"We're going to do some laps, but this isn't a track car. If I hear anyone complaining about brake fade or lap times I'm not going to be happy." So went the pep talk from Audi leading up to our time with the company's new TT. And while we got several laps—at the Circuit of the Americas no less, before the Lone Star Le Mans races—there are few things we'd rather do with a new car than get to know it on a world-class circuit. The prospect of our first track time this year only came in second on our list of "reasons we want to drive the new Audi TT." Rather, we were really excited to try out the car's UI, which the company calls "Virtual Cockpit."

Replacing all a car's dials and gauges with a single TFT screen isn't new, but the TT is the first car we've driven to start really pushing the idea. It works in conjunction with Audi's MMI infotainment system—which is really quite good now—letting you do cool things like displaying Google Maps full-screen with overlays for important info from the car. Ambitious UI experiments don't always succeed, but after several hundred miles the TT's clever dash thoroughly impressed us. Oh, and the rest of the car wasn't too bad either. Like the nice man from Audi said, it's not a track car. Style takes priority over speed, but that's no bad thing if done properly.

Looking good has always been the TT's reason for being. It first appeared in 1995 as a concept car, wowing the crowds at that year's Frankfurt auto show. Three years later the Mk 1 TT went into production, keeping almost all of the concept's good looks. Underneath it made good use of Volkswagen Group's parts bin, something that's always left the car (and the subsequent Mk 2) with accusations of being a "Golf in drag." These days those kinds of insults are somewhat meaningless. Sure, both TT and Golf use VW's Modularer Querbaukasten (MQB) platform, but so do eight other cars; that's the entire point of developing MQB. This chassis is a mix of steel for the bits that undergo the most stress and extruded aluminum. The body panels are also mostly aluminum, too, which has helped make the third generation TT 110 lbs (50kg) lighter than the outgoing car.

Elle Cayabyab Gitlin

Elle Cayabyab Gitlin

Elle Cayabyab Gitlin

Audi

Elle Cayabyab Gitlin

The exterior styling is an evolution of the first TT's design, now featuring more hard angles. It's literally an edgy interpretation of the classic TT, although there are a few R8 styling cues here and there as well. Signature TT design touches are present and correct: the aluminum fuel filler door, the double-bubble silhouette, the large clamshell hood, and fastback rear hatch. The original TT did without a spoiler at first, requiring a recall to fit one (following costly lawsuits) after early owners found that aerodynamic shape generated lift over the rear at speed. Here, there's a retractable spoiler that rises at speed, which does the car's appearance many favors. Overall, it is, to our eyes, an extremely attractive car to look at; not a bad thing in this market segment.

Inside, things are even better. We've said this before, so at the risk of sounding like a stuck record, there really is no volume car maker better at interiors than Audi right now. Again, this was evident back with the original TT and its famous baseball glove seats. You sit low in the car, hugged well by the leather seats (with a frightening amount of electric adjustment). Large turbine-shaped air vents stud the dashboard. Each has a small LCD display at its center, a bit like a Nest thermostat. There are a few toggle switches on the dash (for changing the driving mode, turning on the hazard lights, and turning off the parking sensors and traction control), but almost everything else is handled either with the MMI jogwheel or its mirrored controls on the multifunction steering wheel.

Specs at a glance: 2016 Audi TT Coupe Body type 2-door coupe Layout Front engine, all wheel drive Powerplant 2L turbocharged direct injection inline 4. Transmission Six-speed S-Tronic Dual Clutch Automatic Horsepower 220 bhp @ 4,500-6,200 rpm Torque 258 lb-ft @ 1,600-4,400 rpm Steering Variable ratio electromechanical power steering Suspension Weight-saving MacPherson strut front suspension, four-link rear suspension. Tires Front/Rear: 245/35 R19 Top speed 130mph/209km/h Fuel economy (City/highway/combined) 23 mpg/30 mpg/26 mpg Weight 3,186 lb (1,445 kg) Wheelbase 98.6 in (2,505 mm) Dimensions 164.7 in (4,184 mm) x 72.1 in (1832 mm) x 53.2 in (1353 mm) (LWH) Base price $42,900 Price as tested $50,600 Options added Scuba Blue metallic paint, Technology Package, 19" wheel package, S Sport seat package, Bang and Olufsen Sound System

