# 3.2 V6 manual review after 4 months ownership



## tom6561 (Feb 11, 2021)

So I bought a 57 plate 3.2 V6 manual TT 4 months ago for £8000, with 59k on the clock. Thought I'd just put some thoughts down on the car after having it long enough to get used to the quirks, in the hopes it might be useful for somebody looking to buy in the future! I'll also add the disclaimer that prior to the TT I had a 2007 Focus ST, so my opinion is swayed by how that was to live with and drive. That aside, lets start with:

The good:
- The interior is a fantastic place to be, love the materials everywhere, the seats are comfy and everything feels fairly premium. Also absolutely no squeaks and rattles which is impressive for a 14 year old car.
- The engine has lovely linear power delivery, nice and torquey down low and makes a great noise.
- The driving experience is great. Pootling round the city, out on the motorway or driving more spiritedly on B-roads, the car is quite at home. My one general "complaint" about German cars is that they almost have too much grip, such that I never feel like the car can be pushed on a public road.
- 4WD is great for pulling out of junctions especially. Generally I can always put down the power as needed, which is very nice to have.
- Decent amount of features as standard on a 2007 car, I won't go into it because the Focus was pretty sparse so I've no idea what is good, but I'm just happy with my climate control, heated seats and auto headlights/wipers.

The okay:
- Fuel economy. It's a 3.2 V6 so it's as expected. It's pretty similar to the Focus (if not slightly better on a run). I'd say I average about 22MPG in traffic, 25MPG at low speeds and about 30MPG on a run. I've managed up to 35 and down to about 15 in awful traffic.
- The aircon isn't the strongest in the hot weather, it may just need a re-gas however.
- The engine I do feel is a bit lazy, or generally doesn't ever feel like it wants to be pushed hard. It's absolutely comfortable in that midrange with all the torque.

The bad:
- The back seats are completely unusable for an adult. I'd rather not have them and claim some boot space rather than the fake promise of getting 4 people in the car. Not an issue for me but for anybody wondering.

The broken:
N.b. It's a 14 year old car and I expect to have a few bits to fix when I buy something, 
- The radiator fans were sticking a bit so had to be replaced (~£300 inc. labour)
- Cigarette lighter doesn't work, might just be the fuse but there's a bit of melted plastic so not sure I want to chance it
- Intermittent washer fluid leak. I think it's from the driver's side headlight washer but hard to tell!
- Gauge cluster LEDs temperamental. I'm led to believe this will get worse and eventually lead to the car failing to start, which is exactly what the Focus did.

Comparison to the Focus, for those who are interested:
- Definitely far nicer to drive around town, and a much nicer interior
- Unfortunately the hydraulic steering on the Focus had a lot better feel and feedback, especially around B-roads. Likewise the seats were gripper, the engine a bit more punchy and eager to go, and the car itself seemed a lot more engaging.
- Obviously the Focus was a bit more practical with a bigger boot and back seats.
- The TT is definitely better all round on balance, it's not really a comparison to me, just lacks slightly in practicality and B-road fun.

Conclusion:
Overall it's a fantastic all round package, and for what I need it for it's absolutely perfect. No real gripes and for the money I can't think of anything I'd rather have!


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## E.L.Wisty (Sep 19, 2018)

Good review. As the owner of a similar age V6 auto I'd agree with all of this. 
Regarding the AC, I had mine re-gassed recently - it had got to the point of actually being inoperative - and I can tell you a polar bear would feel quite at home in it now - I've never been in a car that had such a powerful AC!


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## zsdom (Oct 25, 2020)

What Focus did you move from, I had an ST170 before moving onto my 3.2 & the difference is night & day, I've properly bonded with mine


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## AB888 (May 23, 2021)

Took my 3.2 for a drive around the country roads tonight, lovely evening and came back with a huge grin 

What's not to like about these cars, fab lines, fab noise, fab drive - mind you this is my weekend car, so fuel and tax and a bit heavy on the pocket (mine's the manual)

Enjoy all !!


