It was this month last year when I finally picked up my Audi TTRS, a car that I had chased after for quite a while. I had always been a big Audi fan, particularly the RS models. After many months of looking for the perfect (for me) example, I eventually got lucky and one popped up in the north of the country. I drove an 8 hour round trip to go test drive the car the week it went up for sale and immediately put a deposit on the car, as I knew I had to have it.

I get a lot of questions about the car, particularly around the running costs involved, so I thought given that it is the first anniversary since I bought it, now would be a good time to do a little blog post around the topic.

Audi TTRS

For those who don’t know a whole lot about the TTRS model, It was inspired by the 1984 Audi Sport Quattro (Audi used five-cylinder engines with great success in rally racing back in the 1980s ), it features a 2.5-litre TFSI engine which packs quite a punch at 335bhp. While this may not seem like a huge amount given the amount of power some production cars are being released with these days, This still equates to quite hilariously fun performance in such a small car.

Audi TTRS – Servicing Cost

When I was buying my car second hand from a dealer, I was lucky enough to negotiate some bigger servicing items into the deal with the car. The mileage of the car when I was picking it up was just a tad over 40,000miles, which with a TTRS means that some important service items need to be looked at. These 2 are the Haldex Oil and Filter Change ( for the Quattro System ) and a service of the S-Tronic Gearbox ( Automatic ).

These 2 items are not particularly cheap, and if you were to get them done by an Audi Dealer you would be looking at a cost of at least €500+ for parts and labour alone. These particular parts of the car are sensitive to servicing times, so it is important to get them done within the manufacturer’s specifications. You can find great car servicing with Enji.

For general servicing this year I took the car to Audi and the cost was €380 for routine service with no parts required apart from Oil for an oil change etc. I found this to be a tad expensive, but have a feeling they were putting an “RS” tax on the cost of the service.

Audi told me I needed the rear brake pads replaced at €350 and a Haldex Oil Change at 250 euro. I ended up buying the brake pads online myself from EuroCarParts

Once I had the pads, I was able to get them fitted and have the Haldex oil change done for a total cost of €220. Saved me a total of around €340!

Not sure if I will continue to go to Audi for the routine service and will consider using a local independent in the future.

Audi TTRS – Tyres

Tyres for the TTRS are pretty expensive. Of course, this depends on which manufacturer you go with, but a car running this type of power deserves to be wearing some premium rubber. My particular car has 19inch wheels, so these need a tyre size of 255/35 R19.

I have been using Michelin Pilot Sport 4 Tyres since I got the car, and I find these excellent. They are only surpassed by the Pilot Sport 4 S, but since I am only using the car on the road and not track, I don’t think the price difference is worth it for me.

it costs roughly €750 for 4 of these tyres that I currently have on the car.  (i have been through 2 sets of 2 since I bought the car ) Not exactly cheap, but I think good tyres are extremely important to have on a performance car.

For more details on how to jack up an Audi for changing the tyres, you can read this article.

Audi TTRS – Replacement Parts

As a rule of thumb, Audi replacement parts don’t usually come cheap when compared to some other manufacturers. Being an ‘RS’ car, this means that parts can cost far more to replace, as a lot of the components are specific to the RS model. Thankfully I have had not had any major issues with the car apart from a small niggle which happened into about 2 months of ownership.

The car developed a loud hissing noise from the engine, along with the check engine light. The car was diagnosed as needing a new rocker cover and some seals. If this was any other, more common car it probably would have been a relatively easy and cheap fix, but given that it was the “RS” model, the cost for the replacement was more than 700 euro for the part and the labour to fit it. ( This was also done at a local independent specialist, so you can imagine what the cost would have been to buy directly from Audi.

One of the most expensive parts to replace on the TTRS is the front Brake Discs / Pads. A direct OEM replacement will probably set you back about €1300-€1500 for the parts alone, depending on where you buy them. There are some aftermarket options available that are slightly more wallet-friendly.

I think mine will need to be replaced shortly, so I will make sure and update this post with what options are available.

Audi TTRS – Fuel Use / MPG

One thing the TTRS is NOT known for is light fuel consumption. This thing does like a drink, especially if you tend to be a bit of a heavy-footed driver! As far as fuel usage goes, I am finding the normal range to be about 18-20mpg on my typical journey. I have managed to push that up a bit on longer journeys (25-27mpg) if I am really careful, but generally speaking, you can expect to make stops at the petrol station quite regularly.

I find my average range per tank is about 250 miles give or take. ( A full tank of petrol is about €90 ) , so it does add up pretty quickly and I am spending more on fuel than any other car I have owned previously.

One thing I have considered recently is getting a fuel card to try to limit my spending at the pumps.

If you are not familiar with fuel cards and how they work, a fuel card is very similar to a credit card without the interest charges; each fuel card has a set network of sites around the Ireland, UK or Europe at which your fuel card can be used.

A friend of mine recommended I look at iCompario, which is the largest fuel card comparison site in the world. I think I will start there to look at the options available to me.

I will report back here on my findings.

Audi TTRS – Running Cost Summary

So far my experience with the TTRS is that it is not a car that is cheap to run. However, I half expected that before I even bought the car. I am getting enough enjoyment from ownership to justify the cost ( for now )

If you have any questions or you are thinking about buying an Audi RS car, please feel free to reach out to me by Comment or Email. Two of my close friends both own RS Models ( One RS4 and the other RS6 ), so I have a fairly good idea of how much these can cost to run.

About the Author – Darren O Hara

Darren is the founder of the DriveDetailed blog and is a keen detailing enthusiast living in the rainy south of Ireland. When he is not cleaning his car he is always researching ways he can improve his techniques and enjoys testing out new products.

Darren currently drives an Audi TTRS and is a big fan of performance cars.

You can follow Darren on Instagram @darrenoharacork