# data.attributes.title
First Drive: Audi TT 2.0 TDI Ultra Sport 2dr

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
First Drive: Audi TT 2.0 TDI Ultra Sport 2dr | Top Gear

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
First Drive: Audi TT 2.0 TDI Ultra Sport 2dr

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
The diesel TT Ultra majors on cheap running costs, but can it satisfy too? We try it in the UK

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
First Drive: Audi TT 2.0 TDI Ultra Sport 2dr

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
First Drive: Audi TT 2.0 TDI Ultra Sport 2dr

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
a car we've already driven - and liked - in petrol form. Now it's time for a proper go in the inevitably big-selling diesel

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and on UK roads.The TT 2.0 TDI Ultra starts at £29

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and for now it only comes with front-wheel drive and a slick six-speed manual gearbox.Powering those front wheels is a 181bhp 2-litre turbodiesel engine

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
rather like the one you'll find in the VW Golf GTD and Skoda Octavia vRS. It has at least a smidgen of sporting pedigree

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
then.Why would I want it over the petrol?With 280lb ft

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it has more torque than its equivalent 2.0 TFSI petrol and the same amount of shove as the notably pricier TTS. It's enough for a 7.1sec dash to 62mph and a 150mph top speed.On the flipside

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
Audi claims a combined 67.3mpg and just 110g/km of CO2 emissions

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
resulting in running costs that would have been unimaginable when the TT shape first entered our lives in the late 1990s. It also makes this company car gold - imagine being able to justify this to the boss over a regular repmobile?And how does it drive?It's impressive. Like its petrol equivalent

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
this isn't a boisterous and exploitable sports car in the vein of a GT86 or Cayman

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but that hasn't stopped Audi from ensuring it's a sharp and tidy handler. The front end grips tenaciously

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and when it does eventually give to understeer

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it's because you've got particularly greedy with your corner entry speed.In the Sport trim of our car the ride quality is decent

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
too. Harsher bumps do thud through the chassis a little

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
suggesting the stiffer S Line suspension system might be one to avoid

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but overall this is a pleasantly supple experience compared to some under-suspended Audis of old.Switch the stability control into its more lenient Sport mode - it can get in a bit of a tizz with all that low-down torque out of junctions otherwise - and you can get a decent flow going. You might not be grinning from ear to ear

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but it's satisfying nonetheless.I think I still want a petrol...It's still the way we'd direct enthusiasts (including ourselves). But then is the TT a car enthusiast's car? Thirty-and-a-bit grand

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
albeit less fashionable stuff. To pick a TT you're deliberately going for form over a function

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
whether you like it or not.And there's an argument that this is all the TT you need: mixed but enthusiastic driving saw us return 48mpg - thumbs up for that - and the engine is refined at speed

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
if a little vocal in low-speed traffic. And the slightly hesitant front end that used to be synonymous with heavier diesel engines up front is missing.What else gets the thumbs up?The styling looked too tamely evolved to these eyes when the TT first appeared at the 2014 Geneva motor show

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but in the real world it looks fantastic. A really sharp

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
precise piece of design that could just be irresistible in a showroom for many.Same goes for the interior. Much praise has been thrown its way already

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
but its ‘virtual cockpit' screen ahead of the driver

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
with luxurious satnav views and easy music browsing

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
is truly brilliant. Even simple things like the air vents and indicator stalks operate with gratifying tactility

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
and do their bit to enhance your wellbeing in the absence of the weighty steering or lovely pedal feel you'll find in that GT86.Our only real gripe is that it's quite a selfish experience. Go on a long trip with someone in the passenger seat and there's a good chance they'll feel redundant

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
unable to select music themselves or play the role of co-driver if you need a change of route inputting into the nav. The wonderfully driver-centric controls won't seem so great from where they're sitting. Better make sure conversation's good.Any other titbits?S Line trim adds £2550 and brings with it sports seats

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
LED lights front and rear and some rather lovely 19in wheels

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
though expect an impact on bump absorption and we'd suggest avoiding its no-cost S Line suspension option.You other option is to lose the roof

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
the soft-top TT Roadster commanding an additional £2185. That's a model we've yet to try

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.reviewBody[]
it doesn't quite have the classic TT shape and there's a chance it'll be more evidently diesel-powered with the aural barrier of a roof dropped. All judgement reserved for when we actually drive it

# data.attributes.body.value
It's the new Audi TT!

It is, a car we've already driven - and liked - in petrol form. Now it's time for a proper go in the inevitably big-selling diesel, and on UK roads.