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## SwissJetPilot (Apr 27, 2014)

Couple of good service, repair and maintenance posts for the Mk2, with one specific for the 3.2 VR6 -

*FAQ - Audi TT (8J) Recommended Maintenance & Service*
https://www.ttforum.co.uk/forum/viewtop ... &t=1932049

*FAQ - TT MK2 3.2 VR6 (BUB) Maintenance & Service*
https://www.ttforum.co.uk/forum/viewtop ... &t=2010435

If you don't already have an OBD device for diagnostics, this post may come in handy -

*FAQ - OBDII Scanner Reviews*
https://www.ttforum.co.uk/forum/viewtop ... &t=2014603


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## HRAB (Apr 28, 2021)

Although I understand why people can be frustrated by the backseats there is a sign on the car basically saying not fit for adults.

The rear seats were one of the deciding factors in buying a TT for me. I have a young child and it means that the three of us can go out for trips and enjoy the car. I had a 350Z and a 370Z previously and truth be told that was what I wanted again initially. I felt this was a good compromise and having something we could all enjoy.

You can get a rear seat delete if that is more useful/prefered!

I will say since owning a mk2 3.2 I do love it. The sound is intoxicating, the way it holds the road is rediculous. Kinda wish it had an extra 50-70bhp and being N/A it's expensive to achieve improvement in performance.

A serious amount of car for the money!


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## tom6561 (Feb 11, 2021)

E.L.Wisty said:


> Good review. As the owner of a similar age V6 auto I'd agree with all of this.
> Regarding the AC, I had mine re-gassed recently - it had got to the point of actually being inoperative - and I can tell you a polar bear would feel quite at home in it now - I've never been in a car that had such a powerful AC!


I did test drive the DSG and I was pretty impressed, after having the manual I'm still in two minds as to which is the best box to have as they both have pros and cons! I think there isn't a wrong choice there personally. I'll definitely get mine re-gassed when the car is serviced next month in this case.



zsdom said:


> What Focus did you move from, I had an ST170 before moving onto my 3.2 & the difference is night & day, I've properly bonded with mine


I had the Mk2 so the 2.5L Volvo T5, quite a different beast to the ST170! The 2.5 turbo has a completely different response to an NA V6, the power delivery is just completely different! I really do appreciate the linear power response although I do miss just quite how much power was on tap in the Focus.



HRAB said:


> Although I understand why people can be frustrated by the backseats there is a sign on the car basically saying not fit for adults.


I do only mention in the review just so people are aware, it's not obvious quite how bad they are unless you actually get in the back but definitely good for children! I do agree with you that it does need a little bit more power - I didn't get the TTS as I didn't want a 4-pot or a turbo, and the TT RS was a bit out of budget unfortunately.


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## HRAB (Apr 28, 2021)

tom6561 said:


> E.L.Wisty said:
> 
> 
> > Good review. As the owner of a similar age V6 auto I'd agree with all of this.
> ...


Funnily enough I bought mine under very similar conditions! Didn't want the tts 4-pot turbo and didn't have the money for a ttrs. I actually feel a bit differently now about the tts, mainly from the perspective of more power but I think if I was to make a leap up I would have to find the money for a ttrs. Admittedly I would consider going back to the 370 if I was toying with those numbers.

I'm good with the 3.2 right now though!


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## tom6561 (Feb 11, 2021)

HRAB said:


> Funnily enough I bought mine under very similar conditions! Didn't want the tts 4-pot turbo and didn't have the money for a ttrs. I actually feel a bit differently now about the tts, mainly from the perspective of more power but I think if I was to make a leap up I would have to find the money for a ttrs. Admittedly I would consider going back to the 370 if I was toying with those numbers.
> 
> I'm good with the 3.2 right now though!


I think if I was making the leap I'd be eyeing up either the TTRS or at that point you're getting into Cayman territory! I can definitely see the appeal of the TTS now though, especially with the options you get for increasing power from having a turbo car.


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## TT'sRevenge (Feb 28, 2021)

tom6561 said:


> - The aircon isn't the strongest in the hot weather, it may just need a re-gas however.


