# Manual or Quattro



## xerox77 (May 6, 2015)

Hi Folks,

I know many similar questions came up already in the past, but for me it is really a question of having a loved stick and loosing the quattro or giving up the manual transmission and having a quattro.
I could afford both from the budget point of view, so it is really a question of preference.

As a background info, since years I am driving BMW's with real wheel drive, my latest model is a BMW 220d with automatic sport transmission. It is my first car with automatic and for the first week it was fancy to have it and use the pedal shifters, but pretty soon it become boring...:/.
I commute daily in total 50km mainly on highway and country roads in Switzerland and that would be the main purpose of the use.
I would really like to have manual transmission, but afraid will regret the missing quattro. With the BMW I have never been in a situation where I would miss the xDrive; I am not in the mountains, the roads are cleaned properly during winter and to be honest I am not that sport car freak driver, never drive on the edge of the car's capability and also mainly use it on road and not on race tracks 
Yes, I have tested both of them; in the city I could not really get the differences, but after one year was really involving to drive a car with stick.

Beside of the added safety and torque distribution, I assume on performance the the only benefit of quattro is at starting from standstill. When the cars are moving I assume the traction would be more or less the same (on dry and even surface)of a fwd and of a quattro.

Any opinion or experience with the fwd TT? Is the fwd mk3 puts the 230Hp and the 370Nm reliably on the ground?

Thanks guys.


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## Ham699 (Apr 24, 2015)

Unfortunately in my country the Quattro won't arrive until Q4 of 2015 so I went with the FWD. So I currently own a MK3 with FWD, and I can tell you first hand that it skids.. ALOT. Just like most FWD cars would. That being said I've heard amazing things about the Quattro, most reviews I've read and seen have praised the MK3's Quattro saying how much more fun the ride is.

But If you decide to go with the FWD prepare for lots and lots of throttle feathering  Hope this helps.


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## Critter10 (Nov 4, 2010)

If budget is not a huge issue, get a manual TTS - Quattro and manual available together.

My first TT (a mk2) was FWD only and that suffered from torque-steer quite badly in 1/2/3 gears. My current TTS stays firmly planted almost regardless. I can't imagine driving it hard enough to lose grip, at least in normal conditions. But with the extra grunt the latest standard petrol TT has I can only imagine it getting pretty hairy.


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## xerox77 (May 6, 2015)

Critter10 said:


> If budget is not a huge issue, get a manual TTS - Quattro and manual available together.


I was checking the TTS as well...maybe sounds stupid, but the TTS is not an option for me because of the S-Sport seat: it is too tight for me and also have quality issues. I have seen already 2-3 cars with the S-Sport seat and the decoration frame on the seat is poor quality, scratched by the seat belt easily and the alignment of the leather and frame has some issues as well on the side.
I supposed to sit in the seat when I am driving so the seat comfort is key to me  .


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## xerox77 (May 6, 2015)

Ham699 said:


> Unfortunately in my country the Quattro won't arrive until Q4 of 2015 so I went with the FWD. So I currently own a MK3 with FWD, and I can tell you first hand that it skids.. ALOT. Just like most FWD cars would. That being said I've heard amazing things about the Quattro, most reviews I've read and seen have praised the MK3's Quattro saying how much more fun the ride is.
> 
> But If you decide to go with the FWD prepare for lots and lots of throttle feathering  Hope this helps.


It helps a lot, thanks for your feedback! Painful what you write, but I should face the reality


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## MrsTT (Nov 8, 2014)

xerox77 said:


> Ham699 said:
> 
> 
> > Unfortunately in my country the Quattro won't arrive until Q4 of 2015 so I went with the FWD. So I currently own a MK3 with FWD, and I can tell you first hand that it skids.. ALOT. Just like most FWD cars would. That being said I've heard amazing things about the Quattro, most reviews I've read and seen have praised the MK3's Quattro saying how much more fun the ride is.
> ...


Cant say I agree with the poor grip on the FWD, its excellent in my opinion - I have never managed to push it to the point of losing grip and I have pushed it pretty hard.

Obviously FWD will eventually understeer so Quattro is going to help when you reach that point, however from my experiences are pretty consistent with many reviews out there praising the handling and grip of the new FWD MKIII. I have also never had to employ any throttle feathering either - maybe I have not pushed it to the absolute limit, but pushed hard enough for me to be content with my choice of FWD, I did consider Quattro, but it was only available with S-tronic when I ordered and I wanted a manual so easy choice. I too am not a fan of automatics and prefer to be able to change gears, which is much more engaging in my opinion.

For the type of driving suggested by the original poster I would say the manual/FWD should have plenty of grip for some pretty spirited driving - Quattro would be a nice bonus, but not a must have in my book. Quattro is not without its downsides: extra cost, reduced economy and the 100Kg of weight.