The TT 2.0 TDI Ultra starts at £29,770, and for now it only comes with front-wheel drive and a slick six-speed manual gearbox.

Powering those front wheels is a 181bhp 2-litre turbodiesel engine, rather like the one you'll find in the VW Golf GTD and Skoda Octavia vRS. It has at least a smidgen of sporting pedigree, then.

Why would I want it over the petrol?

With 280lb ft, it has more torque than its equivalent 2.0 TFSI petrol and the same amount of shove as the notably pricier TTS. It's enough for a 7.1sec dash to 62mph and a 150mph top speed.

On the flipside, Audi claims a combined 67.3mpg and just 110g/km of CO2 emissions, resulting in running costs that would have been unimaginable when the TT shape first entered our lives in the late 1990s. It also makes this company car gold - imagine being able to justify this to the boss over a regular repmobile?

And how does it drive?

It's impressive. Like its petrol equivalent, this isn't a boisterous and exploitable sports car in the vein of a GT86 or Cayman, but that hasn't stopped Audi from ensuring it's a sharp and tidy handler. The front end grips tenaciously, and when it does eventually give to understeer, it's because you've got particularly greedy with your corner entry speed.

In the Sport trim of our car the ride quality is decent, too. Harsher bumps do thud through the chassis a little, suggesting the stiffer S Line suspension system might be one to avoid, but overall this is a pleasantly supple experience compared to some under-suspended Audis of old.

Switch the stability control into its more lenient Sport mode - it can get in a bit of a tizz with all that low-down torque out of junctions otherwise - and you can get a decent flow going. You might not be grinning from ear to ear, but it's satisfying nonetheless.

I think I still want a petrol...

It's still the way we'd direct enthusiasts (including ourselves). But then is the TT a car enthusiast's car? Thirty-and-a-bit grand, as our TDI's specced, can buy some really exciting, albeit less fashionable stuff. To pick a TT you're deliberately going for form over a function, whether you like it or not.

And there's an argument that this is all the TT you need: mixed but enthusiastic driving saw us return 48mpg - thumbs up for that - and the engine is refined at speed, if a little vocal in low-speed traffic. And the slightly hesitant front end that used to be synonymous with heavier diesel engines up front is missing.

What else gets the thumbs up?

The styling looked too tamely evolved to these eyes when the TT first appeared at the 2014 Geneva motor show, but in the real world it looks fantastic. A really sharp, precise piece of design that could just be irresistible in a showroom for many.

Same goes for the interior. Much praise has been thrown its way already, but its ‘virtual cockpit' screen ahead of the driver, with luxurious satnav views and easy music browsing, is truly brilliant. Even simple things like the air vents and indicator stalks operate with gratifying tactility, and do their bit to enhance your wellbeing in the absence of the weighty steering or lovely pedal feel you'll find in that GT86.

Our only real gripe is that it's quite a selfish experience. Go on a long trip with someone in the passenger seat and there's a good chance they'll feel redundant, unable to select music themselves or play the role of co-driver if you need a change of route inputting into the nav. The wonderfully driver-centric controls won't seem so great from where they're sitting. Better make sure conversation's good.

Any other titbits?

S Line trim adds £2550 and brings with it sports seats, LED lights front and rear and some rather lovely 19in wheels, though expect an impact on bump absorption and we'd suggest avoiding its no-cost S Line suspension option.

You other option is to lose the roof, the soft-top TT Roadster commanding an additional £2185. That's a model we've yet to try, but purely superficially, it doesn't quite have the classic TT shape and there's a chance it'll be more evidently diesel-powered with the aural barrier of a roof dropped. All judgement reserved for when we actually drive it, though.

