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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  A6 - 2005 Audi A6
  By Pierre Ricard - November 25 - 9:34 pm

  Its just fun to drive has perfect comfort, performance, safety, reliability and perfect styling. What more could you ask for.

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  First 10months - 2003 Audi Allroad Quattro
  By a mountain guy - November 24 - 2:00 am

  A great "compromise" between performance, luxury and utility! Better gas mileage and a more side supportive seat would be appreciated but overall a very special vehicle that is a joy after almost a year. One mechanical problem fixed immediately by dealer and none since.

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  Beautiful Car! - 2016 Audi A6
  By Lisa D - November 23 - 2:31 am

  I bought my 2016 Audi A6 Prestige with 12000 miles as an Audi Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle. The warranty is great and the original owner purchased the select care package (good for 4 years maintenance) which carried over to me! The car is one sweet ride! It looks fantastic, is sleek, quick, and loaded with tech sure to please the tech-savvy driver. Im very pleased with my deal and cant say enough about the customer experience at the Greenville, SC Audi dealership. I highly recommend this vehicle...its a blast to drive!

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  In praise of the Audi A4 - 2005 Audi A4
  By Darrell - November 22 - 3:01 pm

  I love nearly everything about by 2005 Audi A4 Avant. Although Ive only driven it 5000 miles so far, I havent had a single problem with it and the fun-to-drive factor is nearly off the scale. One quibble: I find the red numerals in the dash display hard to read. Id vote for green instead. Im averaging about 21 mpg around town -- not bad for a 255hp V-6. One caution: even in the Avant (wagon) version, cargo space is limited. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest) I give the Audi A4 Avant quattro 3.0 a 9.5.

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  Comfortable, Quiet, Easy Handling, Fuel Efficient - 2017 Audi A6
  By Mink70 - November 22 - 1:19 pm

  There is no perfect car, but this one comes pretty close, with mostly "pluses" and just a few "cons." The only options I did not order on the Prestige Package were a Bang and Olufsen stereo, the $3300 comfort seat upgrade and night vision (The Prestige comes with 12-way ventilated seats). I also stuck with the stock 18" 245/45 all weather tires because of their higher profile. On the plus side are its stylish look in Florett Silver with Atlas Beige/Dark Walnut interior, great handling, extreme comfort, great temperature and direction controls, wonderful visibility, well-designed driver assistance, and great parking assist (easiest car I have ever parked beside the 2017 Q5). The virtual cockpit and heads up displays are easy to use, informative and very helpful. Its great having the Nav display directly in front of the driver. The transmission shifts smoothly, and for such a powerful car, it is surprisingly quiet when accelerating, and there is virtually no wind noise when cruising, The ECO start/stop was a little hard to get used to (abrupt stop), but I really like the fuel savings it affords around town. Speaking of fuel economy, I have been getting between 30-36 mpg on trips and averaging 25 mpg combined. FANTASTIC! I think the secret is that I allow the adaptive cruise to pretty much control the car on a trip. On the "con" side, the info system does take time to figure out. I spent over 2 hours with Audi Connect getting the AT&T SD card and navigation system reprogrammed, I am still learning the system. I wish all the information on the retractable Nav screen could be turned off so the entire screen displayed the route. I wish connection to the internet was included in the price like GM proposes to do on its new models. The garage door HomeLink was a bear to set. The salesman spent over an hour at my home setting it up, but it has worked well since being programmed. Dash glare is another "con." I had ordered the brown interior and dash trim with the expectation that dash glare would be reduced. NOT! My 2011 Volvo S80 had a similar colored dash that gave off almost no dash glare. Instead of using a grained glare-reducing material over the entire dash, Audi used hard plastic around the heads up display and other selected places which, in combination, produces a lot of reflection on the windshield. It apparently failed to engineer the windshield angle to reduce glare on the type of dash materials it chose to use. I also join others in expressing a desire that the car have a little more storage space in the front passenger compartment, but I have learned to do more with less junk in the cabin of the car. It is only these later "cons" that kept me from giving the car 5 stars overall. Its looks, its performance, its comfort, fuel economy, etc. all call for 5 stars. Because of some convenience issues, however, I could only give it 4 overall. (PS: The price for this category of car was in line with its competitors, and I thought the dealer treated me fairly considering the additional warranties that were included in the out-the-door price. Therefore, the price rating should be read as an N/A. It was not a factor in my ratings.)

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  great car - 2006 Audi A6
  By rick - November 22 - 9:50 am

  This is my 2nd A6. My 1st. one was great up to 40k then it started to have minor problems, so I leased the new one for 36 mos. This is a great car and fun to drive, handles well and has awesome pick-up. Interior is beautiful and has a lot of great standard equip. except for one item that was standard on my old A6 but not on the new A6, the Trip Computer. All of the auto research web sites say it is standard, but they are incorrect. I found that out the hard way after I bought the car. You have to spend $1000s in packages to get it. For some very strange reason Audi discontinued it as standard for 2006 A6. Even the owners manual has instructions on how to use it.

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  Converted from BMW 7 Owner to Audi 8L - 2005 Audi A8
  By David G - November 22 - 2:59 am

  Had a hard time shifting our loyalty from BMW to any other German car. The Audi 8L was purchased by a brother in law and he raved enough to make us take a look. Fit and finish were outstanding and Audis version of the iDrive is superior. Great sound, clean lines, and large comfortable interior. Car is quiet, and sophisticated and dealer has been strong. Full maintenance on warranty and All wheel drive = Great!

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  Big Problems - 2005 Audi A8
  By Rick - November 21 - 5:00 pm

  We have had continual problems with the computer and Advanced Keys. The electricly operated trunk closed on my wife and hurt her, the HVAC is hard to control and does what it wants, the settings are nested inside the unit and are unsafe to operate while driving, the visibility to the rear required removing the rear headrest, the outward side visibility is poor as the mirrors are not wide enough and the pillar and seat back obscure side vision. The dealer cannot fix the problems and Audi has not "escalated" our complaints to where the regional or national reps will get involved. We are tremendously unhappy and Audi has not helped.

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  A joy to drive! - 2018 Audi S4
  By Robert - November 21 - 9:20 am

  As advised by Edmunds, going with Premium Plus and adding Technology package and S Sport Package seemed to be the best value. Coming from 21 years of driving BMWs, I was doing a lot of research on why change. But with technology platforms changing so fast, I wanted to keep an open mind. It was a surprise that Audi S4 came out on top for me after two test drives and a lot of research. Interior, Exterior, performance, and driving comfort. Now, after 4 months of daily driving plus several long roadtrips, Im sure it was the right choice.

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  Love This Vehicle - 2017 Audi Q5
  By Sandra Myers - November 21 - 2:10 am

  Purchased Ibis White with Pistachio interior. Great vehicle to drive and very solid and comfortable.