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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  Nice ride with a price - 2007 Audi Q7
  By Tanner - July 31 - 11:55 pm

  Buying an Audi you buy a very comfortable ride but wih that ride it comes with a price. Having owned a Q7 the ride quality was very nice but however it "nickeled and dimed me" however I wish they were just nickels instead of thousands and thousands in repair costs. Materials are very nice and easily accessible. The third row seat is tight but for kids its fine. The styling of the exterior is what I believe to be one of the best looking SUV on the market.

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  NOT COOL IN THE DESERT!! - 2015 Audi Q5
  By Rick Delzer - July 28 - 11:46 pm

  The sunroof is so hot. The shade doesnt stop the heat from your head and the AC does not cool the cab to comfort. Bad AC!! Shame on you Audi. I expected better for what we paid.

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  Love my A4, great value - 2012 Audi A4
  By Michael - July 25 - 10:00 am

  This car is a great value. I bought it certified pre owned which I dont regret at all. Wonderful warranty come with it, maintenance included for some mileage intervals. The ride on this car is the best of any car I have had, I couldnt imagine a smoother ride at this price point! I like the navigation screen and map, but the screen could be bigger. Infiniti Q50 has the perfect screen size, get the queue from them! Trunk is huge, I love the way the trunk pops open when you hit the switch or button, if you have your hands full its wonderful. There are hooks in the trunk ceiling for shopping bags so they dont fly around (genius!), both back seats fold down. The Bang & Olufsen stereo is top notch, clear and awesome sound, better than the Bose with Infiniti. I dont like that the car doesnt connect Bluetooth for music on your phone, that is such an easy add for a car company, the connector for the phone to play music is in the glovebox, very odd, and you cant have both that and the headphone connector in the armrest for music. Audi, fix this! I do like the CVT transmission, very smooth ride but it seems to have play in it when taking off sometimes, they cant find anything wrong but its something to get used to, if they even make this trans anymore. I LOVE the led running lights, has to be my favorite feature! Looks awesome driving, and its the last year with the individual dot lights before they made the continuous line light, just my preference. The gas mileage is amazing, I get almost 30 mpg with almost all city driving. Freeway driving takes it over 30. With the turbo you cant tell you are driving a 4 cylinder, I cant stress how I hated a 4 cylinder before, but with this car I love it Pros: gas mileage, smooth ride, solid feel, very stylish, big trunk Cons: no Bluetooth music feature, small navigation screen

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  My dream(affordable) car - 2004 Audi A4
  By Slava - July 23 - 1:19 am

  Ive owned this car for about 3 years and have driven it personally for about a year so far(my mother was driving it before me) the interior is great looking but the material that covers the buttons is crap and supper cheap. The car handles very nicely and sounds great for a bone stock car. In terms of reliability, ive had only little things break like the glove box hinges and window regulator but WOW was it expensive-400$ for a window regulator. that includes the labor aswell. The sound system is great 10 spkrs all around and it comes with a sub built in if you get it with Bose. Ive added 19in rs4 rims and man o man does it look nice. performance wise is a great cruiser but not that fast, like 0-60 7-8 ish seconds. a full tank costs about 60 and youll be looking at 250-320 miles range. The only thing I hate about this car is the steering wheel, I cant really find a comfortable way of holding it since the stereo controls or in the sides but other than that great and car and I would consider buying another one. newer model of course.

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  A car with problems, but if you can live with them - 2001 Audi TT
  By Dave DeLong - July 21 - 9:55 pm

  The 2001 TT had numerous electrical problems, and mine is no exception. I blame it on the used car dealer I bought it from, who messed up quite a number of things... seems like I have run into a series of issues that are annoying, but not debilitating. Due to turbo lag and AWD it is a bit slow off the line (compared to my old Z car and 79 Trans Am), but the car is very strong in the mountains and on the highway. It is a great cruising car on the open road, and handles well up to about 110 mph. My wife and I got silly while out on the plains of eastern Colorado and tried to find out how fast it was... at 115 it was still accelerating smoothly, but the car started to feel kind of like it was floating, and we lost our nerve. My goal is to actually FIX all the minor problems I have on this car and figure out how it goes when Ive got those sorted out... I refuse to be beaten by this car. It looks terrific, you dont see too many of them any more, and (when its not driving me nuts with a minor problem) is a pleasure to drive. Experience tells me though, there arent any "just okay" versions of this model year... you either got a good one and are among the huge fans of the car, or you got a money pit you cant wait to get rid of... have a mechanic you trust check the car out carefully, and you can get one heck of a car.