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## xerox77 (May 6, 2015)

Ham699 said:


> Cant say I agree with the poor grip on the FWD, its excellent in my opinion - I have never managed to push it to the point of losing grip and I have pushed it pretty hard.


Thanks for your feedback! As you mentioned correctly I am not a sporty driver, but it would be nice to have some spirited time behind the wheel. If it would be available option I would choose immediately the quattro with manual, but I need to make a choice. I assume I would enjoy the stick more often than I would miss the quattro as I am driving on normal roads more or less respecting the limits and the everyday comfort and involvement is on the top of the list. However waiting for other comments and feedbacks


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## minsTTerman (Aug 5, 2003)

I've got a FWD 2.0 TFSi manual and I must say I agree with Mrs TT. I find the level of grip excellent and haven't had any grip issues in the first 4,000 miles of driving.

Of course if you thrash it away from the line or it's wet roads then the grip won't be as good as the Quattro, but in normal and most spirited driving I'd say the FWD is absolutely fine.


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## xerox77 (May 6, 2015)

minsTTerman said:


> I've got a FWD 2.0 TFSi manual and I must say I agree with Mrs TT. I find the level of grip excellent and haven't had any grip issues in the first 4,000 miles of driving.


Thanks a lot! I start to feel my hand on the stick 

For most of you guys what was the reason to choose the fwd TT? Budget or the manual transmission?


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## patatus (Jun 12, 2006)

I would get the Quattro... you will miss it for sure coming from a BMW... ( I am currently driving a 328i with M sport automatic transmission and I miss the quattro of my TT... the wheel do spin in the back on the BMW on occasions even in the dry, although more rarely than a FWD car would ). Once you've tried quattro, you will never want to get anything else. Trust me. The car sticks to the road. Even under normal conditions (i.e.. dry) there is a huge difference with FWD.

btw, i would recommend driving both, one after the other to see the difference. That's what I did when I bought my MK2 (quattro). And I didn't hesitate one second after the test drive...


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## xerox77 (May 6, 2015)

patatus said:


> I would get the Quattro...


Thanks! Yes, I have some doubt to jump from rwd to fwd.
I am sure and not questioning the better traction of the quattro, i am just wondering how efficiently would i use it with my mostly relaxed driving style


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## Markolaynee (Feb 21, 2015)

I have driven four wheen drivers before, but never quattro.. This is amazing.. Even my dad , who drives porche carrera admits that it is glued to road even on high speed crazy maneuvers

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## can_quattro (Jun 11, 2009)

Personally I would never purchase a FWD Audi.
IMHO when you buy a FWD Audi you have spent a lot of money on a Brand, but did not get what the Brand is known for.
Audi Canada does not even import FWD TTs so not a choice I will have to make.

For the OP, did the TTS you sat in have the adjustable side bolsters? Don't know if that would help with the comfort.
First I have heard of issues with the decorative trim on the side, but those should be manageable compared to giving up manual or Quattro.


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## xerox77 (May 6, 2015)

can_quattro said:


> Personally I would never purchase a FWD Audi.
> IMHO when you buy a FWD Audi you have spent a lot of money on a Brand, but did not get what the Brand is known for.
> Audi Canada does not even import FWD TTs so not a choice I will have to make.
> 
> ...


Thanks! I feel exactly what you say, from every communication it flows the "real" audi is with quattro system  I've been just in Toronto, but can imagine in Canada thanks to the landscape and the harsh winters it is more or less the only logical option is to by an awd car, especially with such a "light" weight.
Yes, the TTS S-Seat had the adjustable option, but still, I could not manage to feel hundred percent relaxed. Let's say the model is fixed just hesitating to get with quattro or manual 
I still have some time as just going to sell my BMW220d and then will order the TT. The good part it is it will be already the 2016 MY, so reversing camera will be available


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## MrsTT (Nov 8, 2014)

can_quattro said:


> Personally I would never purchase a FWD Audi.
> IMHO when you buy a FWD Audi you have spent a lot of money on a Brand, but did not get what the Brand is known for.
> Audi Canada does not even import FWD TTs so not a choice I will have to make.
> 
> ...


I think Audi marketing of the Quattro system is very effective and the tech really impressive, making you think you are not getting a "proper" Audi unless it has Quattro = more money for Audi. If you live in an area where snow chains come into play annually then Quattro will be a benefit I have no doubt, but how much?

As I indicated previously, before finally deciding on the FWD vs AWD I watched a comparison video of an AWD drive car with standard tyres on snow vs FWD with snow tyres and the latter significantly out performed the AWD, I was surprised by this, assuming AWD would be significantly better, just as Audi promote. I am certain the Quattro snow video's shown by Audi to promote the Quattro system will be using snow tyres and they are in fact doing most of the work - It would be interesting to see how Quattro plus standard tyres perform in the same conditions - not that well I would suspect, no doubt better than FWD, but by how much?

