LOVEMYGOLFR

I am seriously looking at a TT RS coming from a BMW 435 Gran Coupe- two entirely different rides of course. While the BMW is a fantastic Highway cruiser with superb seats- its not the Texas Hill Country back road slayer that I am looking for either.
The 435/440 GC is the best Buick BMW has ever made...
So with the TT-RS I get the latter and SHOULD get the former (Highway Cruiser) - which is my question- those with TT-RS (and I am keeping the magnetic dampers) how is the comfort/quiet (WInd noise/road noise) on 200-500 mile trips?
One thing that many reviewers ding Audi for, but I think its a feature is the "Grand Touring" aspect to Audis. I believe that smooth, refined speed is perfect for our congested and loud roads. And with the driving modes, you can make it more of a "race car" if you want.
I considered the M4- it is just too harsh for me. I like Audi interiors much better.

Thanks for any replys- its an expensive purchase and its not easy to get to test drive one as not that many are in the pipeline- nor will they be. And even if you test drive it, you cant really get a feel for highway comfort in 5-10 minutes.

superswiss

I currently own an RS5, which is my daily, my long distance road trip cruiser and my fun weekend car all at once. Last weekend I rented a 2018 TT-RS to take it on one of my 200+ miles canyon loops. To my surprise, the TT-RS is rather harsh in comfort mode and I could barely tell the difference between the suspension in dynamic mode and in comfort mode. The ride in comfort mode was significantly rougher and more jittery on uneven roads compared to the fixed suspension on my RS5, and the RS5 isn't exactly known as a comfortable car. I've also driven an R8 with the Magride suspension and it was much more comfortable in comfort mode and noticeably tightened up in dynamic mode. I was quite disappointed by the range of the TT-RS suspension between comfort and dynamic. I wouldn't want this car as my daily. On the other hand it was quite fun in the canyon. While the Haldex system is still not very playful, thanks to the torque vectoring understeer is virtually gone. The car is very neutral in corners, but if you hope for some rear axle action on power, that's a futile exercise. I could see the TT-RS as a third car purely for weekend fun, but not as a daily driver unless you live somewhere with super smooth roads and I like firm suspensions, but this one seemed unnecessary firm in comfort mode instead of making it more comfortable and then dial up the firmness in dynamic mode.

LOVEMYGOLFR

Thank you your observations surely will help me make a decision. Maybe its the short wheel base and I would have 20" on mine so it could even be rougher- Man that would push to an RS3 but it has its issues too- Manual seats I am not crazy about first of all...not a deal breaker but...

jfiluk

Superswiss and thread starter, can comment on both areas, but my $.02.

- Audi OnDemand Day. Picked up a 2016 TTS with MagRide in SF. Agree with SuperSwiss on the harshness. I was avoiding every pebble on the road it seemed. And to be honest my back was sore after day 1. Day 2 of the rental, I measured the tire pressures in the morning and they were in the high 40's! Dropped them down into the low-mid thirties, and all was fine.
- Present day. Loving my 2018 TTRS with mag ride and 20's. Very comfortable, and not harsh riding in any modes. Tire Pressures dropped to recommended settings to around mid 30's. Very comfy in all modes.

LOVEMYGOLFR

LOL Now Im confused- wish Audi had a way to drive it for a day- but since you own it you obviously have a great frame of reference...
would love to compare this with the RS3- I really want the TT though and I know its a screaming banshee- but from what you say it is a very nice highway car too. Lots of Drives from San Antonio to Dallas.... 250 miles. 500 round trip sometimes done in one day...

BRKNJMPR

Well my experience thus far is completely different from “superswiss”.I’ve only put 6500KM on my car thus far but I find the difference between “Comfort’ and ‘Dynamic” to be night and day. The Dynamic mode is somewhat stiffer but not so much as to hammer on your kidneys, just more rigged and responsive. The comfort mode is very, well comfortable and smooth over the roughest washboard roads we have here in Alberta. I’ve done a couple longer trips in the car and one 8hr out and back, while this isn’t a car that was purposed for this type of long distance driving it does it surprisingly well IME. The fact that it is also an MQB platform that likely shares DCC characteristics much the same as the platform sharing VW Golf R but the TT gets the upgrade of the mag suspension (unless your order the fixed suspension). The only downfall the car has is the lack of the driver assistant packages that make travelling on congested highways less frustrating, just set the “Adaptive cruise control” and relax. While some would argue that this is a sports car and meant to be driven by the driver I just think it ridiculous that a car that costs this much money doesnt have DAP (Drivers Assistance Package), this is where Audi really cheated us and something I’ve become quite used to as I have DAP in my 2015 Grande Cherokee and even in my 2016 VW GTI. Another trivial point that Ive heard a lot of owners complain about is the lack of “Memory seats”, I didnt even think to ask about this when I ordered mine in March, I just would assume any car again at this price point with electric seats would have a memory seat function, This was a real sore spot for me as I’m a paraplegic and need to move the seat all the way to the rear everytime I get in or out of the car and once I get back in I spent the next few moments (if not minutes) fighting to find the perfect driving position...but I digress. To sum up, my opinion having driven the car quite a bit over the last couple months on both long and short trips, I wouldn’t hesitate to take my TT RS on longer trips and will do so as long as I dont have more than one passenger, in that case I’d opt for the Grande Cherokee, YMMV.

superswiss

Yes, I rented it through Audi on Demand as well. They do inflate tires to the recommended max load tire pressure on the door, so do most dealers and I do the same on my cars. I don't like the handling if I drop the tire pressure to normal load. So, my comparison is between all cars with tires inflated to the recommended max load tire pressure. One can dial in more comfort by lowering the tires pressure to the recommended normal load specified in the owner's manual, but it also causes more roll in the tires around corners, which is what I don't like.

We do here in the San Francisco Bay Area. It's called Audi on Demand. I use it as my flexible third car option for when I have a specific need or I feel like driving something else that I don't necessarily wanna own and just have it depreciate in my garage such as the R8. I'm actually taking out the R8 Coupe this Saturday for a day in the canyons.

https://www.us.audiondemand.com/us/s..._ondemand.html

LOVEMYGOLFR

Thank you very much for your hands on opinion. One reason I love my Golf R is that it DOES have all of the Semi autonomous driving do dads that I love. Adaptive headlights, Adaptive headlights and blind spot monitor. I am probably going to get the car but am trying to find one to test drive first. How is the Bang And Olufssen I have heard mixed reviews...

LOVEMYGOLFR

OMG I need this. I will be going to SF for a weekend and rent a TT RS this is what I need- worth the money to not make a buying mistake. I like small cars and dont mind "feeling the road" (Ive owned a Triumph TR7, VW Scirocoo 16V and a BMW Z4M- I do like msaller cars for a myriad of reasons). But now near 60 I want more speed and not as much harsh...

BRKNJMPR

I like the “Bang and Olufssen” system but I’m not much of an audiophile, the majority of my time in the car is with the music off...The sounds the car makes are really very satisfying although the first thing I did was delete the Secondary cat’s which just muffled the good noises. I made a short audio clip from the drivers seat doing a couple launches...Although the car even sounds really good even when you’re driving slow and don’t get me going about driving through tunnels! One point though, even with the secondary cats removed, there is no drone at all or even any noise at all with the windows up and the exhaust valves closed...that was the first thing I noticed about the car, with everything closed (windows etc) you really feel very isolated.