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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  A Truly Fine Automobile - 2015 Audi A8
  By Luckyme - December 15 - 8:16 pm

  Weve owned luxury cars by Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes. After buying my first Audi, a 2016 A6 3.0 earlier in 2015, my wife was so impressed driving my car that she traded her Lexus RX350 in for a A8 L with the same spunky V6. I cant help but to compare the drive, handling and ride quality of the A8L to a Lexus LS460L I traded for my A6 earlier this year. The Audi beats the Lexus hands down. This A8 L handles so securely for such a large car. The V6 is strong, and provides plenty of power. The car is hushed, substantial, has a huge back seat, yet handles like a smaller sedan. Technology is top notch, with the exception of no USB ports? What was Audi thinking? Otherwise, the navigation is quite good. Interior fit and finish is superb, with great feel at every touch. The massaging and ventilated seats are a nice touch as well. Fuel economy with the V6 is excellent, at 34 mpg in a 1000 mile trip at highway speeds in excess of 75 mph. A very comfortable long haul road car. Combined mpg has been a respectable 25 mpg. The LED interior lighting is subdued and well executed. The LED headlights are piercing the night driving. If these Audis hold up well, we are certainly going to continue to be Audi repeat buyers.

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  Budget Luxury! - 2007 Audi A4
  By Christopher - December 15 - 1:59 am

  Im rating this a 4.3 out of 5 Stars. This little car has been a joy since the day I bought it. I bought the car from ASE Auto inc in Studio City, CA earlier this month. The first thing I noticed about the car was how zippy and smooth it was. Everything seemed to be fine until I encountered a problem with reverse. I drive the automatic version of the car and they can develop some issues around 90-100k miles. The problem consisted of the car disengaging the gear if the RPMs went up too fast. (Almost as thought he car slips into Neutral). My mechanic spoke to Sam at ASE Auto and he is fixing it for free. Other than that, there have been no issues with the car. As some of the other reviews say, the car does burn oil. You may notice some blue smoke from the exhaust when you first start it but its nothing to be concerned about. I carry a quart of oil with me just in case and I top off the oil every 1000 miles or so. All problems aside, this car is nothing short of luxurious. Mine has wood trim that accents the dashboard, leather seats that have very good seat warmers, a steering wheel that feels great in my hand and a very smooth ride overall. The rear is a bit cramped with little leg room if the front seats are back more than half way and but the hatchback gives you a lot of cargo space. The cars technology is a bit dated but not obsolete. There is no aux jack or bluetooth but the sound system is just fine and the radio is very easy to use. The steering wheel also has a small dial that lets you raise and lower the volume with your right thumb and another one that lets you change the station with your left thumb. A big plus for me was not only Sport Mode but also Manual mode. The steering wheel has paddle shifters which are fun to use and good for keeping the car in a high gear when on a road trip (to save gas). There is a bit of a lag when using the paddles to change the gear but thats normal for a car of that age. Gas milage is not bad for a German V6. I average 16 city and 23 highway but the car does need Premium gas so shes an expensive date. She makes up for it in safety with a 9.6 out of 10 safety rating and airbags all around. The All-Wheel-Drive is also a bonus and keeps the car planted, even in very heavy rain. This car also shares many of its parts with Volkswagen so most parts will be very cheap. Overall, this car is definitely a good buy if you want a sporty and luxurious car thats safe, reliable and relatively cheap.

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  15 S line Prestige does not come with USB ports - 2015 Audi Q7
  By Stephen - December 14 - 8:00 am

  Im fairly peeved that I bought a car in 2015 that doesnt have USB ports. Didnt even look because every car Ive been in since my 12 Q7 has had them, including every cheap rental. My 14 Audi S7 has them, as did my 14 Silverado. I assumed that there would have been some kind of progression of in the equipment on these cars since 2012. But seemingly, I bought the exact same car again with a slightly different options list. :-) Seems like an easy thing to work around, but they did not even provide a charger socket in the armrest, just on top of the console, near the shifter. So if you want to charge your phone you can cram it over in the glovebox or have your charger and wiring and phone sitting on top of the console like it was 1996 all over again. It was bad design in 2007 and its comical in 2015. Ill have to go to a stereo shop to get wiring run into the armrest. Just like it was 1996. :-) Enough whining about that oversight. Its still the capable SUV it was in 2012. Because of the VW TDI scandal, I was unable to purchase the TDI. Which I thought was a phenomenal powertrain. So once Ive driven it a while, I will review the new 3.0T more thoroughly. I was expecting it to be sadly underpowered by comparison, but so far Ive been pleased with it. Sadly the back up camera setup has not changed, and compared to my other 14 model cars it seems really tiny and poorly laid out. As I said before, it really seems to be the same car as before but more options have become standard. Or at least more available? Big ones that I didnt get in my 12 are keyless entry and start, and XM traffic info on the nav display. Also, with the S line or prestige package, I got ventilated seats up front and heated seats in the back. The ventilated seats seem to work better than those in my 07 A8. They also offer a black optics package which blacks out almost everything.

