Make/Model: Audi TT 3.2 Quattro Coupe S-Tronic
Colour: Silver
New?: No, 5500km on clock
Engine: 3.2l V6
Power/Torque: 184kW @ 6300rpm, 320Nm @ 2500-3000rpm
Average Fuel Consumption: 9.4 l/100 km
Performance: 0-100km/h in 5.7 s, 250 km/h top speed.
Owned: August 2007 - July 2008

Notes: After being bored by the BMW's reliability, good looks, powerful engine and fantastic fuel consumption I decided to look around for something that will inspire an emotive driving experience once again. I almost purchased an S-Type Jaguar, but one day before accepting the deal I saw a new Audi TT Coupe driving past me and I immediately had the WOW reaction.

So I did some research and realised that the car actually has 4 seats - even though the rear seats are extremely small, they are good enough for my 3 year old daughter who really enjoys sitting in that small space. So I took one for a test drive and I was hooked. Problem was just that 3.2l TT's were on a 4 month waiting list. That, and that alone, caused me to accept an offer from a guy who had his for 3 months and only had 5500km on the clock. He really looked after his car as it was in mint condition - so I accepted the deal and drove off with this little demon.

I say demon since the car has very much the same kind of performance than the Alfa GT - just much faster and much more stable on the road (due to its quattro drive). The DSG gearbox (Audi calls it S-Tronic) is really an amazing automatic gearbox. It can preselect the next gear and perform a gear shift in under 0.01 seconds - hence the only car I ever saw where the automatic is faster than the manual and more fuel economic. So I did not complain when the car came equipped with DSG instead of manual.

Driving it is an absolute pleasure. So far the car has not given any trouble - though I have discovered a rattle or two. I guess all cars rattle. I would really like to take it down to the coast to get that extra boost in performance. The car has a launch control feature to get from 0 - 100 km/h in 5.7 seconds - and it really works well. It has a very hard suspension so if that is not your thing do not buy it. The breaks do not feel as sharp as the BMW, however it stops in the same distance so it works just as well.

If you drive it normally it always switches gears at the red line - at 6500rpm, however when using launch control the car really freaks you out - before you can take your eyes down to the speedometer it is on 140 km/h and switching gears at 7500rpm. It has a beautiful grunt at high revs that helps getting the adrenaline pumped.

It is an absolutely beautiful car that gives good fuel consumption when not pushing it too hard (I get 8.2 l/100km for normal driving and 11.5 l/100km for hard driving). So far this borders on one of the most exciting cars I have ever owned. Definitely a step up from the BMW in terms of emotive driving. The Alfa GT still has the edge when it comes to pure exhilleration, but with better fuel consumption, much faster performance and better build quality it is just plain better.