New Audi TT - still a feminine car?

[zjpj]

I always liked the old Audi TT, but always thought it was a bit of a "lady's car." It was "cute," but I don't necessarily see myself in a "cute" car.

I went for a drive and spotted the new TT at the local dealership. The car is more aggressive, I definitely like its looks.

But is it still a little... girly?

Your thoughts? I took some pics

[jekarwoski]

Zipj,

Well, the new model shares the new gaping mouth/blunderbuss grille with the rest of
the family. What makes it more aggressive to me is the hard hood line coming up
from the grille (a little tough to notice how pronounced it really is in the pics), the more
sloping roofline, the sculpting on the door bottoms and how this detail wraps around
the rear....lots of other smal details add up too. It appears to be a modern take on
a classic coupe/GT, long hood, short deck(trunk) than the 1st generation, which
was more rounded and appeared taller - yes bearing resemeblance to the new VW
Beetle. Perhaps putting the first generation next to this one would be instructive.

One of the nicer changes here is the spoiler is integrated and comes up automatically
at 75 MPH. The first generation had the spoiler added somewhere in the 2nd or 3rd
year of its cycle, and I think really compromised the lines. Friends had a very early
version, and refused to get the add-on, even though it was a safety recall of sorts.

Perhaps its still a little "girly" because the car is still rather short, or it doesn't have the
proportions or the HP of, say, the Ferrari in the background?

Aside - when I saw the first two pictures, I thought - "I know where this is - Bernardsville
NJ" and then I saw the license plate frame comfirming that...I've been known to do a fair
amount of shopping at Gary's Wines in the shopping center down the street...

[DD MacDonald]

Despite good bauhaus-era bones in it's design, I've always found the TT to be a small car and men do not always look like they fit in it very well. It suffers from Miata-syndrom, it just looks small and girly to me.

DDM

[zjpj]

jekarwoski - yes!

Gary's is great!

[kirsch]

def a chick car. the ferrari in front, however...

[zjpj]

def a chick car. the ferrari in front, however...

[spitfire2]

Still a girls car. But not because of looks - It looks great.
I test drove one and it just isn't there. It felt distant and
boring. I particularly hate the new grille styling.
It looks very darth vaderish to me, which is taking things
just a little too far.

However, It's your car. Do you really give a damn what others
think? If you like the car - buy it.

fwiw I think the ferarri is a chicks/sissies car also. Bought
by middle aged men trying to compensate for.... something.

I drive an mgb which was a girlie car in its day. Parked
beside a ferrari I get more complements and questions than the ferarri.

[Johnboy]

Definitely a hairdressers car.

Allied to the looks it's an Audi hence crashy suspension, steering that feels like rubber and if you're daft enough to go for one with an auto or dsg gearbox.........

[Andre Yew]

Dan Neil, our Pulitzer-prize winning car reviewer for the LA Times, pondered the issue of the "chick car" in his review of the Lexius SC430. It's out of print, but has been widely copied on the Internet:

http://www.xent.com/pipermail/fork/Week ... 31034.html

--Andre