# data.attributes.body.processed
It's the new Audi TT!

It is, a car we've already driven - and liked - in petrol form. Now it's time for a proper go in the inevitably big-selling diesel, and on UK roads.

The TT 2.0 TDI Ultra starts at £29,770, and for now it only comes with front-wheel drive and a slick six-speed manual gearbox.

Powering those front wheels is a 181bhp 2-litre turbodiesel engine, rather like the one you'll find in the VW Golf GTD and Skoda Octavia vRS. It has at least a smidgen of sporting pedigree, then.

Why would I want it over the petrol?

With 280lb ft, it has more torque than its equivalent 2.0 TFSI petrol and the same amount of shove as the notably pricier TTS. It's enough for a 7.1sec dash to 62mph and a 150mph top speed.

On the flipside, Audi claims a combined 67.3mpg and just 110g/km of CO2 emissions, resulting in running costs that would have been unimaginable when the TT shape first entered our lives in the late 1990s. It also makes this company car gold - imagine being able to justify this to the boss over a regular repmobile?

And how does it drive?

It's impressive. Like its petrol equivalent, this isn't a boisterous and exploitable sports car in the vein of a GT86 or Cayman, but that hasn't stopped Audi from ensuring it's a sharp and tidy handler. The front end grips tenaciously, and when it does eventually give to understeer, it's because you've got particularly greedy with your corner entry speed.

In the Sport trim of our car the ride quality is decent, too. Harsher bumps do thud through the chassis a little, suggesting the stiffer S Line suspension system might be one to avoid, but overall this is a pleasantly supple experience compared to some under-suspended Audis of old.

Switch the stability control into its more lenient Sport mode - it can get in a bit of a tizz with all that low-down torque out of junctions otherwise - and you can get a decent flow going. You might not be grinning from ear to ear, but it's satisfying nonetheless.

I think I still want a petrol...

It's still the way we'd direct enthusiasts (including ourselves). But then is the TT a car enthusiast's car? Thirty-and-a-bit grand, as our TDI's specced, can buy some really exciting, albeit less fashionable stuff. To pick a TT you're deliberately going for form over a function, whether you like it or not.

And there's an argument that this is all the TT you need: mixed but enthusiastic driving saw us return 48mpg - thumbs up for that - and the engine is refined at speed, if a little vocal in low-speed traffic. And the slightly hesitant front end that used to be synonymous with heavier diesel engines up front is missing.

What else gets the thumbs up?

The styling looked too tamely evolved to these eyes when the TT first appeared at the 2014 Geneva motor show, but in the real world it looks fantastic. A really sharp, precise piece of design that could just be irresistible in a showroom for many.

Same goes for the interior. Much praise has been thrown its way already, but its ‘virtual cockpit' screen ahead of the driver, with luxurious satnav views and easy music browsing, is truly brilliant. Even simple things like the air vents and indicator stalks operate with gratifying tactility, and do their bit to enhance your wellbeing in the absence of the weighty steering or lovely pedal feel you'll find in that GT86.

Our only real gripe is that it's quite a selfish experience. Go on a long trip with someone in the passenger seat and there's a good chance they'll feel redundant, unable to select music themselves or play the role of co-driver if you need a change of route inputting into the nav. The wonderfully driver-centric controls won't seem so great from where they're sitting. Better make sure conversation's good.

Any other titbits?

S Line trim adds £2550 and brings with it sports seats, LED lights front and rear and some rather lovely 19in wheels, though expect an impact on bump absorption and we'd suggest avoiding its no-cost S Line suspension option.

You other option is to lose the roof, the soft-top TT Roadster commanding an additional £2185. That's a model we've yet to try, but purely superficially, it doesn't quite have the classic TT shape and there's a chance it'll be more evidently diesel-powered with the aural barrier of a roof dropped. All judgement reserved for when we actually drive it, though.

# data.attributes.body.summary
The diesel TT Ultra majors on cheap running costs, but can it satisfy too? We try it in the UK