The vast majority of automotive enthusiasts would likely guess that the most reliable luxury sports car one could buy is the Porsche 911. And that's for good reason too, any Porsche 911, no matter which generation, seems like a reliable and fun sports car to own. Nevertheless, there'a case to be made that here in 2020, that crown should go to none other than but the Audi TT.
Truthfully, reliability isn't something that can be totally ensured until long after a generation of technology arrives and can be real-world tested. The modern vehicles you see on the road every day still have problems of all sorts. For example, the Alfa Romeo Guilia has had some major ECU problems right off the production line and both the Civic Type R and Dodge Challenger Hellcat had overheating problems.
Good thing we have the Germans. The European country has long been a leader in engineering advancement and quality in the reliability department and it shows up better in nothing but the adorable Audi TT.
It's your dependable Swiss-Army knife that can also drive you down the road.
From The Ground Up
A car is only as good as its bare bones and the TT is lucky enough to have one of the best modern platforms: VW Group's MQB platform.
If it sounds complicated it's because it is. Especially in newer cars, there is so much that goes into making a single car and the automotive industry has constantly been adapting to make that process more silky smooth. Henry Ford's revolutionary assembly line formula allowed his company to reign supreme early on, giving them an advantage for the future. Today, VW has built on top of that same foundational idea.
MQB stands for "Modularer Querbaukasten" which translates into 'murican as "modular transversal toolkit". Simply, it is a singular platform that allows their new models to sort of plug in, including all electricals, powertrain mounts, and body mounts. By using a series of "hardpoints" the chassis permits a certain amount adjustability when being applied to different models and sizes.
They also use advanced electrical programming along with hardware that can run any model's ECU (computers, infotainment, safety software) on the same platform. Pretty genius huh?
Well, considering the VW group spent a humbling $60 Billion on development for MQB, there is no wonder why it's so good. And even though all that engineering is so boring, it speaks directly for the TT's reliability, nothing on the lineup of TT's seems cheap or ill-thought-out, resulting in an ever-satisfying package.
The Numbers Don't Lie
A team of journalists and analysts over at Iseecars.com did a wonderful study that included millions of licensed vehicles and how many of each model were still being driven with over 150,000 miles on the odometer. They focused primarily on sports cars of all origins and found some very interesting stats.
The American car with the best-calculated reliability was the Ford Mustang at about 2.3% of vehicles being driven with 150k+ miles.
Can you guess what car had the best numbers? Yup, the TT.
They found that a whopping 4.3% of Audi TTs were still on the streets with 150,000 miles. The odds that you see even an old TT on your way to work are really high and the new ones will be especially well off for years to come thanks to all that dough VW spent.
But there are some caveats, and when it comes down to it, cars like the TT aren't going to be produced in numbers like the Mustang or Miata because they are marketed to different people. The Mustang has always been a staple of cheap American power which makes them more disposable in a sense. Parts are cheap, maintenance is cheap, and you can blow a 5.0 Mustang up to 800 hp if you want to, which usually results in a big kaboom and then another purchase from a local Ford dealer near you.
But the Audi is a more sophisticated vehicle that has more attractive features that encourage longevity, which makes sense why buyers would take care of it more religiously and responsibly. Plus, parts are expensive and when you need even a routine service, it can dig deep in your pockets, which is only more incentive for current owners to be particular about what happens to their vehicle.
Audi Knows What They're Doing
Far too often Audi is overlooked or forgotten about in automotive conversations. They have an answer for nearly every impressionable customer no matter what they want to buy, and the TT is their one true athlete among all the different competitions. It can be a reliable and comfortable daily driver, it can fit a week's luggage in the hatch and rear seats, it can be a luxury cruiser with its wonderful Audi interior, and it can put a big smile on your face on a good backroad.
The reliability of this car is a stand-alone benefit no matter what, but the other words in our title that matter just as much are "Sports Car". Both the TT-S and TT-RS are wonderful sports cars through and through despite their lack of manual transmissions, but if you are willing to spend the money you can get the coolest new engine on Earth (2.5L 5 Cylinder Turbo) and something you can take to the grocery store, the office, and the track all in the same day without breaking anything.
Sources: Iseecars.com