Specifically, I'm thinking about a 225 quattro 6-speed manual. If you've owned (or driven extensively) one of these, what did you think of it? Is it fun to drive, or does its heft make it less-than-fun? Would you rather drive a TT or a GTI?

Best car i've owned but probably the most costly on upkeep. With a few tweaks they are fun to drive, as standard they are a bit tame as it's difficult to get into trouble with the quattro

FragiLimbel wrote: Is it fun to drive, or does its heft make it less-than-fun? Would you rather drive a TT or a GTI?

To be honest, I find it too heavy. I also don't like the way the power is put down, due to the Haldex system. Maybe because I have owned go-faster Subarus for the past 22 years.

I've only owned the older GTIs, if you mean Golf, so not sure what you are asking there? They were all much more fun over the TT, due to the significant weight difference.

I agree strongly with Mr Chapman. Lighter = funner. He expressed the point better than what as how I have

I've not owned my TT long but the best way to describe it is mini GT rather than sports car. It handles well and has plenty of grip but its no hot hatch. Do I enjoy it, yes, is it fun depends on what you find fun i.e. a 172/182 clio on a B road blast is probably more fun.

If you describe a car thats quicker than a Porsche boxter heavy and not much fun I think lucky you you must be used to driving Ferraris or similar.
Find me a bargain banger for £1500 that's not only fast but very safe.
Their over twenty years old now so mines starting to get expensive to keep on the road.
Get a good one, you won't regret it.

Agree with a lot of the comments so far .
IMHO the TT in stock form is a grand tourer , rather than a sports car.
Rather heavy, and dare I say this, not too much fun to drive!
Do I love mine?
You bet , for all its faults mines a keeper .

Stustt wrote:If you describe a car thats quicker than a Porsche boxter heavy and not much fun I think lucky you you must be used to driving Ferraris or similar.

The 225 is nowhere near as quick as my 3.2s, and in standard form it doesn't handle like a Boxster either. On the other hand, my 3.0 Z4 is better than the TT in many respects too.

If someone's buying a TT to be the best convertible/roadster in that price/age range then they're going to be sorely disappointed; in some respects it's better than the competition, i.e. spec and tunability, and other respects it's beaten by the competition, i.e. my Z4 is far more refined, far better built etc.

FragiLimbel wrote:Specifically, I'm thinking about a 225 quattro 6-speed manual. If you've owned (or driven extensively) one of these, what did you think of it? Is it fun to drive, or does its heft make it less-than-fun? Would you rather drive a TT or a GTI?

It doesn't feel like 225bhp, my similarly-powered Subaru (2002 bug-eye) always felt quicker even though it had more lag and was slightly heavier, my 177bhp 320d would comfortably leave the TT behind on the straights.

The biggest aces the TT has are its spec, the 225 is great with leather/heated seats/climate/Bose etc., it's easily and safely tweaked to 260bhp whereby it's quick enough to compete and probably most importantly they're still sensibly priced.

EddieMunster321 wrote:
It doesn't feel like 225bhp, my similarly-powered Subaru (2002 bug-eye) always felt quicker even though it had more lag and was slightly heavier, my 177bhp 320d would comfortably leave the TT behind on the straights.

This.
The performance of my 225 has been the only disappointment so far, my diesel daily A3 is chipped and is approx 180bhp , but feels considerably faster .
On a sunny day with roof down though the TT is forgiven .

Was comparing a TT to a lowly 2.5 boxter which only produces 204 bhp I think, I knew that would ruffle some feathers.
Must be something wrong with mine then because when I hit the loud pedal she just flies.
Had her up to over 130 in less than a quarter mile but I was starting at 30 before I get cries of Impossible ! ! Oh and yes was downhill lol.
Seriously I have never been able to spin or chirp the tyres even in the wet.
Have slaughtered much faster cars especially in the wet as they can't get the power down.

Hi, Only had mine 20 years, so not decided yet, but will probably keep her for a little longer.

Hoggy.

For me it's a comfortable GT car that is a good all rounder, a few tweeks improves the pace and handling, it does everything that i need it to do so i'm happy with it. how quick it is compared to other cars is irrelevant and it's not going to handle as well as a boxster on a b road or any road

I think all the points here are valid and it does come down to what type of fun you want. I just had a Clio 172 which was a blast on B roads but I enjoy the roadster more (maybe my age!) especially with the top down. I also have a Porsche 996 and that is much faster and better handling than the TT as you would expect although even that is beaten off the lights by modern electrics! I enjoy driving the TT as much if not more in some circumstances but you cant really compare them. The 996 is a bargain super car but the TT is cheap as chips so possibly more value for money.

When the TT came out I test drove one (second dealer as first wouldn’t let me as they don’t do test drives and if I didn’t enjoy it when it came then I could give it back!! Surprisingly they didn’t get any of my business!!) and I found the Quattro too safe that it wasn’t any fun. When I finally got a TT a few years later is was 2WD which I have now again and I found it more fun to play with. I would like to try a 4wd again though. My initial car was a company car so it was the 2WD or an A4 which made them decision for me!

I love my TT and its great fun to drive but would agree its a GT not a sports car - but maybe that’s cos mines the slow one!!

i wouldn't call a TT a sport's car more of a great looking car that's nice to drive, had a few hot hatches Vauxhall astra Mk1 gti, Peugeot 1.9 gti, Ford XR2, from what i can remember (they were a long time ago) they were all a lot livelier to drive than the TT, but being an old git now the TT suits me just fine,

I've only had mine a couple of months and would agree with a lot of the previous comments. Some of my previous cars were quicker, some handled better and some were more fun to drive. Maybe it's a sign of my age but to me the TT is a blend of all of these things. Quick enough to be nice to drive, handles well enough for my abilities as a driver and enough fun for me to take the car out at the weekend with my little lad just for the hell of it.

I also think it's a pretty car in standard trim and the interior is a nice place to be. It's the first car that I've kept (and intend to keep) totally standard as I think Audi got it right straight out of the factory.