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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  2014 Audi A6 - After 6 months - 2014 Audi A6
  By kcmo3 - January 16 - 11:29 am

  I bought a new A6 Prestige 3.0 in May 2014. Cold weather package, LED, 19" sport package...etc. After owning the car for 6 months, I can say that it is comfortable, quiet, and delivers enough power with the twin turbo engine but this car is not a "sport sedan". It has a tendency to understeer and the dynamic driving mode doesnt seem to help with suspension stiffness. The power comes in around 3K RPM when the turbo come on. Car interior: Id give it a B based on the fact that it has 4 zone climate control, ventilated seats, quiet cabin, shades... but these are all options you have to pay for. Door trim needs leather instead of plastic. MMI system is a fail.

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  a beautiful lemon - 2009 Audi Q7
  By humerus - January 16 - 9:45 am

  I have had this car/truck/suv for 6 years now. Pros: First of all, a lot of people come up and tell me how cool looking this car is. A lot of folks take pics too. Second, - the car has awesome 4WD on ice and the way it handles overtaking(passing) and gets a vroom is nice. third- the interiors are awesome looking. Cons: a) While under warranty the battery broke, the amplifier broke, the no sensor broke, some other electrical issues. b) as soon as the 4 year warranty ended, the ad-blue pump broke malfunctioned and had to be replaced for 2000 bucks. c) on its 5 year run- the a/c compressor broke costing 3000 repairs, the rear light holder burnt, front lights broke...lemon. dont buy

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  Had a car for over three years love/hate - 2009 Audi Q7
  By audi_fan_777 - January 8 - 9:43 am

  When the car has no problems it runs great, performance is very good, ride control is spectacular ride conform on the rough side. Problems i had included water inside the car because of poor design for drain pipes coming from the roof lines. All of the electronics went out, had it fixed under pre-owned warranty but had to hassle to get it done. Audi was trying to convince me that it was my problem that I did not clean the drain pipes, very hard to do especially if you dont have a large garage with tons of space. Audi dealer fixed only one drain pipe the rear still collecting water in the trunk area after a car wash. Rear tailgate stopped functioning, closes by itself, super dangerous.

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  A German muscle car, sleeper division - 2014 Audi S4
  By smerdyakov - January 3 - 1:53 pm

  This car represents a Teutonic variation on the classic American muscle car: take a mid-size car (the A4, in this case) and install a larger, more powerful engine. There is more to the S4 than that, of course, but that is the essence of it. The only way of distinguishing it from an A4, at a glance, is the presence of small S4 badges front and rear, and the V6T badges on the front fenders. The S4 gives excellent acceleration with superb handling and ride quality, combined with reasonable fuel economy. It is not inexpensive (especially in Prestige trim), but I cannot think of a car with its combination of virtues available at a lower price from any other manufacturer.

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  Just got it and its great so far - 2015 Audi Q3
  By favabeans5 - January 3 - 9:28 am

  We already have a full size SUV and found that 90% of the time we are just pulling around an empty trunk and hundreds of pound of extra weight. There was no purpose in driving that thing for the majority of our needs. So we got the Q3. It gives the SUV feel but you arent towing around all this weight and space that rarely gets used. The trunk is more than big enough for grocery trips. If you take out the covers on the trunk space and the door you can fit a lot more than you might have expected. We just brought home 8 27 gallon storage bins from homedepot with room to space. I wasnt sure they would fit in the trunk when we bought em. It has plenty of room in the back for carseats.

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  2009 A4- stay away - 2009 Audi A4
  By dsand00 - December 31 - 12:48 pm

  I bought it with 24000 miles and am going to sell it as soon as it gets out of CPO. I have replaced the motor mounts 3 times, a steering hose twice, and just got done replacing the pistons. All these repairs were done before 55,000 miles. I now have about 62k on it, and cant wait to sell it. This car has been a nightmare and would have cost more than $12000 in repairs if it wasnt a CPO car.

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  The Q3 had me at hello. - 2015 Audi Q3
  By mrsdeepblue - December 23 - 10:52 am

  After driving a sedan for the past few years, I was eager to to find a small SUV with sporty handling and all the bells and whistles. I did a LOT of research and considered Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk, Lexus NX, BMW X1, MB GLA, and a number of others that were ruled out long before test drive time, either due to appearance, quality or feature combinations. Long story short, the Q3 won my heart on the test drive. It sailed easily over potholes, twists and turns, and accelerated nicely onto the freeway. I love how it rides, handles and brakes. It has enough cargo space for my needs. Its so fun to drive. The experience at the dealer was great as well.

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  GREAT BMW ALTERNATIVE, FAIR PRICING - 2014 Audi S4
  By rudycassap - December 21 - 6:57 pm

  I do not like how soft BMW cars have become - like American muscle cars of the past with lots of power but they just cannot handle (turn) well. I sold a 2013 128i M Sport after just 9 months. I drove the 2015 M235i and M3 sedans all day long at the BMW Car Control event. I am very unimpressed with the new M3. Poor seating position, turbo lag is prevalent, and it actually has too much torque to be fun. I have had VW and Audi in the past and they all were unreliable. Decided to look at the S4 on a whim - did not really even cross my mind, but maybe thats a good thing. It looks like a "regular" A4. The 6-speed manual shift action is smooth and the clutch actually has feel - BMW is too soft.

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  great new toy - 2014 Audi A4
  By idcal - December 20 - 11:23 am

  Long term ex-Acura guy who loves manual transmissions. I really dont understand where Acura is shifting its target demographics, which is a pity, as they used to have such sweet packages. They no longer offer manual transmissions in cars worth buying. After long research the manual A4 quattro hit the sweet spot for features, quality and price. Drove one and got instantly hooked. So much technology, so nicely packaged on top of a mechanically exquisite car. A car that shares an engine and transmission with the Golf GTI, but packaged so much better. A blast to drive.

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  120K miles retrospective - 2007 Audi A8
  By boyracer3 - December 6 - 10:02 pm

  Finally retired my 8 a few months ago. Absolutely beautiful car. Loved driving it. And still miss it greatly. The expense of repairs quickly exceeded the residual value of the car. The car was very reliable and honestly the issues that I had with it were worn part maintenance issues. But items like the suspension repairs @110K for $7400. Other small issues for another $7500 soon followed. $15K for a car I then traded for $12K. But I did get a new S7 so obviously I still think they are great cars. Really had no problems at all until 100K. I dont really think Audis are that expensive to maintain, either, nothing like Porsche or BMW in my experience.