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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  Understated sports/lux sedan - 2010 Audi A4
  By 95814 - April 8 - 10:38 am

  I feel that the A4 slots nicely between the soft C-Class and business-like 3-Series and provides the driver with a nice balance between luxury and performance. I replaced my A3 with a 2.0T quattro Premium Plus with the sport package because I love this engine. Some people may turn their noses up at a four-banger but theres plenty of torque to merge onto the freeway and to pass, with decent mileage to boot. Ive never been in a situation where I said, "Boy I wish I had a six." The quattro tracks very well through corners with just a slight, but predictable amount of understeer. It rains a fair amount in the winter where I live and having AWD is a nice safety feature.

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  Watch out for the 2.0T Engines - 2011 Audi Q5
  By atlas4 - April 2 - 11:40 am

  I tried to do as much research as possible and every review kept pointing to the Audi 2011 Q5 with the 2.0T as the best at this time. So I bought one. The ride is excellent, gas mileage is very good, the fit and finish is excellent but now comes the big issue. The car burns oil at a very high rate. At 4000 miles I had to add a full quart of oil. The manual says it can burn 1 qt. every 600 miles so I guess that mean at almost every fill up of gas put a qt of oil in. That sounds ridiculous. I called 3 dealers and all said yes it does burn a lot of oil. Well that is just not acceptable so I sold it got a Toyota Rav4 4WD with more power, more cargo room and does not burn oil.

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  Great to drive, horrible to maintain - 2001 Audi A6
  By Plova - March 25 - 1:23 am

  Where to start ? Bought a 2001 A6 avant in 2006 with 106K on the clock. Car was in very good shape. Within a year started having some issue. Did timing belt replacement which is normal maintenance (about $500 in Audi parts if you do yourself). Have replaced the ABS module, 2 combi (EGR) valves, valve cover gaskets, etc. At 149K had to replace 3 steering arms ($700 at shop). Now transmission is acting up and need to replace at 151K. Still have problems with secondary air system and was told by tech probably carbon build up in intake manifold after all other attempted repairs. Great car to drive but very expensive if you dont do the repairs yourself.

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  dont drive if you spend winters driving to ski country - 2010 Audi A6
  By claudioc - March 17 - 6:39 pm

  Car has some great features but expect problems with front brake rotors. I was hoping Audi would correct brakes and after problems with my 2005 allroad I switched to a Mercedes 300 series. After 52,000 miles I traded in on original brakes. Now my A-6 2010 again has warped rotors after 17,800 miles. Pads only about 40% worn or less. This was same problem in allroad. It just cost me 600 dollars after 15% dealer discount - a true joke. I usually use engine during down hills and am carefull not to heat brakes. I think that it may be slush or cold rain that cold shocks the rotors. When audi covered these under warranty I did not mind, they stopped this in 2005 probably due to frequency - so $$$

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  a slug - 2011 Audi A5
  By windrift1 - March 7 - 5:21 pm

  looks great, fun to drive when at speed. but it is a total slug when taking off from a stop. There is virtually no response to the accelerator, sometimes it even shutters. I felt safer merging into tight traffic in my 2002 turbo diesel beetle. Also, the doors are so heavy that, when you throw them open to exit, they always close on you. The dealer says that the acceleration is normal for the cvt transmission.

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  Audi dealership quality - 2011 Audi Q5
  By hmsq5 - February 28 - 6:49 pm

  I bought this 2011 2.0T premium plus for my wife and she absolutely loves it. The car is comfortable, quiet and suits us well. But there seems to be a little bit of transmission lag when the car pulls away in the mornings. Very subtle and goes away. This is strange for a $40K car! I also bought a 2011 Acura RDX 2 weeks afterward, which IMO is more fun to drive and accelerates faster. Interestingly, the dealers could not differ anymore. The guys at Acura of Boston (Perry and Niso) were extremely nice, h elpful and there were 2-3 calls following the sales to check in. Benardi Audi tried to get me into paying a higher finance rate and never called once to follow up.

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  Unreliable Driving Machine - 2011 Audi A6
  By loyalcar - February 26 - 10:00 am

  I have owned 5 Audis over 15 years. This A6 will be the last one. In less than 7000 miles it has been in for repairs 6 times, including 3 times for check engine light, 1x for passenger air bag off, 1x for moldings falling off the back doors, etc. Dealer has been helpful and supportive, unlike Audi USA who I find to be inaccessible and uncooperative. When the car is not at the dealer being repaired it runs great as Audis do. Watch out though for low profile tires - a silly design feature that leads to frequent blowouts when you hit one of the many potholes we have in New England. Gas mileage of 21/30 is accurate. You might even do a little better.

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  Ultimate Daily Driver - 2003 Audi S6
  By evo_z - February 24 - 5:06 pm

  I got this car because i am tired of SUVs slowness and bad handling. but i do need the utility part. 340hp make ur right foot feels good all the time, and the cars look will never get u the bad attention from cops. very well build, every little details that shows great craftmanship. enjoy drive it everyday, every where. and the good part is it does not bother me with TPMS, non-seat belt warning those extra annoying features. Well, Bad thing about this car is expensive to fix, timing belt cost more than $2500. Also all the audi/vws cockpit control buttons letter ez to wear off, make the car looks older. try to upgrade but audi do not offer V8 wagon no more, and Q7 just not as sharp!

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  2001 A4 1.8T - 2001 Audi A4
  By arbaca - February 20 - 8:52 am

  i am the second owner of this car and it has been well taken care of before i got it and it continues to get the same care. i strongly feel that before consider purchase you check with insurance and maintenance. keep up with those and you will be fine. shop around on forums or dealerships and they will not charge as much. i love the things it offers and has a strong rocket engine with a stage 2 and better gas mileage.

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  Almost There - but Audi got a bit cheap on this vehicle - 2011 Audi A3
  By jinoc - February 18 - 1:13 am

  Any car like this one with an MSRP over $33k should definitely have some common features: garage door opener, power passenger seats, memory settings, auto-dimming mirrors, and automatic headlights. Most of these things cost the manufacturer almost nothing to install, but Audi left them off the A3. This tells me they think the target market is not an upscale or move-up buyer who would expect these things. But Id bet many other less-expensive vehicles have some or all of these features. All this aside - I really like this car. I was torn between an A3 and a Jetta TDI SportWagen, but went with the Audi because of a few better features. And it looks much better.