Back-to-back: the MINI Coupé and the Audi TT

The MINI Coupé is cool and young and has the cachet of being the 'latest thing'. It's fast, sporty and terrific to drive – so long as you are on smooth roads. Then again, it's exciting when you hit a pothole or a minor bump too: for a second you might think you’ve left the Tarmac and simply taken off.

The MINI Coupé has go-kart handling and buckets of character; its look will definitely turn heads (though opinion on whether it's a good-looking car or a slightly awkward-looking take on the MINI shape is mixed, if online forums are anything to go by.)

The MINI has a superb turbocharged 1.6 engine and a raw agility that begs you to chuck it through bends. If that's the kind of thing that turns you on, you may not be so bothered by the fact that there's only two seats and that you can't see out of the rear window.

Then again, if that's the kind of thing that turns you on, you might note that the MINI Roadster is due next spring, and since the Coupé resembles a Roadster with a hat on, why not decide to wait for the next latest thing?

While the MINI Coupé may be the, shall-we-say, macho option, the Audi TT has everything you would expect from Audi - it's spacious, light-filled, practical and is (dare I say it?) the more ‘feminine’ option. With a 0-60mph of just 6.1 seconds, it's no slouch – in fact, it's faster than the MINI which tests at 0-62 in 6.4 seconds – but there's something about the Audi that feels refined, rather than sporty.

The TT flows more smoothly over the road – and, despite the firm, sporty suspension, the potholes are less teeth-shattering than in the MINI. Maybe this is down to the (optional) Audi Magnetic Ride, a clever bit of technology involving tiny magnetic particles that helps stiffen the suspension rapidly when the road surface ordriviung style requires it.

The cabin, meanwhile, is more grown-up than the wacky MINI interior, with its gigantic speedo and switches-in-odd-places puzzles to solve. It's more spacious too – although the presence of two back seats is rather nominal – they would only really be comfortable only for very tiny people with no head or legs.

So the Audi feels more practical, upmarket and grown-up, while the MINI is plainly cooler and more exciting – and over three grand cheaper.