Hard to believe it, but evo is three years old, and this is my third end-of-term report for Fast Fleet. How time flies. Three cars (two of them Alfas) and three very different stories of high-mileage motoring.
I took on the TT nine months ago, after Harry Metcalfe had very kindly done the initial running in, and just as our British weather turned from wet to really wet and cold. I remember feeling then how well set-up it was for UK winter driving, and also how much I liked it - more than any other car I'd 'owned' before. Could the feeling last?
Our relationship started well and I soon got into the groove of the TT's secure, surefooted handling. You may remember that last winter was even wetter than usual. W124 HJO's balance, coupled with Audi's excellent quattro system, made for one of the safest-feeling cars I have driven in damp conditions. Whether blatting along B-roads or cruising the M1 on my daily commute, it always kept me feeling calm and protected.
The price of our TT was bumped up by some pretty tasty extras, including the upgraded Bose stereo with CD and leather trim. Money well spent, in my opinion. Even if nothing more exciting than the M1 awaited, each time I climbed into those huggy leather seats and switched on the killer sound system, I knew the journey would make me smile.
Some of the hardcore road testers on the mag reckoned the TT felt a little inert, even with the ESP stability control switched off. I just enjoyed its sheer pace, and found you had to be really brutal with it to activate the EPS at all. When the sun finally did come out, I could really revel in the TT's turbocharged thrust, accompanied by the turbo's distinctive whistle during acceleration and deceleration.
Spring arrived and, in stark contrast to my previous long-term steeds, the TT was keeping a clean bill of mechanical health. In fact it almost seemed too easy. The only niggles to date were an annoying wind noise from the driver's window and a tendency to pull to the left.
A slow puncture prompted the purchase of a new set of the excellent Pirelli P6000s, the first having survived a very respectable 18,000 (evo) miles. A check on the tracking showed the previous setting to be a fair margin out, and realignment just about neutralised the steering pull (though it never quite disappeared). The window was also a simple re-alignment job - the habit of shutting the door by pushing on the frameless glass rather than the door handle was apparently to blame... It was just a shame there was no simple fix for the numb steering, a constant frustration when the rest of the package is so good.
Not that you can't have fun in a TT. In fact you can have barrels of it, as I discovered. Just before taking the keys to our Audi, I had driven a similar 225bhp TT at Jonathan Palmer's Bedford Autodrome - on the limit and under instruction from one of the good doctor's brave staff. It was an ideal and safe way to find the edge of the TT's handling envelope. It also showed just how fast the thing can corner, producing a very progressive and predictable slide. This valuable early lesson left me confident about our TT's capabilities (still not sure about mine), enabling me to maximise the smiles on each journey.
Where you gain in fun you usually lose in practicality. But while I would never claim the TT can do the same job as a family four-door, I did find that our family of four and their accompanying luggage (OK, they're small kids and it was usually a weekend's luggage) went in without too much of a struggle. I just had to take care not to bump heads when closing the huge rear tailgate. In fact it was amazing what we got into that Tardis-like boot. From time to time I would vary this arrangement with two golf bags and the back seats folded down. No space for the little ones now though...
The TT continued to function beautifully. The air- con was up there with the easiest to use and most effective I have known. The dials and aluminium air vents looked great too - and still give the appearance of being cutting edge design. It's one of those cars where just about every part can be admired and not taken for granted, even after nine months and 18,000 miles of driving.
I think the outside still looks great too. The TT was one of those instant-classic designs, and as I went about my business during the year the opening comments from colleagues and friends were always the same... 'Beautiful car - is it any good?' 'How much space is there inside?' 'Would you buy one?' 'Should I buy one?'
Meanwhile everything worked! And continued to work. It seemed to take an age before the service light illuminated. The Audi system evaluates a range of factors before letting you know it's time to call the dealer. Factors such as personal driving style and operating conditions. If the car does a lot of long-distance motorway driving, rather than the stop-start of town driving, you're going to get a lot more miles before the service light comes on. Our TT never exactly 'tootled around', so the numerous M1 journeys must have been the factor that convinced the system it didn't need its first service until 20,000 miles.
Amersham Audi carried out the first service and performed as well as the car in terms of courtesy and efficiency. An A3 was supplied while the service was carried out, and I received a follow-up call a week later to see if things were OK. Other manufacturers could learn from Audi's customer service and 'new age' showrooms.
Some 26,000 extremely hard miles inevitably took a toll. The TT's minor controls felt less tight than they had done; the gorgeous alloys had picked up more than their share of kerbing damage. There was still the slight pull to the left. And the steering always felt heavy and slightly wooden. But it was a superb all-weather performance car, easy to live with, and mechanically faultless. In answer to that question posed so many times throughout the year: 'Would you buy one?' Indeed I would.
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