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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  Do your research before you buy a 2017 Audi A5 Cab - 2017 Audi A5
  By Former Audi Lover - December 14 - 5:58 am

  As a longtime Audi owner, I have been shocked and disappointment in this car. It has been in for service 6 times in 8 months. In addition, there have been 2 recalls. The car drives fine, but has a constant vibraton/buzz from the engine. The car also has difficulty shifting, and can be quite jerky at times. While the car is fun to drive when it is acting properly, it isnt worth the money or the headache.

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  Reliability is terrible - 2006 Audi A3
  By jopsomer - October 26 - 6:27 pm

  Ive had an Audi A3 2006 and its been nothing but trouble, with numerous repair visits to the dealer (covered by warranty until recently). The problem areas have been the fuel injection system and various electronic components. Just in the last 6 months, Ive been to the dealer 7 times. If you like to spend time in the waiting room of your dealership, this is the car for you. Otherwise, there are much better (and cheaper) choices out there.

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  Worst Car Ever - 2009 Audi A4
  By kaltsc9867 - July 13 - 12:41 pm

  Please Test Drive this car extensively. Dealer will NOT tell you that the car goes forward when you put car in reverse. They say this is normal for cvt transmission. This was not disclosed before purchase. I dont think they would ever sell any cars with cvt if this was disclosed. DO NOT BUY THIS CAR.

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  Worst car ever owned - 2009 Audi A4
  By eoc42 - June 2 - 7:36 am

  I am 600 miles into an Audi A4 Quattro and it is the worst car I have ever owned. The driver seat is so uncomfortable I can only sit in the car for no more than 45 min. All the dealer suggested is to get a pad. The ride is awful - pebbles become large rocks, rough roads rattle your teeth. I am missing my old Ford 500 more every day. If you are considering this car be wary, take a long test drive.

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  Bad Choice - 2002 Audi A6
  By Bullz - April 9 - 7:59 am

  Audis motto is "Truth in Engineering". What a joke! Our Audi needed new brakes at 23K miles, and a new CVT at 45K miles. Neither the dealer or Audi of NA would admit the deficient designs. Audi never again.

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  Great car but horrible service at dealership - 2017 Audi Q7
  By James Ouyang - August 16 - 5:29 pm

  This is the first time we purchased an Audi - we were sold by the excellent interior and a new, understated style that comes with the 2017 model. Let me start off by stating that we did not regret buying the car. Weve since taken it for two long distance road trips and we throughly enjoyed this new car: generous space, elegant and comfy cockpit. The building quality is superb. There are some minor issues which are not uncommon for a new model: there was a high-pitch noise coming out of the side mirror at 40MPH+; some of the features do not work consistently (e.g. easy seat entry - the steering column is supposed to retract when the car is switched off); the Nav is not as easy to use as those offered by other manufactures (we had a Lexus RX before whose Nav, despite from 8 years ago, was extremely well designed and easy to use). Having said that, the dealership I bought the car from - at Bridgewater NJ - is HORRIBLE. The only time they are responsive was at the time of sale. Once the car leaves the lot, you just wont hear from them. I contacted them couple of times for the issues stated above and for the key code they forgot to give to me - which I need for Audi Connect. Never heard from them. I finally drove up to their office, at which point they claimed they fired the service rep who apparently has been stonewalling all their customers. Well, how I wish that was the only bad apple! I had to make another trip to the dealership after I heard nothing from them for many weeks only to be told that they have assigned my case to another rep who conveniently was not in that day. After another few weeks without hearing anything from the "new" rep - all the while I was calling their office and even asking Audi US office to help - I had to drive up to the dealership again. This time I asked for the sale manager and told him that I wanted an answer from him directly. This guy, their sale manager, PROMISED to my face, that he would definitely get back to me within a week, "before next Friday"... Well, Fridays have come and gone and its been more than a month yet not a single word from anyone at that dealership. Granted, those issues (e.g. missing key code) are mostly annoyance, not exactly life threatening. But you expect certain service when you buy a $60,000+ car and want to have some trust in the dealership that they will take care of certain problems when needed. Its a shame because honestly we like the car, but the poor customer service has put a huge dent in our enthusiasm and adds a significant doubt as to how long we should hold on to this car.

