2009 Audi TT Coupe 2.0 Quattro

It's quick but not nose-bleed fast, chic but definitely not worth $48,750. Audi's newest TT has outgrown the 200 horsepower provided by its long-serving, turbocharged, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. And the S tronic dual clutch gearbox upon which we bestowed our Tech of the Year award when it debuted years ago is falling behind as well: it's a sin to upshift at the redline without permission from the driver. I tried the back seat expecting pain and received exactly what I bargained for. The mouse-driven nav system guided me faithfully on a complicated Sunday shopping stint. The magnetically variable dampers - another Tech of the Year award recipient - help handling but they're much too firm to smooth out Michigan's cratered roads. What impressed me most was the TT's new spaceframe that's two-thirds aluminum and one-third steel, saving 220 pounds over the previous (smaller) design. Rivets and adhesives join the dissimilar metals together. Don Sherman, Technical Editor