Tell me about the 06-14 Audi TT Quattro

Gamefreak501

Gamefreak501

Gamefreak501

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Hi all,

I think my long search for a replacement for my faithful and reliable Mazda RX8 has finally been decided on!

I had a shortlist of cars - VW Polo GTI, Ford Fiesta ST, BMW 120D and the Audi TT.

The only car on the list which really seems to stir me is the Audi TT, and I'm finding a lot going for between £8k and £13k. I test drove a Ford Focus ST and it felt heavy and I couldn't get comfortable in the seats. A lot of people have BMWs at work so I wanted to be different.

I've been looking for a replacement car that will be cheaper to tax, fuel and cheaper for tyres (which are the most expensive aspects of RX8 ownership).

I'm most interested in the Quattro because I think it will make winter driving easier than my current RWD car

I have a few questions though.

1). Does mileage matter too much on these cars? I'm seeing a lot of cars for sale with anywhere between 50k and 140k+. I know the VAG engines are considered strong and reliable, but what have everyone else's experience been of these engines?

2). I'm looking at the TDI model with 140g/km of emissions and an average of 53mpg - I do 3k work miles and at least 7k in social/pleasure/holidaying miles. Should I still consider the petrol models?

3). I read servicing costs were up to £310 for a major service at an Audi Dealership - how do part costs stack up with the Audi TT or is reliability so that I shouldn't have a problem with this?

I think that's everything I can think of. Over to you! :D
 
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Is the engine about to explode on the reliable RX8? :p

I think you will be bitterly disappointed driving a TT after coming from an RX8, which IMO is one of the best sports cars of the last decade. But it looks like your after a different purpose.
 
Don't listen to the diesel naysayers. Diesels can make sense at 10k assuming your doing the right kind of driving.

With that said, you do seem to do little commuting miles. How often are you driving at speed? DPF issues may be a problem if it's only stop start, low speed commuting most of the week. But then if you do go for decent runs at the weekends / evenings, it could be fine.

I had a 2.0 TDI A3 and put 60k or so on it without issue. Sold it at around 130k. Well. I did replace the clutch / flywheel, but it was only because the remap I put on it was so aggressive (when running a less aggressive map it ran with no slip). That was around 10k into ownership.

I had a passat TDI with 155k on it when I gave it to my mum. Now has 170k on it. Still going great. Mileage on these cars is not necessarily a problem, so long as they are well looked after.

Don't trust the mpg figures on any new car though. They are tested in conditions just not applicable to the real world. My 2012 A4 was around 35% shy of official combined cycle, and that was driving miss daisy style driving. Probably the exception mind you, but expect to take 15-20% off official figures.
 
If you only do 3k work miles - are these lots of little trips? If so, you won't get the engine up to temperature...

10k/year is really not worth the potential complications and extra expenses of a diesel.

Driving such a drone of an engine, especially after coming from an RX8 will kill you slowly inside. I know... I went RX8 -> 320d after owning a bunch of petrol cars. But then I was doing 20-25k miles a year driving all over the country. I like the 3 series chassis / comfort / driving abilty - but I'd been craving a petrol the whole time I've had it.

With only 10k miles per year. Let's say your average mpg on the rx8 is 25mpg... rounding a little just to make the figures easy.

25mpg @ (110p/litre x 5 litres) for 10k miles -> 10000/25 = 400 gallons => £2,200

Being 2007, I guess you're stung with the £500/year tax also.

Say average for Audi diesel is 50mpg

50mpg @ (108/litre x 5 litres) for 10k miles -> 10000/50 = 200 gallons => £1,080

Around £130, I think, for tax.

Doing seemingly short commutes *could* end up with you having to replace the DPF quite frequently.

Depending on how long you plan to keep it, other things like Clutch and DMF are usually quite a bit more expensive on a diesel than petrol, but you shouldn't go through them too quickly at least.

Compare the above to a decent 2l petrol engine where you could easily average 35mpg and the fuel figure would be around £1550 and you could still get into a cheapish tax bracket... other general maintenance bills would be cheaper than the equivalent diesel and you won't have to drive a tractor every day. Plus, you won't have problems with frequent short trips.

The Audi TT with the 2L TFSI engine would be about £225/year tax and it might even feel quicker than the RX8... whereas the diesel won't.

So, from the general fuel/tax figures, you'd be looking at a difference of £565/year or £47/month to drive a petrol over a diesel... which is still £1000/year cheaper than the RX8.



As for winter driving... there aren't "real" winters in the UK... I doubt you'll notice much if any difference between buying FWD/RWD/4WD... so don't let that affect your decision... buy what is best for you for the other 364 days per year that aren't snowy :)
 
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Changing DPF's frequently is a bit of a stretch really. Depending on length of ownership and driving style, *maybe* once. DMF is a couple hundred more than SMF, and again, may never be an issue. Not quite sure why everyone thinks patrols are cheaper to service than diesels either. Same filters and oil costs. Maybe change fuel filter on a diesel. But then you have spark plugs on a petrol. The rest of the car is pretty much the same, so where are these extra costs coming from?

