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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  Great Car - 2002 Audi Allroad Quattro
  By SYR - November 28 - 10:00 am

  EXCELLENT CAR, MUCH MUCH BETTER THAN ANY EUROPEAN WAGON.

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  Sporty but practical - and fun! - 2005 Audi A4
  By Pam in PA - November 28 - 8:26 am

  Ive been pleasantly surprised at the performance characteristics of our new 2005 A4, purchased in December 2004. It has quite a lot of pep, a smooth transmission, and it really hugs the road. It has a quiet, very comfortable ride. The ride is surprisingly comparable to our BMW 330ci.... but with that Quattro AWD, its a lot more practical in the snow!

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  Best Car I have ever owned - 2004 Audi A4
  By atomicfoto - November 23 - 2:00 am

  I love this car. I has a BMW 3 and I just liked the ride better in the Audi. I felt too "on the ground" with the BMW. I like the job Audi is doing with their new products!!!! Thanks Audi!!

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  Beware! - 2001 Audi Allroad Quattro
  By tom a - November 19 - 11:36 pm

  First, the good news. This car is fun to drive and fits a great niche (like a Volvo XC70 or Outback). Now the bad news. Reliability. Or should I say unreliability. I purchased an allroad certified from the dealer with 30K miles on it. Since then, the car has had probably 15 trips for repairs, totaling over $20,000. Everything you can imagine. The first few years, the dealer covered it. But Ive paid out about $10K personally now. Audi needs to get its act together. I hope they do, but this Audi is my last.

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  A6 4.2: The Good, The Bad, but no Ugly - 2005 Audi A6
  By Richard Jaffe - November 18 - 8:16 am

  Almost everything about the car is terrific, except for the ludicrous and unsafe MMI. Previously I had an A8; with the A6 I lost nothing in comfort, feel, looks, or quality. Get the sports suspension, but negotiate to swap the (bundled) 18" wheels for 17" -- they still look nice, and theyre safer. Id prefer better sight lines from the drivers seat -- the high glass and the slope of the car make it impossible to see any corner of the car -- but thats (unfortunately) a common flaw. I test drove the 3.2 and liked it *a lot*, but I found a little hole accelerating from around 25 or 28 MPH, so I popped for the larger engine. A good car -- cross your fingers on reliability.

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  Best Looking AWD - 2002 Audi A4
  By honest rob - November 16 - 10:00 am

  This is the best AWD Wagon that I have seen. This is my second A4 and things just keep getting better. Why pay extra for the standard or should I say luxury of a center armrest (BMW you must be joking). The Car looks like a complete dream, all round an excellent purchase thought not quite as much interior load as I though I was going to get. The Sedan boot is huge.

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  Getting it right? - 2006 Audi A4
  By J - November 15 - 3:46 pm

  I absolutely love this car. The problem is that Ive been towed in twice and I dont even have 10k miles on the car yet. My fuel pump went bad then I broke down again when a sensor on the pump was bad. Then I broke down on a business trip when I ran out of fuel on the interstate because their was a problem with the sending unit arm on the NEW fuel pump. When that replacement part arrived at the dealer it too was broken. I have no problems with Audi and their customer service. I just hope Audi can make this problem right and get my car running as anyone would expect a brand new audi to run.

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  My second AUDI - 2012 Audi S4
  By Rich - November 11 - 12:25 am

  In 2008, my wife and I bought a new A4 3.2 6 speed manual, with all the features. We still love it. After over six years of use with no problems, we began to get a warning that one of the headlights were defective. I couldnt see anything wrong (they all illuminated correctly, it seemed) so I took it to the Audi Dealer to get it checked out. While waiting for the fix, my wife and I toured the showroom. That caught the eye of a salesman of course. Interested in a new Audi, He asked? No just getting our 08 headlight fixed, I answered. 08? Might be time to trade, he suggested. Well, we love our A4 but they dont come with V-6s any more and we like manual gearboxes. Have you driven a 2.0T? He asked. Yes, and it isnt even close to the V-6. I answered. And I really dont want to spend what a new S4 costs. He showed us a recently traded in 2012 S4 in near mint condition and I bought it after a short test drive. After nearly two years, I still love it. It gets about the same fuel mileage as the 08 3.2 A4 (unless you use the extra power the supercharger provides) and it is simply a absolute joy to drive. Ive owned a lot of nice cars over the years but the V-6 S4 is the perfect combination of power, comfort and prestige.

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  highs are high and the lows are LOWS - 2003 Audi A4
  By LessonLearned - November 9 - 2:00 am

  For value and performance, no other car compares. It is a complete joy to drive (when everything is working), comes well- equipped with all the latest safety features standard. If only it was as reliable as a TOYOTA... Ive been to the dealership a dozen times (mostly for turnsignal failures) and now the car stalls about once a month and this car is barely a year old! From reading consumer reviews I was aware of the reliability issues but hoped the all-new design would be better. Traded in an Infinity G20t to sacrifice reliability for performance. This is probably the first and last time Im buying an Audi.

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  1.8t Q Auto - 2003 Audi A4
  By dzo - November 4 - 10:00 am

  see below