The TTS is a template for how to combine fun and fuel efficiency, an exciting little car that accelerates from zero to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds.

AUDI

Chicken Little has flown the coop.

The doomsayers prophesy that tough new emissions and fuel economy rules will fill our roads with small cars powered by wheezy little engines.

It’s the end of exciting and stylish cars, they promise. Shopping for a car will become as exciting as buying a new refrigerator. Your only choices will be color, size and how many doors. The sky is definitely falling.

At this rate, we’ll all end up driving cars like the 2009 Audi TTS.

Boo freakin’ hoo. That would be dreadful.

The TTS has the smallest engine in Audi’s TT family of sport coupes and convertibles, a 2.0-liter four-cylinder. Despite the displacement of a $1.50 Coke bottle, the car is not only lighter and more fuel efficient, but also faster than the V-6 model that was previously the sportiest TT.

The TTS is a template for how to combine fun and fuel efficiency, an exciting little car that accelerates from zero to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds and slices through traffic like a pocket knife. Credit three key technologies: direct gasoline injection, turbocharging and a dual-clutch transmission.

Prices for the 2009 TTS start at $45,500 for the coupe and $47,500 for the convertible. Those prices are $8,200 higher than the starting price for an all-wheel drive TT powered by the base 2.0-liter engine, which produces 30-percent less horsepower and 24-percent less torque than the technical gem that powers the TTS.

The TTS comes with the 265-horsepower 2.0-liter direct-injection turbo, a six-speed dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel drive. The TTS also has more standard equipment than the base model.

I tested a well-equipped TTS that stickered at $51,300. All prices exclude destination charges.

The TTS competes with other sport coupes like the BMW 135i, Nissan 370Z, Pontiac Solstice GXP and Porsche Boxster. The TTS is the only all-wheel drive model in that group. It beats the competition handily on fuel economy and matches or beats them for acceleration.

The 2.0-liter TTS tops the fuel economy of the 250-horsepower 3.2-liter V-6 TT handily, with EPA ratings of 21 mpg in the city and 29 mpg on the highway versus the V-6’s 17/25 mpg.

The TTS also leads the pack among comparable sport coupes from other automakers. The 135i is rated at 18 mpg city and 25 mpg on the highway, the Nissan 370Z 18/26, Pontiac Solstice GXP 19/28 and the Porsche 20/29.

The 135i, Solstice GXP and 370Z have lower base prices than the TTS, but make options of some features that are standard on the Audi. A Boxster with Porsche’s new dual-clutch transmission costs $50,020. None of the competitors offers all-wheel drive, which is also standard on the TTS.

The road-hugging effects of performance-tuned AWD and excellent chassis engineering are in full effect in the TTS, which clings to curves and begs to be driven hard. The taut suspension can be jarring on bumpy surfaces, however.

Throttle response is excellent. The engine provides powerful acceleration across its rev range thanks to the broad torque band common to good turbocharged power plants.

The engine note is deep and satisfying but not intrusive. The TTS’s performance tires produce more road noise than I like, but wind noise is minimal.

The dual-clutch transmission — which uses mechanical pieces similar to a manual transmission, but has no clutch pedal — shifts smoothly and quickly in automatic mode and responds well when controlled manually by the shifter or two paddle shifters on the steering wheel.

The TTS has drawbacks, but none of them relates to the powertrain.

The car I tested did not have memory for seats and mirrors, a disappointment in any vehicle with a $51,300 sticker.

The interior is trimmed in lovely materials, but sadly lacking in storage space. A covered bin in the center console to hold sunglasses and the like would make the TTS much more useful. The front seat provides plenty of room, but rear leg and headroom are poor.

Forget Chicken Little. The fast and efficient Audi TTS proves a little car with a small engine can be a fox in the chicken coop.