The funny thing about this is the A/C in 8P A3s is pretty widely known to be relatively weak. These cars have very similar engines, drivetrains, and compressors but for whatever reason the A/C in my TT will turn me into an icicle in minutes while the A3 is well...weak. The 3.2L may have a similar issue, but I'm not sure. I'm not much one for A/C to begin with TBH so I only ever use it on the highway. I quite like the hot months because we basically have only 3-4 of them here in Canada, the rest is shitty winter :evil: I still don't get the obsession with freezing offices in the summer as all I can think is "didn't these people get enough winter the other 8 months of the year?!?". But that's another story.



tom6561 said:


> The bad:
> - The back seats are completely unusable for an adult. I'd rather not have them and claim some boot space rather than the fake promise of getting 4 people in the car. Not an issue for me but for anybody wondering.


Ha I'm pretty sure this is universally known. I don't think there are many that buy a TT without both knowing this and not caring about it. If one wants a rear seat--buy an A3 (or any other larger car). The seats can be removed but TBH I see no big deal about just folding them when needed. You probably wouldn't want to keep them folded though as the leather will wear over time like, with the seatback rubbing against the seat bottoms all the time.



tom6561 said:


> The broken:
> - Cigarette lighter doesn't work, might just be the fuse but there's a bit of melted plastic so not sure I want to chance it


Are you more concerned about the socket or the actual lighter?



tom6561 said:


> - Intermittent washer fluid leak. I think it's from the driver's side headlight washer but hard to tell!


Ha I have the exact same problem... See this thread here:
https://www.ttforum.co.uk/forum/viewtop ... &t=2019407
Seems it's somewhat common just gotta remove that fender liner and see what's up with the tube/bottle/pump.



tom6561 said:


> - Gauge cluster LEDs temperamental. I'm led to believe this will get worse and eventually lead to the car failing to start, which is exactly what the Focus did.


Hmm I never heard about that issue yet?!



tom6561 said:


> Conclusion:
> Overall it's a fantastic all round package, and for what I need it for it's absolutely perfect. No real gripes and for the money I can't think of anything I'd rather have!


Good review. I love mine as well. I just have a few things to sort out still but fairly minor (like this washer fluid leak, and then the window smearing business)...


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## tom6561 (Feb 11, 2021)

TT'sRevenge said:


> Are you more concerned about the socket or the actual lighter?


My concern is there's no fuse in the fusebox at the moment, so maybe it was removed for a reason related to melted plastic! Probably being overly paranoid though.



TT'sRevenge said:


> Ha I have the exact same problem... See this thread here:
> https://www.ttforum.co.uk/forum/viewtop ... &t=2019407
> Seems it's somewhat common just gotta remove that fender liner and see what's up with the tube/bottle/pump.


I'll have a go at the weekend and see where we get!



TT'sRevenge said:


> Hmm I never heard about that issue yet?!


It required some pretty specific searching to find any previous instances, mainly because the Mk1 had so many issues with the cluster! The auto-electricians obviously play it up a bit so we shall see, but my understanding is that there are a lot of electrical connections in the cluster, particularly ones relating to the immobiliser, which just degrade over time.


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## Flashy (Nov 8, 2019)

I've owned a 2.5ST focus in the past, first and second gears weren't great but it pulled well in 3rd. I found it a bit too front heavy for b Road fun, my ep3s were better. Thirsty, I averaged 21mpg. Good car but not my favourite.


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## tom6561 (Feb 11, 2021)

Flashy said:


> I've owned a 2.5ST focus in the past, first and second gears weren't great but it pulled well in 3rd. I found it a bit too front heavy for b Road fun, my ep3s were better. Thirsty, I averaged 21mpg. Good car but not my favourite.


One of the biggest issues with the car was the ability to put power down, even with an LSD added second gear was still not great, and first gear was laughable. It was great fun though with a fantastic soundtrack. I think I averaged about 25mpg, about the same as the TT all things considered.

I did also consider an ep3, but fancied a change of brand after having had an ev1 in the past.


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