AUDI has extended its second-generation TT range with the arrival of the front-wheel-drive 1.8 TFSI petrol opener, all-wheel-drive TDI quattro and the version that may prove to be the most popular – the 2.0 TFSI quattro S-tronic. But does adding a Haldex AWD system to the glorious turbo four-pot petrol engine and DSG twin-clutch gearbox improve the breed? And how has the TT aged in the three years since its launch in Australia? Read on to find out …

8N TT 1.8t quattro
Released: May 1999
Ended: Aug 2006
Family Tree: TTTHE original TT created a sensation when it was launched in the late 1990s, since it closely adhered to the 1995 concept car of the same name. Based on the fourth-generation Volkswagen Golf/Audi A3 platform and built in Hungary, early versions lacked the little lip spoiler that was later mandatory (late-1999 onwards) after a number of high-speed stability-related accidents, but this did not dampen consumer enthusiasm for the design icon. Powering all four wheels via a Haldex AWD system misleadingly dubbed ‘quattro’ is a 165kW/280Nm 1.8-litre 20V four-cylinder petrol engine mated to a six-speed manual gearbox.
No other transmission was offered with this drivetrain. There were also V6 and front-wheel drive versions, but critics agreed that – despite the rather wooden dynamics – the 1.8 turbo quattro version is the best of the first-generation TTs.
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