The Audi TTS Coupe is the devil on your shoulder wagging his tail and poking you with his pitch fork as he encourages you to go faster, faster, faster! — and not just because this particular TTS press fleet vehicle was painted Lucifer red.

The TTS will whisper into your ear to start dodging and weaving through traffic. You won’t know why, but you listen.

The TTS will whisper into your ear that you do have the speed to accelerate away from the green light and make the lane change in front of that Gecko Green VW Beetle in downtown Ann Arbor. You listen, but, from the annoyed honks, you can tell the VW disagreed. No matter. A button near the shifter allows you to quickly raise and lower the rear spoiler for a “sorry ’bout that” wave of sorts.

The TTS will whisper at you to shut down that late model BMW 530i that thinks he’s faster than you. Immature you think, but you listen. Man, do you listen.

What is it?
The TTS is Audi’s small, sporty two-door, but, kicked up a notch. On the pepper scale, it would be somewhere between jalapeño and chipotle.

Audi’s has taken its 2.0-liter, four-cylinder motor, reworked it, reinforced it and bolted on the bigger, stronger, ever-popular “K04” turbo. A turbo that hordes of Audi-enthusiasts already use to modify their own 2.0-liter Audis. All this finagling has taken the modest four-banger from 200 to a nice 265-horsepower, which means sprints to 60 mph happen in 4.9 seconds.

The upgrades don’t stop there as you get “S”-specific front and rear fascias, rocker panels, chrome-painted side mirrors, and quad-tip exhaust. Audi’s super-cool LED daytime running lights also find their way onto the TTS. Audi’s magnetic ride adaptive suspension also comes standard with TTS, a system that is optional on lesser TTs. More on that in minute.

What’s it up against?
Several Germans and one Japanese. More specifically: The BMW Z4, Porsche Cayman, Porsche Boxster, Mercedes SLK and the Nissan 370Z. Keep in mind, however, that while all of these vehicles are small, sporty coupes, only the Audi can be had in all-wheel-drive.

Any breakthroughs?
The aforementioned, 265-horse power plant is the biggest news with the TTS. The only thing more impressive than its power is its fuel economy. Audi’s “S” models wouldn’t usually be thought of as green, but the TTS has a rating of 21mpg in the city and 29mpg on the highway. That’s nearly as high as the most efficient Honda Accord.

The next, most important, bit of tech is Audi’s magnetic ride adaptive suspension. The quick explanation of that goes something like this: there are small magnetic particles floating around in the oil inside the dampers. When you hit the “sport” button next to the gearshift, electricity is applied to those magnetic bits, and the viscosity of oil inside the suspension changes, giving you a firmer, sportier ride. The magnetic system is also constantly adapting to the road conditions to try and give you the optimal ride for your road. Hitting the sport button will also drop the entire body 10 mm.

How does it look?
Like the best looking, small, two-door you can buy – at least in this auto scribe’s eyes. The second-generation TT looked fantastic at its debut in 2006, and it’s still turning heads today, a lesson we learned during a photo shoot with the TTS. As the TTS posed for our photos, big smiles, compliments and camera phones were commonplace from passers-by.

And on the inside?
The TT has one of Audi’s older interiors, and it’s starting to show a little, but it’s not a bad interior by any means. The fit, finish and the quality is still very high. Yet when we look at the rest of Audi’s newer lineup, to see what they’re capable of, we start to wish for a little more. A TTS with the interior of an A5 sounds perfect, though we still love those industrial looking, circular air vents gracing the TT’s dash.

You won’t feel crowded in the front seats of this small car, and you’ll have some exceptional sport seats to settle into. The back “seats,” well, their hilarity has been well documented. Even a cast-member for Cirque de Soleil would say, “No, I’m not riding back there!” That said, the rear seat area is still fine for cargo and lowering your insurance rate a few bucks.

Small cars often suffer from poor visibility. The Nissan 370Z certainly did. Not the TTS though, as your view out the back is broad and unimpeded.

But does it go?
Floor it from a dead stop, and for the first second or two, no, the TTS does not go. Any time you stick a big turbo on a small, four-cylinder motor, turbo lag is hard to avoid. That’s what Audi has done here and, surprise, surprise, they haven’t avoided it. The Boxster S you were racing will be 50 yards down the road before you really start moving. So the TTS isn’t a green light dragster; fine, we’ll have to learn live with that because, once the turbo is spooled up, holy moley, you better have a radar detector.

The thrust this motor deploys is plentiful and addictive. You’ll find yourself accelerating up the off-ramps. No worries, though, as the brakes are up to the task with firm, non-dramatic stopping power.

The feel of ride and steering are both…OK-ish. The TTS is a small sports car with a short wheelbase, so a plush ride should not be expected. With the suspension in its normal setting, the ride is easy enough. Once sport mode is engaged, and the suspension firms up, start dodging those potholes at any cost.

Steering feels a little light, and we’d like a little more road feel coming up through the wheel. Grip in the corners is very strong, as it often is with quattro all-wheel-drive. Push the nose in hard, and eventually you’ll get some understeer. The magnetic suspension system eliminates most, but not all, of the body roll.

For driving purists, this next paragraph will be less-than-pleasant. You probably noticed at the start of the review that we’re driving the S-tronic version of the TTS – Audi’s dual-clutch transmission. It shifts faster than any human can hope via paddle-shifters behind the wheel (we’d like those paddles to be a little larger, Audi) or via the gearshift lever itself. The problem is, if you live in the United States, the S-tronic is your only choice. A six-speed manual is available in other markets, but the land of the free was deemed unworthy of a clutch pedal. Not fair.

While that lack of choice is annoying, there are few better shots of adrenaline than a hard run up to fourth gear, ripping off shifts at 6000 rpm. You’ll notice a popping noise coming from the tailpipes when you run through the gears aggressively. That noise is the turbo pressure being released into the exhaust system through the electronically controlled waste gate. This system works to eliminate back pressure that can rob the motor of power.

Why you would buy it:
If you bought this car on looks alone, we couldn’t really fault you. Once you factor in that it’s crazy fun to drive, it’s an easy choice to make.

Why you wouldn’t:
Man, that turbo lag sure is rough. Once you get past it, the performance is great, but, ya gotta get off the line, too. And that angel on your other shoulder really thinks a nice minivan would be the practical choice.

Leftlane’s bottom line
The slinky TTS is a worthy adversary to its established German and Japanese rivals. Though certainly not the most practical car, some buyers might find themselves more inclined to seek out a similarly-priced four-door sports sedan. But for those who value style over a usable back seat, the devilish TTS delivers excitement in spades.

2009 Audi TTS Coupe S-tronic base price, $45,500. As tested, $52,125.
Prestige package, $5,000; 19-inch alloy wheels, $800; Destination, $825.

Words and photos by Chris Doane.

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