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  I thought this would be a very safe car but NO!!! - 2017 Audi Q3
  By Lulu - June 28 - 6:20 pm

  I just bought a brand new car for two months and only drive it for about 500 miles. The car unexpectedly started to shake and then flameout during the drive, I tried to restart the car but the engine light turned on so I had to pull to the side of the road and will ask road assistant to tow it to the dealer one week later. The Q3 is pretty outside and inside, I used to like it very much but now I regret to buy it. This car is totally unsafe and not reliable. What if this happened on the highway. Additionally, when I drive the car I feel the transmission didnt change smoothly. I can clearly feel a "break" when I release the gas pedal slightly. This is really a lemon car! I used to have a Volkswagon beetle and had really bad experience with it but now the new Audi has the similar issue. Very disappointed.

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  gremlin with horrible support - 2015 Audi A3
  By HS - September 26 - 8:24 pm

  ok, i leased with intent on buying. as soon as i leased, I bought snow tires/rims, clear bra on front, and weather tech mats, audi service package, and i do extra oil changes between their service interval w audi approved oil. Very well cared for from my end car has 20k miles. In 20k miles I have had car shut off on highway from overheating, dealer added antifreeze, but it was above minimum and Ive never had a car just shut off. dealer said drive it in. next Ive had multiple electrical problems, says doesnt recognize key, then i walk away come back and it recognizes then problem goes away for weeks. then brake light out signal comes up on dash, brake lights are functioning and on (took video of it) took to audi,, says no engine code, would have to tear car down to look for a short! so I wait to have them take care of it, and it doesnt do it for months, intermittently it will occur. just give it a day or two and it goes away. then i was rear ended while stopped at light (8k damages and frame/uni needed pulled to straighten) had audi shop do the work.. got the car back and it vibrates badly from 65-80mph. take it to body shop, they send me to Sunnyside audi service in middleburg OH, dealer service says everything is straight and balanced and no problem with their work. but they can put new tires on and balance them for 1200.00, i reply that the car didnt do this before accident, they say they dont know. I exclaim that the tires on there have plenty of wear left as i have snow tires and the tires have less than a year of road use. they cant tell me why they would shake then. I ask for a guarantee that it would stop if replaced, cant give me a guarantee. I call audi america and they send me back to dealer. Its a run around shell game thats completely disappointing. I am 100% sure that the car DID NOT do this before accident and even said if you replace them and it fixes it, i will pay for them, if it doesnt then you figure out what is wrong. no luck... so in my short experience as a first time audi owner I have only been given run around on a car with clear issues and horrible repair work (dealer even washed the car immediately after their repair shop did a paint job (you dont wash and wax a car with fresh paint until it cures- at least 20-30 days, sunny side audi should know this). anyway, each department sends me back to the next with no guarantee. Ive had a rental car for a total of 2-3 weeks in year. Ive not had any resolution. I will come back and post a VIN if anyone purchases this vehicle and has problems which arent disclosed at purchase, audi america is aware, dealership is aware and you should get an attorney. if you get this lemon, post a reply on my post and i will get back to you with an email/give you records of incidents so you may use them for recompense. PS i asked repair shop to make sure carfax is aware, they say they dont report. nationwide insurance company couldnt give me an answer if they would report the 8k. caveat emptor but i hope whoever buys this and has problems finds this post. JUST HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE, run around. but alot of apologies, i.e. "we care, we can send you back to". Ive owned toyota, honda, ford and acura where the buck stops at dealer if any problems. acura replaced an 600.00 engine part under extended warranty and 2 years after ( no longer in warranty) the same part had an issue, acura fixed it free of charge under good faith that it was a bad part. That is service. AUDI has provided no service other than free rental cars and offer to sell me more stuff to maybe fix it.

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  Never buy an Audi - 2003 Audi A4
  By Toppro - August 31 - 1:59 pm

  After owning a 1998 A4 1.8T quatro, and an older Porsche Boxster I traded them both in due to age not condition for this A4 Cabriolet. What a mistake! After 8 months of ownership the car has been in the shop for a variety of problems ranging from electrical problems with the fuel injection system, to stupid items like the front windshield fogging up in the summer with the A/C on and top up. The car constantly has an issue with it to the point that you cannot enjoy it. Youre always waiting for the next issue to occur. Audi has gotten over confident of their product since 98 and the quality is now very poor. I would recommend you look elsewhere for a vehicle in this price range.

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  Problematic - 2001 Audi A6
  By Kathy - September 6 - 12:22 am

  My Audi A6 looks beautiful, but this is probably the worst car I have ever had and this includes a used 1973 chevy monte carlo I bought for $250 when a freshman in college. If you buy this car, be prepared to spend a lot of money for part replacements and repairs. Just when you think youve seen everything, this car surprises you with an unthinkable issue. My advise .... buy something else....