Bottom line for me is that your choice of tyre is much more important than Quattro or FWD and its those 4 pieces of rubber keeping you from the ditch, Quattro is just an aid nothing more and cant beat good tyres. So I still maintain for daily driving and normal UK weather conditions FWD grips brilliantly.

Do a test drive is ultimately the way to go and compare yourself, I did this and could not discern a difference, admittedly this was on a test drive MKII Quattro VS MKIII FWD.


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## TortToise (Aug 22, 2009)

MrsTT said:


> I think Audi marketing of the Quattro system is very effective and the tech really impressive, making you think you are not getting a "proper" Audi unless it has Quattro = more money for Audi. If you live in an area where snow chains come into play annually then Quattro will be a benefit I have no doubt, but how much?
> 
> As I indicated previously, before finally deciding on the FWD vs AWD I watched a comparison video of an AWD drive car with standard tyres on snow vs FWD with snow tyres and the latter significantly out performed the AWD, I was surprised by this, assuming AWD would be significantly better, just as Audi promote. I am certain the Quattro snow video's shown by Audi to promote the Quattro system will be using snow tyres and they are in fact doing most of the work - It would be interesting to see how Quattro plus standard tyres perform in the same conditions - not that well I would suspect, no doubt better than FWD, but by how much?
> 
> ...


Quattro with winter tyres will outperform the FWD with winters - and if you are likely to be driving in snow and ice you should be running Winter tyres regardless of what drive system you have.

At the end of the day, a FWD is going to have only half the available grip when it comes to putting down the power. It's also going to be more compromised for cornering on the limit - the quattro system will shift power rearwards as the fronts slip, reducing understeer.

If you aren't in conditions where available grip is on the limit you won't notice much difference of course. Personally, if I go for a mk3 next it will have quattro, I'm tired of getting wheelspin when pulling away (eg at junctions) quickly.


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## MrsTT (Nov 8, 2014)

TortToise said:
 

> MrsTT said:
> 
> 
> > I think Audi marketing of the Quattro system is very effective and the tech really impressive, making you think you are not getting a "proper" Audi unless it has Quattro = more money for Audi. If you live in an area where snow chains come into play annually then Quattro will be a benefit I have no doubt, but how much?
> ...


Don't disagree with any of that - Basically comes down to a cost benefit preference I guess.


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## xerox77 (May 6, 2015)

It seems to be the same question what I had several times in the past: I am single, but just in case to be able to carry family and friends I was always buying a car with reasonable backseat, however in 98% I travel alone, 1% two and in the remaining 1% I need the four seats...

I feel the same with the quattro; I am not racing, in Switzerland it cost a hell if you overspeed  Time to time I am crossing the german highway, but I guess in normal conditions on the highway there are not much difference so at the end I would benefit 5% of the time of having quattro, but would miss in the 95% the stick 

I just want to make sure the FWD is not much "worst" in everyday commute


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## Critter10 (Nov 4, 2010)

I can't offer a comparison between fwd and Quattro for the mk3 and I bow to others experience, particularly with regard to the assertions around the fwd handling characteristics. But having had a mk2 fwd and a mk2 Quattro all I can say is that the difference in handling is like night and day. The Quattro feels totally planted in almost any driving conditions, something you only really can appreciate after a prolonged period. Before I got my Quattro I thought my fwd mk2 handled brilliantly (which compared with all other fwd cars I'd had before was true) but the Quattro is in a different league, in my opinion. I also had winter tyres for both mk2's and while the fwd performed loads better in snow than with normal tyres, again the Quattro with winter rubber was just so much more assured.

I must try and get a test drive in a fwd mk3 before my TTS is delivered as I'd love to be able to see for myself if there are any significant differences.


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## patatus (Jun 12, 2006)

xerox77 said:


> patatus said:
> 
> 
> > I would get the Quattro...
> ...


With quattro, the car feels like it's glued to the road. Even with relaxed driving. It's a massive difference. Believe me. Don't get FWD.


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## xerox77 (May 6, 2015)

patatus said:


> With quattro, the car feels like it's glued to the road. Even with relaxed driving. It's a massive difference. Believe me. Don't get FWD.


Thanks! I've got the point  It seems to me the majority of ppl are more into sticking to the road rather than enjoying the manual transmission


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## patatus (Jun 12, 2006)

xerox77 said:


> patatus said:
> 
> 
> > With quattro, the car feels like it's glued to the road. Even with relaxed driving. It's a massive difference. Believe me. Don't get FWD.
> ...


Regarding manual/auto dillema... I got my MK2 with manual + quattro (V6). As you I was a big fan of manual... I didn't even bother trying the s-tronic.

Now, after driving for more than a year with a car with automatic transmission (and paddles on the steering wheel) not sure I would go back to manual. (I drive my automatic 98% of the time in manual with paddles. Best of both worlds).


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