, I'd have to give up my 18 years of TT ownership for the M240. I'm hoping that low mileage CPO TTs will drop in price once the 3 year leases of the 2016 TT expire. Right now, used Mk 3s are rare and expensive.

MattRG

My guess is the price increases are to try and keep the TT profitable on a per unit basis. Volume certainly has a part in pricing and the TT has a lot of unique sheetmetal and interior pieces that are not shared with other cars. So, low volume (relatively speaking) being produced plus unique pieces means a higher price. Not that it is good or preferable for us consumers but Audi didn't exactly ask us, did they?

I will say that track comparisons are usually not kind to the TT but I don't tend to put much stock into those because I spend exactly zero percent of my time on a track. While it is desirable in a sports car to have a balanced and adjustable chassis while driving at 10 10ths in my personal usage case I am at 10 10ths basically never. On public roads I make it a point to always leave something on the table in terms of being able to steer or brake in an emergency fashion if I need to (there are way too many stray and wild animals in my neck of the woods to do otherwise) so a spirited 6 or 7 10ths is about all I am ever going to be using and by all accounts the TT platform is excellent at the level.

So for me, in my case, would I rather be driving a TT at 6/10ths or an M240i at 6/10ths? And while I haven't driven an M240i I did own a 1 series BMW for a while and got tired of it pretty quickly due to a variety of factors (seats and interior quality among them). So yeah, at 6/10ths I would probably take the TT the great majority of the time.

-Yeti-

Golf R has the same power output, sans the attitude. BMW M2 has 365HP for $54k. AMG GLA45 has 375HP at $50k.

TTS with its 292HP (same as Golf R) for $20k more is very steep. Not saying I wouldn't spend the money, because of all that I mentioned, the TT is easily the nicest interior (and truthfully exterior) IMO. Is it $20k nicer? That's up to the consumer to decide and so far, it looks like the consumers say it is and therefore Audi sticks with that price. However we all know that the TT has had slow sales in the past years. The TTS that i would buy (nearly fully loaded) is $61k. I can get an RS3 with the same tech and 110 more HP for the same cost - just losing that unique TT styling.

farmerjones

If you don't value the totally unique exterior design and the incredibly high-quality interior then maybe you can find direct competitors. But I just don't see any..... You say by a M2, but it's not AWD and that's a HUGE difference. The M2 is about as boring of a design as you can get...sure it handles well, but who wants to look at it and live in it? GLA AMG is hideous, and the interior quality and design aren't fit for an economy car in my opinion.

If you are an enthusiast and price the TT based on performance maybe you are disappointed, but only if you are hard-core. If you want more performance APR-tune the thing (WITH a full powertrain warranty) and suddenly for under $1,000 the performance goes way up. Golf R is not up to the interior quality at all, nor is it skinned in alluvium for weight reduction. If anything the Golf R is overpriced in my opinion. I see some amazing values on used 2016 TTs already, not sure how they are "rare and expensive". You have to travel to find a used TT, plain and simple.

Saying a RS3 is the same price as a TTS is crazy....that car is a pretty nose-heavy pig on the track (and I would know, I tracked it back to tack with the TT RS at the Audi Drive Experience). It's great in a straight line, and after than i's mediocre. The RS3 interior can't even touch a TT, and a RS3 goes to $70K. The styling of a RS3 and a TT aren't even in the same league to me, and pricing them equally and saying they are the same car (but the RS is faster) seems like a non-starter to me.

I guess if you don't see the value in the premium dealership services Audi provides, love the lightweight aluminum construction, find the styling one of a kind with no competition, and the interior fit for a car with a $100,000 price tag then yo probably don't understand the TT. I do. Audi does. When I bought my TT I couldn't even find something else AWD that I considered seriously for more than 2 seconds. And a S3/RS3 isn't even remotely a substitute for the TT design in my book.

I've never owned a car where I have received more gawks, stares, and compliments than my TT with the tri-color Audi Design Select interior. To be this car is price right for what you get...a one of a kind car with no direct competitor. Just my 2 cents....

-Yeti-

Hey man, I completely agree with nearly everything you said. My "comparisons" were simple cost to power as design is very subjective.

But again,I I agree with everything you said. I'm absolutely in love with the TTS after sitting in it vs. sitting in an S3 and i'll very likely spend the extra money for its uniqueness and A+ interior. Just my opinion on the money thing. I'd buy a TTRS today if i could comfortably afford it.

Data1of9

The TT interior is classier and more elegant than cars that fetch multiples in $$. I had the fortune of sitting inside a stablemate to the Audi, the Lamborghini Aventador. Aside from needing to be a top flight contortionist to get in and out, the dash and console were fussier and less elegant. Yes it's a fantastic car, but I liked the understated and classy interior of the TT better. And my lower back is thankful.

MattRG

I think we've been conditioned (or at least browbeat) by the motoring press that somehow interior quality, form and function is somehow less important in a sportscar and that if the car in question isn't a track superstar (which isn't even an issue here because the TT's put down respectable lap times for their class) then it is less or not worth considering. And I guess if I were solely looking for a track toy then I wouldn't be considering a TT (or even most of the other cars that journalists put forth as being the bees kness - no, it would probably be a track prepped Miata or Lotus) but since I want a well rounded driver's car (and not a track toy) then a really great interior should be a part of that equation. And the TT scores big points in that category as I would rather spend my time in that cabin than in most other automotive cabins that I have experienced. Basically this is a long-winded way of saying I completely agree with you.