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  Beautiful body, tough on tires, - 2014 Audi A6
  By Audi Reviewer - July 17 - 8:17 pm

  Owned my 2014 A6 TDI Premium+ for 18 months and have driven it 30,000 miles. Pros: THE best looking styling of all European/Japanese/American mid-size luxury sedans, hands down. Love the TDI diesel--44+mpg combined, quicker than a bullet, quiet engine (see the one major con on this engine below). Road handling is superb and this car is a blast to drive on a curvy highway. Cons--On the other hand...not the most comfy to drive on long trips and I have taken this car cross country. I get its a sports sedan but after a while the lack of expected comfort starts to wear on you (esp. on a $60,000+ car). Tires--I have 30,000 miles on them, I dont drive hard, but the dealer told me I have about 10,000 miles left on them. What? 40,000 miles on a set of Dunlops? Biggest beef--as the tread wears down the noise these tires make is unbearably loud. Last issue-- Audi sends me a letter letting me know my TDI diesel engine was engineered to run on UP TO 5% biodiesel. Unfortunately I live in a state that mandates the sale of 20% biodiesel in the warmer months. Nice. Wish my dealer would have mentioned that to me when I bought the car. Audi goes on to state in the letter to me that in any event, they WILL honor any warranty issues arising out of the use of this biodiesel. As one who usually "buys them and drives them forever", I dont think I want to own this car after the warranty expires. I love this car but doubtful I will buy another diesel engine as long as I live in this state. I realize this is not Audis problem but hopefully they are working on this biodiesel issue.

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  So far, so good for the most part - 2015 Audi Q5
  By sidv - June 3 - 9:43 pm

  Have had a 2015 Q5 3.0T for five months and 2K miles now. Its the S-line with MMI and the B&O stereo. I love the looks, the comfortable seats, the panoramic roof and the smooth and torquey engine. Quattro and the 8 speed transmission make for a nice, fairly refined drivetrain. Zero issues to date but its early. As for negatives the B&O isnt much of a premium stereo and sorely lacks both overall volume and bass. The MMI is overly complicated and just OK. The back seat could be a bit roomier but is not terrible by any means. The cargo area doesnt seem as roomy as I would have hoped. Curb weight at around 4400 lbs is excessive. The engine runs out of power a bit at higher rpms

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  Buy something else - 2015 Audi A3
  By awdadict - May 20 - 6:17 am

  Nice little car with decent performance, however, the transmission required replacement after 9300 miles and 8 months of ownership. Manufacturing defect or not, this is an unacceptably low level of quality. I traded the car in on a different brand of vehicle immediately after the transmission was replaced. At least the repair was covered under warranty. Also, the mixed city/highway gas mileage is overrated. I consistently got near the bottom of the range, without hammering on the accelerator all the time. I got good mileage on long trips, though.

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  Better than 2015 Golf TSI, Worse than 1997 Golf - 2007 Audi A3
  By mnedolt - May 4 - 10:43 pm

  Bought a used one that had 100 K. Owned for 3 days and I am impressed. First I regretted of having bought such a small car (low ceiling) but, the rear seats are actually roomier than many other compact cars. Price was about half of the cheaper new compact cars, so I am saving quite a lot. Perhaps I will end up using up all these savings repairing this car. But, the car is so lovely that I dont mind doing that.

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  Great car, except for the lemon thermostat. - 2011 Audi S4
  By audis - May 4 - 8:30 pm

  Beware: The thermostat in the 2011 Audi S4 is a very well documented faulty part. Google it. Audi finally agreed to cover 10% of the $1200 repair as I was slightly over the 50K mile warranty. If youre okay with that, buy one. Its a great looking fun car.