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  First Luxury Sedan--Value Decision - 2015 Audi A4
  By Steve - December 12 - 8:03 pm

  I am a practical individual and conservative to a fault but I also love style. The 2015 Quattro A4 sedan fits me perfectly. The 2015 styling is retro 2009 but has held its own over the intervening six years. After comparing this sedan with the other two primary competitors, the BMW 3 series, and the Mercedes C class, I found the A4 standard features exceeded both. Sure I could pay another four thousand dollars for a sun roof, leather seats and hands-free bluetooth but why? The C-class had the best interior but the A4 tipped the scales over the BMW. The ride comfort and road noise were subdued compared to the BMW but not as good as the Mercedes. After comparing the total acquisition cost, I would have paid another eight thousand dollars for the C300 with similar options. I ended up adding Nav and heated seats to the other standard features to my A4. I am very satisfied with my decision and look forward to every drive I take in timeless, efficient luxury.

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  Hurts to sell this one... - 2006 Audi A6
  By A6 Guy - November 29 - 7:20 am

  Just traded in my 2006 A6 Quattro sedan 3.2 S-line with 117,500 miles for a 2016 Prestige A6 3.0 and while the new model is fantastic, I hate stepping away from my 2006. This was my first Audi and the most enjoyable car I have ever owned. Bought as CPO with 30k. The 2006 was quick and handled like on rails. Quattro system is awesome in WI winters (especially equipped with Blizzak snow tires). I had a few warranty issues before 50k (covered by Audi) and little to none since. I maintained my car well and it treated me right. Local independent shop handled all needed work. Im am only selling for fear of costly repairs down the road which if I could predict to be reasonable, Id keep it. Lastly, the Bose surround system is the best factory car audio I have ever heard. The misano red turns heads and many folks still think the 06 is a newer car. If you dont get hit with reliability costs, the 2006 is a GREAT value.

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  Get a BMW, Cadillac, Mercedes or anything else! - 2011 Audi A5
  By Gavin Williams - November 28 - 3:59 pm

  I cant begin to say how much I regret my purchase. Shame on Audi for poor design, poor quality and essentially everything else besides styling. People will compliment the car all the time on the looks but thats all the car is good at. I drive a lot (20k per year) and I must say driving this car is miserable. On the commute in stop and go traffic the turbo lag and engagement is severe. The brakes are subpar and dont give a confident feeling like BMW does. The interior is a surplus of plastic and feels cheap. The iPod cable is in the passenger glove box and is horrible to use an you will forget your phone every time should you plug it in. The Sounds system is good but the base rattles every plastic piece. Wind noise is high on the freeway and the seats are uncomfortable. After owning BMW, Lexus, Jaguar and cadillac this will be my last Audi for sure. Very disappointed and cannot wait to get rid of it!

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  dont dump on your navigation system - 2008 Audi Q7
  By Don - November 23 - 8:48 pm

  The cupholders are placed in a terrible location, making spills into the navigation controls inevitable, as they are located just below the cupholders. Even a minor spill into the system causes it to short out. I have already replaced two and it looks like I have another problem. The electronics should be better insulated to allow for occasional spills. Better yet, move the cupholders to a less vulnerable location.

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  Excellent car - 2002 Audi A4
  By Sasa - November 23 - 1:58 pm

  02 audi a4 1.8t quattro manual speed. I owned it for a very long time and now has 225000 miles on it with still original head gasket, starter, turbo, alternator. No engine leaks and performs fantastic. No issue on shifting or anything else. Just a regular maintenance. AMS oil every 4000 miles, and 93 octane and it goes. I love it. Always Audi owner.

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  Love my R8 - 2011 Audi R8
  By Walter Conn - November 23 - 1:28 pm

  I bought it used, and feel I definitely got a good bang for the buck. Its a gorgeous car that turns heads, even though I couldnt care less about that. Its of course a super car, and the performance, handling and braking are fantastic. Whats different is that in the regular settings, this car is far more driveable than many high performance cars. Its very comfortable, and could easily be a daily driver, whereas many of the others in this category beat your kidneys and back up. I love the car and plan on keeping it for many years. Ive had almost zero mechanical issues in two years, and just really enjoy it.

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  Nice ride, but it will cost you - 2009 Audi A3
  By William Lee - November 22 - 11:02 pm

  Akin to what another reviewer described - the A3 is a great driving car, too much fun (as evidenced by multiple speeding tickets). But... Ive gotten to know my service dealer a little too well. Drivers seat fell apart - warranty-covered fix. Fuse box melted - warranty covered that. Its a turbocharged car, so you have to replace the spark plugs every 30k mi. It didnt help that the injector coil also went out on me. Ugh. Now at 80k miles, the engine light is going on, and theres no identifiable reason. The engine was cleaned out (pistons), various valves and manifolds were replaced, yet after $900 in repairs, its still messed up with the engine light brightening my interior lighting. The 25k/50k/75k services at the dealer ran about $500-$700. Oil changes run $100. Premium fuel. No off-dealer maintenance shop will replace the transmission fluid as thats Audi special. My next car will be a Mazda - all the same driving fun, with less costly repairs.