Like the second-generation TT Coupe (Audi TT, Take II, June 19, 2006), the roadster comes with a choice of either a 2.0-liter, 200-hp turbo four or a 3.2-liter, 250-hp V6 engine. The four is available only as a front-driver, at least initially, so if you want Quattro, you’ll have to step up to the V6. A six-speed manual gearbox is standard with the four, while Audi’s awesome six-speed double-clutch unit is a four-cylinder option and standard with the V6.

The car has grown over its predecessor, adding more than 5 inches in length, more than 3 inches in width, and nearly 0.5 inch in height. A 1.8-inch stretch in the wheelbase to 97.1 inches helps add interior space and luggage capacity. Despite being bigger, the roadster’s weight is 2849 pounds, only 33 pounds more than its predecessor and 77 pounds heavier than the coupe. The roadster’s top is fabric, Audi choosing to buck the trend toward folding hardtops. A complaint about the old TT was its floppy chassis, so this time around, Audi stiffened the car’s aluminum space frame with beefed-up aluminum side sills and added strength to the A-pillars with a thickened steel tube in the windshield frame., Audi claims torsional rigidity is more than double that of the first-generation roadster.

The only way to find out if that’s true is to drive it, so we spent half a day in the south of France doing just that.

Of the powertrain configurations available, we preferred the turbo four and the double-clutch transmission. The four has a nice snarl to it (so does the six), and the car accelerated like a jackrabbit. And it was fun to flick the trans up and down with the paddles. The steering was light but not too light.

Body control was excellent, especially on the cars we drove fitted with Audi’s optional magnetic ride dampers (just like the ones GM uses). The shocks have a “normal” and a “sport” mode; the latter firms the ride nicely.

One can argue whether the new car looks better than the old, but there’s no debating that the new roadster is a much better car to drive. The flopping and flexing over potholes is, for the most part, gone.

Bottom line: This car deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the Porsche Boxster and the BMW Z4. You couldn’t say that about the old one.