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Local Launch
NSW Southern Highlands

What we liked
>> An honest two-seater sportster, with style
>> Impressively responsive performance with user-friendly flexibility
>> Handling is a bend-swingers' delight

Not so much
>> Expensive options
>> Needs 98RON petrol
>> No manual version offered

Overall rating: 4.0/5.0
Engine, drivetrain and chassis: 4.5/5.0
Packaging and practicality: 4.5/5.0
Safety: 4.0/5.0
Behind the wheel: 4.5/5.0
X-factor: 4.5/5.0

As a launch, this one had three things in particular going for it. First, a great day -- rug-uppingly chilly but blue sky clear all the way to heaven. Next, an assortment of good driving roads south of Sydney… And far from least, the new Audi TT Roadster -- a car which gives full meaning to the aforementioned ingredients.

To savour the TT Roadster experience, the all-electric folding soft-top retracts in merely 12sec, the windows and electrically operated wind blocker lift even quicker, and the climate control soon has the cabin temperature nice and toasty. Snug as the proverbial, this is as good as it gets for sensory open motoring.

That welcoming is proffered by both TT Roadster versions -- initially the 'from $77,500' front-drive four-cylinder 2.0-litre turbo, and also the 3.2-litre V6 with quattro AWD chassis costing from $92,900. At those prices the TT Roadsters are in touch with Nissan 350Z Roadster, Mercedes SLK200, BMW Z4 2.5/3.0 and the Alfa Spider 2.2 and 3.2 V6 models.

Besides the option of $1300 metallic/pearl paint, the TT Roadsters also have a range of extras including the excellent Magnetic Ride electrically adjustable dampers ($3000), rear parking sensors ($850), Navigation Plus system ($4200) and Xenon Plus headlights (from $1850). A $300 ski port allows useful throughput from the relatively large (250-litre) boot to the cabin.

The 2.0-litre TT Roadster quotes 147kW maximum power and 280Nm maximum torque, same as in the equivalent A3 and Golf GTi. For the V6, Audi cites 184kW and 320Nm, like the corresponding TT coupe (more here). Either way, the six-speed 'S tronic' auto-manual transmission (nee Volkswagen DSG) is standard, together with floor selector and wheel-mounted shift paddles.

Engine and drivetrain apart, the V6 is identified by 18-inch wheels to its sibling's 17s, in having electrically-adjustable front seats to manual, and in Nappa leather versus Valetta leather.

The respective models' performance potentials can be aptly summarised as decidedly-brisk and even-brisker. According to Audi, the 2.0 Roadster can dispatch 0-100km/h in just 6.5sec while the V6 makes that rush in 5.9sec.

Although the V6 has the edge in sheer urge and creamy smoothness, the TFSI turbo four constantly impresses with the immediacy and enthusiasm of its responsiveness. And it sounds terrific. Why can't Japan do such titillatingly aural exhausts? Whether driven conservatively or with unbridled vigour, there's always proof positive that the 2.0 TSFI's three best-engine annual awards aren't flukes.

Expected to account for about 70 per cent of the TT Roadster's forecast 150-ish yearly sales, the 2.0 turbo has the advantage in fuel consumption (officially 7.8lt/100km versus the V6's 9.5) and has the more nimble handling because it not only undercuts the quattro V6's weight by 175kg, but also carries significantly less on the front wheels. Even so, the TT twins feel really well planted on the road and make easy work of carving through corners. The ride is sporty/firm without inflicting harshness even on rippled or bumpy roads where the body feels bank-vault solid; as it should given that the torsional rigidity is a whopping 120 per cent superior to the outgoing model.

So whichever way you look at it, the new TT Roadster is an altogether even better thing than the highly regarded model it replaces. The latest edition has perceptibly more presence in appearance, more invitation in its accommodations and more poise in its driving.

And those attractions are givens no matter what the weather and roads!

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