That jogwheel and the gearstick both emerge from the center console, which is topped in a lovely machined aluminum finish. The metal finish is used as a highlight to good effect throughout the interior. It's a dark cabin but doesn't feel gloomy. There's decent room for both driver and front seat passenger, but the rear seats are for occasional use only. That's not to suggest it isn't a practical car; it's merely a practical car for two. The trunk has lots of room even with the back seats up, and folded down one ought to be able to fit bicycles or other large unwieldy things in the back.

Up front is a 2L TSFI engine, which means gasoline, a turbocharger, and direct injection. Power and torque—220hp (162kW) and 258lb-ft (350nM)—gets sent to all four wheels via a six-speed dual clutch gearbox. In fact, the TT is constantly reading the coefficient of traction at all four wheels (Audi tells us it does this 150 times every 10 milliseconds) as well as the steering angle and yaw rate, altering the torque sent front-to-rear via an electronically controlled (Haldex) clutch between the front wheels via light applications of the brake (this is also how the ESC system works). It will even send all of the available power to the front or rear wheels should conditions demand.

You can choose between different driving modes with a toggle switch on the dash; Comfort, Auto, Dynamic, and Individual. Dynamic sharpens the throttle response, weights up the steering, stiffens the suspension, and sends the majority of the power to the rear wheels. You also get some quiet (but lovely) pops and parps from the exhaust when shifting up through the gears in Dynamic, even if the engine is otherwise rather aurally anonymous. Comfort takes things the other way as well as telling the gearbox to freewheel when you're not on the accelerator for better fuel efficiency. Individual—as you might guess—lets you pick and choose different settings for each of these, so you can have a soft comfy ride but sportier engine noise and rearward-biased power delivery, for example.

Overall, performance is adequate. If you're looking for a coupe to take to the track or go canyon carving, Porsche's Cayman might be a better choice. Zero to 60mph takes about 5.5 seconds, and the car tops out at 130mph (209km/h). But that's not to say the TT is dull to drive. The dual clutch gearbox (S-tronic in Audispeak) feels a little slow to kick down in automatic, so you'll want to use the paddles on the steering wheel when making progress. Handling is reminiscent of a Golf GTI, which is no bad thing. Audi was kind enough to arrange for some hot laps at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA to its friends) the morning of the big races, which gave us a chance to push the car in a way we wouldn't on public roads.

Elle Cayabyab Gitlin

Elle Cayabyab Gitlin

Audi

Elle Cayabyab Gitlin

Audi

Elle Cayabyab Gitlin

COTA has a marvelous complex of decreasing radius corners, which the TT handled capably, the same going for the track's wonderful sweeping turn 19. We also got near the car's top speed on the long back straight. Unfortunately, by the third lap the TT's tires had picked up enormous quantities of rubber from the track, a consequence of so many different races (and tire compounds) that weekend. Large chunks of tire pickup were being flung at us from the TT in front, and things started to get very understeery. Discretion being the better part of valor, we backed off and cruised around for the remainder of our hot lap session before handing the track over to a parade of more than 100 Porsches.

That tire pickup stayed with the car for the rest of our weekend, making the drive back to Dallas somewhat less relaxing than it could have been, thanks to the vibration from having not-completely round wheels. (Ah, the joys of press fleet cars; some other poor bugger gets the job of cleaning them afterward. We should note that at Ars, we do our very best not to abuse press cars and always try to give them back with at least half a tank of gas.)

Artificial washboard effect aside, the TT was extremely effective on the freeways of Texas. The Lone Star state has an admirable approach to highway speed limits, and the TT ate the miles from Austin to Dallas. Active lane assist is available, but sadly there's no adaptive cruise control. This is a real pity; the one-two combination of these systems takes much of the fatigue out of long road trips in so-equipped cars.

Listing image by Elle Cayabyab Gitlin