2022 Audi TT RS Interior and Cargo

The TT RS interior is decidedly sporty, but far from being a mid-nineties Subaru WRX, the Audi manages to feel seriously premium as well. The seats are upholstered in black Nappa leather with diamond cross-stitching available with either blue, red, or plain black stitching. All three options are matched with a black dashboard, carpet, and headliner. The air vents, shifter console, and door handles are finished off in aluminum, and the TT RS comes standard with carbon-fiber inlays. The RS Design selection interior option adds leather to the armrests, center console, airbag cap, and instrument cluster hood for an additional $1,450 and is available with blue or red highlights.

The Heritage Edition is on a whole new level and brings leather color combinations that are specially selected to complement the color of the exterior. Alpine White cars get Ocean Blue leather with Diamond Silver stitching, Helios Blue paint goes with Diamond Silver leather and Ocean Blue stitching, Stone Gray goes with Crimson Red leather and Jet Gray stitching, Tizian Red paint goes with Havanna Brown leather and Jet Gray stitching, and Malachite Green cars get Cognac Brown leather with Black stitching. Both the shifter and steering wheel are trimmed in Alcantara and the steering wheel gets a natural leather-color 12 o'clock marker.

The TT RS was never intended to be a grocery-getter but is more practical than one might think. Pop open the trunk lid, and you'll be greeted by 12 cubic feet of trunk space. That is enough to pack for a long weekend away and will swallow a decent amount of shopping bags. The only issue here is that the long and narrow trunk lid and trunk opening makes loading and unloading your stuff a rather uncomfortable chore. We've already mentioned the useless back seats in the RS, which are better used as storage space, but to maximize the room on offer, the rear 50/50-split rear seats fold flat for even more room.

The RS's compact cabin offers its occupants a small phone charging dock in front of the center console, wide door pockets, and a storage tray underneath the driver's seat.

The RS's primary focus might be driver enjoyment, but it is still an Audi after all, and customers will expect a decent amount of standard features. Notable exterior features include the adaptive damping suspension setup, heated, auto-dimming, and power-folding mirrors, and auto LED headlights. On the inside, you can expect to find heated 14-way power-adjustable and heated leather seats with four-way lumbar adjustment, dual-zone climate control, a 12.3-inch Audi Virtual Cockpit driver info display, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, an auto-dimming rearview mirror with digital compass and HomeLink, and front and rear parking sensors. Optional extras include an electrically-adjustable rear wing, OLED taillights (standard on the Heritage Edition), and RS fixed sport suspension, among others.

Most will prefer the thrum of that 2.5-liter five-pot engine and the symphony of turbo noises, but the TT RS does offer a competent infotainment system for when Mariah Carey calls. The 12.3-inch Audi Virtual Cockpit digital gauge cluster doubles as the infotainment display and provides a slick experience with menus and settings easily accessible and understandable - but they're only visible to the driver as the system is housed in the instrument cowl. Audi's MMI control system uses steering wheel controls, touch controls, or the intuitive touch-sensitive rotary controller for a polished overall experience. Standard features include USB connectivity, two SD card slots, satellite radio, and wireless phone charging. Sound is channeled through a standard 680-watt, 12-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system.