Welcome to Autodrivel

Audi TT 8N, the first Audi car sportier than Roger Federer, if Roger Federer only had two doors. Is it worth this sensation on wheels in 2022?

Audi TT 8N, that car that made a sensation with the NFS games and all that was in vogue through the 2000s. A far cry from what Audi was producing back then, aka more expensive VWs. An A3 was a more expensive Golf V, an A4 was a more expensive Passat, and an Audi TT 8N wasn’t related to anything. Yes, most of the technology was stolen from the VW dumpster, but as a car, Audi played it safe.

And did it work?

Yes and no. While the first generation A-Class that rolled over in the elk test was laughed at, for the Audi TT 8N the issue was much more serious. And here comes one of the most important points in buying an Audi TT 8N: The first models came without ESP, ASR, and spoiler and this caused the rear of the car to skid away at the first corner taken at speed. Audi found this out when many customers came to complain about how dead they were after the crash. That’s why you want a TT that has a spoiler, ESP, and ASR.

The second major point of concern with the first generation TT relates to the condition of the car. Like the BMW E46 or E39, it’s very hard to find a car in a decent condition. Most of them have been tuned, chipped, chased, raced, wrecked, repaired, and raced again. Basically, the life of a club dancer in Turin. Any modification shortens the life of the components, so you’ll have to look long and hard for a TT that wasn’t molested. All of this goes to show that it was a popular car and remains a fun car for relatively little money. The technology also is common within VW so parts will be easy to find.

Audi TT 8N Engines

Petrol

• 1.8T of 150, 163 horsepower – The base engine on the Audi TT 8N, which has been put on all VW performance cars. Personally, I’d still go for the Skoda Octavia I 1.8T if you want something cheaper, faster, and angrier. But an Octavia I will never look like a TT.


• 1.8T of 180, 190, 225 horsepower – you could say it’s the same engine, but not quite. You get two intercoolers and a K04 turbo instead of K03 and lots of other stuff for when 150 horsepower in a plain Golf is too little for you.


• 3.2 V6 of 247 horsepower – The fabulous 3.2 V6 also comes on the Audi TT 8N to help you understeer even more. Marginally more powerful, much more expensive to tax but much noisier than the tiny 1.8 in 4 cylinders. Note the wear on the timing chains (yes, chains). When you have to change the timing gear and you see the repair estimate, it’s going to torment you at night.

Diesel

1.9 TDI 90 horsepower – No, there is no diesel put on this generation of TT. But still, if I don’t write about the 1.9 TDI in a VW car, people will jump out and kill me, wax me, and kill me again.

Audi TT 8N General Issues

• I repeat, you only want a model with ESP, ASR, and spoiler. Otherwise, you will have stability issues at high speeds.


• The 1.8T engine is notorious for eating coils packs and timing belts before their time. Even though Audi recommends changing every 100,000 km or 4 years, most owners who didn’t want the valves overloaded changed at 60,000 km or 4 years.


• Everything that means light bulbs, LEDs, and interior buttons needs to be checked. Not to say that a dashboard will cost so much that you can still buy an Audi TT 8N. Also worth mentioning are the seat buttons, in case you have heated seats.


• For AWD models, the Haldex module needs the oil changed every 60,000 km.


• The V6 engine gets one of the first DSG automatic gearboxes in the VW group. Watch out for jerks and maintenance – the oil needs changing every 60,000 km. Also, the famous Mecatronic module, basically the gearbox computer, can and will break down. At least it can’t be repaired, it just needs to be changed and costs only 6000 lei.


• No dinner without fish and no VW from the 2000s without ABS and ESP issues, specifically the G201 sensor.

Audi TT 8N Verdict

If you find a well kept model, it can be an inspired choice if you want something that also looks good and backs up the looks with performance. Good luck finding one tho.

Which engine do you recommend? Because a 3.2 has a comparable tax to the value of the car, I’ll recommend the 163 horsepower 1.8T. It’s the most modern engine on the list, and it’s not complicated as the 180 and 225-horsepower ones either.