So you'd love a sports coupé, but you really need a practical daily driver and you want to pay no more than the price of a leggy supermini? Step forward the Audi TT. As a fun, usable and attractive everyday cruiser, it's hard to beat for the money.
There have been three generations of it and here we are focusing on the second, or '8J', built between 2006 and 2014 and now available from just £2000.
Despite its age, the TT still has a modern appearance, with crisp lines, taut-looking surfaces and muscular arches that shroud meaty wheels-a natural evolution of the Bauhaus-inspired Mk1.
If you're coming to a Mk2 from the Mk1, you'll notice far more change inside than out. It's still beautifully made, but the dials and switches are much more contemporary and the driving position is more reminiscent of a true sports car's. The seat is set low (well, as low as it can be on this Volkswagen Golf-based platform) and you feel pleasantly cocooned by your surroundings.
Unlike with some sports cars, there's a very usable, 290-litre boot in the Coupé, or 700 litres with the rear seats folded to make an ideal two-person tourer. Those seats are best left to small kids. The Roadster loses the back seats entirely but still has 250 litres of luggage space.
Out on the road, the TT takes the sure-footed and entertaining mien of a Golf GTI and adds a dose of character and involvement through a more recumbent driving position that puts you closer to the road. The light, somewhat numb steering and the TT's tendency to understeer mean it's not quite a true driver's car like the Porsche 718 Cayman or BMW Z4, even in its feistiest forms, but it's still impressively capable-especially with Quattro-badged four-wheel drive-and entertaining.
It also delivers a more civilised cruising experience than a Cayman or Z4. The cabin is quiet and refined and the heavily bolstered bucket seats are comfortable on long journeys. The firm ride never becomes harsh but strikes a canny balance between sporting and outright comfort. Find one with 'Magnetic Ride' adaptive dampers and you can choose between properly impressive body control in Sports mode and supple suspension in Comfort mode.
As for engines, the 'EA113' 2.0-litre turbo petrol shared with the Mk5 Golf GTI is reliable, quick and reasonably efficient: you get 197bhp and 40mpg on a run.
The 3.2-litre VR6 is torquey and charismatic but expensive to run-£735 road tax and 25-30mpg in exchange for only an extra 50bhp. But, good lord, the noise...
