COCOONED IN leather and a shell of aluminium, I feel confident in this Audi TT. Beneath this car's cool curves is a deep rumble that reminds you of a muted 289-cubic inch American Vee-engine. This is the TT's 3.2-litre, 250 brake horsepower V6 that's capable of 320 Nm of torque. It resounds a wave of serious, twisting energy and is a clear departure from the usual 1,781cc inline-four.
With both hands on the alcantara-rimmed steering wheel, all the usual indicators and wipers are at my fingertips. The most important are the miniscule paddles etched with a '+' and '-'. With all the controls radiating a quality surpassing even BMW and Mercedes switchgear, these paddles offer a light yet positive touch-control of the prized diamond in this jewel of a machine, the Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG).
This might seem a revolutionary box today but Citroen first toyed with multiple clutches more than 60 years ago. A conventional transmission requires a clutch to momentarily disengage the engine from the transmission, up or down the gears. In DSG, two clutches are electronically controlled to pre-select the next gear ratio that the driver is likely to engage. By continuously varying the 'bite' of the two clutches, the driver is rewarded with a seamless shift between ratios; the driver still keeps a foot on the accelerator and the engine continues to drive the wheels without the pause you get in the conventional gearbox.
The DSG is almost perfect in Hong Kong traffic. The familiar coupe still turns heads at rush hour, and the new box has a slight 'creep' dialled in to iron out stop-start journeys in the full-automatic mode. The cockpit is easily adjusted manually, and its sports bucket seat and rake-and-reaching steering wheel suit most drivers. The updated interior has a superb audio system with large, easy-to-read knobs and dials, and the climate-control buttons are easy to understand. Rear seats are tight, but there's ample room for a couple of golf bags and a picnic hamper. On the highway, we reach the limit without any drama. The only disturbance comes from the large Continentals' footprint over expansion gaps punctuating the serenity in the cabin. The sleek silhouette is oblivious to cross-winds. Meandering through slower traffic as we approach narrower, more interesting roads, the low-profile tyres and firm suspension convey a little too much of Hong Kong's pot-holes into the cabin. But it's time to slap the gear lever across the familiar Audi gate into Sport-mode, and dive deep into DSG territory.
Appropriately, as I stop at the last traffic light before our test along the island's more challenging blacktop, the gear-selection display changes from the 'P R N D' to '6 5 4 3 2 1', with the chosen ratio highlighted in a red box. Launching the car on the green light, I feel my kidneys dash for the rear seats, but the explosion is so well-contained by the Quattro all-wheel-drive system. Over constantly changing cambers and varying radii, the TT tracks truthfully and confidently, while the well-sorted chassis absorbs undulations in its stride, with little roll and great poise. True to its word, DSG makes fast progress. Upward shifts are much smoother than a normal auto'box, while downward changes are accompanied by an electronic blip of the throttle, mimicking an expert's heel-and-toe as it matches the engine speed to the wheels as you decelerate into a sharp bend. Best of all, the DSG allows a 'stacking' of downshifts: as you anticipate an extremely tight corner and need to change two gears down in an instant. The gearbox senses the double-blip of the '-' paddle and swaps cogs accordingly and the throttle-blipping is again matched to perfection.
Being slightly nose-heavy, the TT is predictably understeer dominant, but Quattro tidies up your lines. On the other hand, the steering wheel is direct and accurate, but while there is a satisfying weight to its action, there is little positive feel of the front wheels. It's not the first time a performance Audi has been criticised for numbness at the helm, but it's quite a disappointment given the pace it manages over some of the most enjoyable roads in town.
Settling to a more sedate pace, the TT again cossets with its quality and security. Recent Audis have been praised for their attention to detail, with the TT leading the coupe sector with its functional yet decorative aluminium fittings, from the bracing of the transmission tunnel between the front passengers to the filler-flap behind the driver's right shoulder. Updated headlamp units with xenon lights ensure ample and safe visibility, while the new seven-spoke 18-inch wheels look great. Available at Premium Motors (tel: 2528 1862) for $506,800, this 1,600kg car is no feather-weight, but huge power and tremendous body control combine to eliminate inertia.