Agree on Quattro. Wouldn't be a deal breaker for me, on the right car. It'll suck around 5-10% more fuel than a non Quattro, and winter tyres are more effective anyway. And can be essentially a zero cost option.
 
Do listen to the diesel naysayers. The 2.0 TDI is a noisy unrefined and gruff thing with lumpy power delivery. Its fine if you want to rack up miles and benefit from the fuel economy but for just 10k a year it will spoil a sporty coupe.

Also I am not sure why you think tyres will be cheaper than the RX8. Your only credible and meaningful saving will be fuel and tbh the if you are looking to save money on things like tax is a second hand Audi really the right move? It's unlikely to be cheap to own once you take into account increased maintenance as it ages.
 
I don't remember the tyres on RX8 being all that expensive... just took a look on mytyres and they're a bit cheaper than my E46, even for the 18s on the RX8...

GY EF1AS2 for £110
Conti SC5 for £115

Tyres for the 18s on a TT look to be about the same price.

Those are not expensive tyres... having just spent £700 on a set... which again, is far from the worst... my XKR was £1k per set and the rears struggled to go past 6k miles.

Audi vs RX8 reliability though... at least you don't have relatively young engine failure to contend with... although RX8 engines are pretty cheap brand new (compared to many other things).

You'd get slightly cheaper tyres going for the 16s/17s... which I would recommend anyway for ride comfort and handling... larger alloys and smaller sidewalls are form over function.
 
xs2man said:
Don't listen to the diesel naysayers. Diesels can make sense at 10k assuming your doing the right kind of driving.
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Not in an Audi TT, they don't. Someone down my road has one and every time he drives past, it sounds like a Transit van is approaching.
 
Howard said:
Not in an Audi TT, they don't. Someone down my road has one and every time he drives past, it sounds like a Transit van is approaching.
Click to expand...

Sorry m8 I'll keep the noise down next time.

Op I think you need to decide what you want from a car. Wouldn't get a TDI for 3k work miles.
 
Thanks everyone for your replies,

My work commute does make up a very low portion of my driving.

Typically I will drive on a mixture of humped and twisty roads on my commute. The longest stretches of my commute are in 40mph and 60mph national speed limit roads.

My biggest issue that I'm now facing with my RX8 is that I'm filling it up a lot - the range is usually 212 miles to the petrol light - which isn't very good due to the economy (60L tank). I think if I ran it into reserve it will probably get a range of 250 miles and certainly overheat the fuel pump.

In the last 8-9 months, I have averaged 18.5mpg on every fill up; which I am noticing.

So I'm looking for a more economic car that I can still chuck round bends, which will accelerate quickly (under 8 seconds) and take on track days.

The RX8 itself has been very reliable, I've only had to replace service items on it and the engine will probably go on forever (if the next person looks after it as well as me).

I think I've probably spent £600 on tyres in the last year which isn't all that bad; and as long as I don't track the car too much, they will last another year or more at least. So tyres are probably not such a problem with car ownership, so that is probably not such an important criteria.

Looking at the DPF issue, generally I take my RX8 on a spirited drive every weekend (partly to keep the battery good, partly to keep the engine happy). I do drive absolutely everywhere, and at least 7k miles are on pleasure/social miles - so an average of 18.5mpg is noticeable on my pocket.

I am thinking that the TDI may actually kill a part of me when going from a high revving petrol engine, so I'm considering the Audi TTS instead for it's performance and for being a petrol (still lighter on tax than my RX8), also due to how short my commute is.

Now isn't the best time to sell my RX8 as winter is coming and the MOT is fairly short (due in January) so it gives me some time to test drive some Audi TTs and get an idea of how they feel and if they can truly replace the RX8 filled hole in my life!
 
Get a TTS ;)

2 litre will warm up relatively quickly and the fuel consumption isn't *that* bad.
My 8p S3 averaged 26MPG on an 18 minute town and motorway commute, so I can't see you getting much less than that.

Current 4-pot diesel A6 makes me long for a petrol - don't do it if you don't have to!
 
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If you plan on track days... Then I'd recommend against the TT... 4WD or FWD is not the most enjoyable combo on the track.

Definitely don't diesel out ;)
 
I think you'll struggle to get a TTS under £13k if that's your budget.

I like my TT TDI but I do want a TTS, for better sound/performance.
 
fastwunz said:
Boxter S.
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/thread

Didn't realise you could get some pretty decent spec/mileage in this price bracket...

Now that's a proper upgrade from an RX8 ;)

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...age=1&sort=default&price-from=10000&logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...age=1&sort=default&price-from=10000&logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...age=1&sort=default&price-from=10000&logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...age=1&sort=default&price-from=10000&logcode=p

Not much improvement on the fuel usage though, lol... should be able to get that average up to 25mpg without driving it like a granny. Tyres would possibly be more expensive, depending on wheel size.

If you want something that's a bit more refined, good for the low mileage you're doing and great on track days... then this would be a keeper ;)
 
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