Overview & Reviews

In business for more than 100 years, Audi is an automaker that builds luxury cars and SUVs. The company was started in Germany and has remained Deutschland-based to this day.

"Audi Automobile Works" entered the German car-manufacturing business in 1910 and remained independent until the Great Depression. Because Audi's founder, August Horch, had left a 10-year-old company bearing his own name, he chose a Latin form of his name -- Audi -- for his new company. Audi joined with three other auto manufacturers in 1932 to form Auto Union. Audi, the only surviving nameplate from that union, was purchased by Volkswagen in 1964.

During the 1970s, Audi started to get noticed in the U.S. with its 100LS luxury sedan and compact and sprightly Fox coupe and sedan. By the late '70s the brand had replaced the dated 100LS with its new 5000 luxury sedan.

Every manufacturer has its defining moments. For Audi, one such moment came in March 1980 at the Geneva Motor Show. The automaker unveiled the Audi Quattro, an all-wheel-drive sport coupe that was met with a wildly enthusiastic response on the show floor. The Quattro's all-wheel-drive system went on to help Audi win accolades in motorsports and it was eventually integrated into the entire model range.

That year also saw the Fox replaced by the 4000. Four years later, the range-topping 5000 was redesigned. Audi's sales shot up nearly 50 percent, thanks chiefly to that newly aerodynamic yet handsome flagship that featured what would become an Audi hallmark -- an elegantly stylish, high-quality cabin.

Sadly, Audi's fortunes turned for the worse when the carmaker's 5000 model was accused of unintended acceleration in a 60 Minutes television episode. A subsequent government investigation found Audi innocent of the charge, but the resulting drop in sales nearly put Audi out of business in the U.S.

The late '80s saw Audi redesign the 4000, renaming it the 80 and 90 (with the 90 having more equipment) and also rename the 5000, dubbing it the 100 or 200. The 200 featured a turbocharged five-cylinder with all-wheel drive as opposed to a non-turbo five and front-wheel drive, as on the 100. A Coupe also debuted, as did a new flagship, a V8-powered 200 sedan simply called the "V8".

The following decade saw the A4 and Cabriolet models, as well as the renaming of the 100 to A6. The stunning A8 was introduced as Audi's new flagship, boasting all-aluminum construction and a beefy V8. High-performance versions of the various models bowed, dubbed S4, S6 and S8.

The start of the new millennium brought the TT, Audi's low-slung sport coupe (and later roadster). It also introduced RS versions of the A4 and A6, providing even more performance than "S" variants. In addition to "S" and "RS" versions of the TT, Audi's more recent releases include the A3 hatchback, Q5 crossover SUV, slick A5 coupe, exotic R8 sports car and A7 luxury hatchback sedan.

Today, Audi continues its success in the prestige car marketplace by offering a wide range of vehicles that impressively combine luxury and sport.

User Reviews:

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  A fantastic autombile - 2002 Audi A6
  By eugbir - September 13 - 2:00 am

  A great value - far better than the outdated 5-series, both of which I test-drove.

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  One month review - 2014 Audi R8
  By DL - September 12 - 9:59 am

  Traded in older 911 4S for this. The R8 is a lovely car - the manual is buttery smooth and handling is good. Interior quality and design is excellent. The V8 is strong but not supercar fast. Downsides are limited storage (as expected), older MMI, no Bluetooth music, USB to phone dongle is poorly designed (its too short and requires an extension cord for your phone).

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  best car for the money - 1996 Audi A4
  By Audifantothedeath - September 10 - 2:00 am

  This is a good all around car. It handles like a dream but lack a little power but is suffiecient. Interior and extierior design is wonderful yet simple. This car will last forever IF you take care of it. If you neglect it just a little the problems show up. Great car I love it!

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  Audi A Good Value - 2010 Audi A4
  By Julie Arch - September 1 - 4:45 pm

  A good choice in this price class.

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  breaking 200k... - 1990 Audi 90
  By Jonathan Joye - September 1 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car my junior year in High School for $2800. I recently finished my soph year in college and its still going, with 199,500 miles right now. Very comfortable car, even with cloth seats, although the sunroof can cramp headroom a bit for 6-footers (and when autocrossing my helmet rubs the ceiling). Ride is nice and smooth, and very stable at higher speeds. Handling is decent, but its still a family sedan :) Trunk space is decent, as is rear seat room. Has been rock- solid reliability-wise for me (especially considering the mileage), even with rather often home-to-college- and-back drives.

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  fast awd - 2002 Audi S8
  By yota - August 30 - 2:00 am

  nice car performace is excellent,awd and handling is great. brakes good but problem area.noise level good but could be better also ride.tiptronic great.

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  Best used car for under $10,000! - 1994 Audi 100
  By Clark - August 28 - 2:00 am

  This is a great car. I have racked up over 150,000 miles and it still rides smooth. The looks are great and its styling looks like new. People ask me what year it is and are suprised to find out it is a 94. This is a great car and I would recommend this car to anyone.

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  Best used car for under $10,000! - 1994 Audi 100
  By clark - August 28 - 2:00 am

  This is a great car. I have racked up over 150,000 miles and it still rides smooth. The looks are great and its styling looks like new. People ask me what year it is and are suprised to find out it is a 94. This is a great car and I would recommend this car to anyone.

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  Awesome with some minor adjustments - 2003 Audi Allroad Quattro
  By tonester - August 24 - 10:00 am

  Great car that I love to go to work in. The 1.2hr commute each way is a breeze. Dont like the lag but I have to adjust to it as I did on the ML. Wipers were misaligned. Got that fixed. Noisy and squeeshy brakes - dont like. With bike rack fairing, the buffet-thumpning wind at 45 with open sunroof stopped. No more problems there. OEM tires feathered out at 8500m. Rotated and will need to replace soon already. Stupid accel/resume button for cruise control.

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  no reliability - 2003 Audi A4
  By guayamure - August 24 - 10:00 am

  My car has sport and premium package that is not really premium because the poor quality of the materials.Fun drive, safe car, good gas mileage, confortable ride but low realiability