Audi TT 2.0 TDI driven CAR review

The Audi TT TDI. Is this oil-burner from Audi another Ingolstadt niche? Or a svelte coupe and cabriolet with low-end grunt, low emissions and decent fuel consumption?

A few critics of Audi's blunderbuss new model programme worry it's another box ticked so the company can out-offer the opposition. And worse than that, perhaps Audi is offering something no one really wants. The TT is a standalone sports car, a supermodel. Should it really be allowed diesel power? Imagine Gisele Bundchen opening her mouth and speaking Scouse and you get the idea of where this could end up.

So tell me about the Audi TT TDI’s diesel engine
 

Under that elegant, mostly aluminium body sits a 2.0-litre diesel and a turbo, which together produce 168bhp at 4200rpm and 258lb ft from 1750-2500rpm. That’s 22lb ft more than the V6 petrol, and enough horsepower to push this diesel on to 140mph. Audi’s quattro drivetrain sends the power to all four wheels via a six-speed manual box.

Forget performance though - you'll probably only buy a TT TDI because of the g/km and mpg figures: 140g/km CO2 and 53.3mpg. Those figures are for the Coupe and rise and drop respectively should you buy the Roadster.

Start the engine and your ears aren’t met by instant farmyard clatter, but nearly the same starter motor whirr and sudden exhaust woofle that was present on our long-term TT 3.2 V6. Of course you can hear the diesel bass on the road, but not a badly as you might think. You could forget you were being pushed along by a compression motor if it wasn’t for the fact you had to change up soon after 4000rpm.

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