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:

• 

  Fully Mature, Past 100k - 2002 Audi Allroad Quattro
  By XCBIKER - March 1 - 10:00 am

  I am the third owner of this steroidal, German brute. This car was never designed to be a drag racer...so no need to treat it like one. Where this car truly shines is the open freeway and out in the open wild. Where can you get on-rail handling and passing power of a Porsche? Where can you charge down a snowy, dirt road at nearly 75mph with confidence? How about scale a 25% grade complete with ruts, roots and loam and not even break a sweat with wheel spin? Audi and its Torsen AWD is everything todays crossover/SUV owner wants. This car simply has Bentley comfort and Porsche performance. Is it worth the upkeep costs? YES. Life is too short to be driving dull, uninspiring cars!

• 

  Good Vehicle - 2007 Audi Q7
  By Pat OBrien - March 1 - 6:22 am

  Nothing really to gripe about. Excellent ride, real tight, no rattles. Plenty power and torque. All the bells and whistles. I like it. The styling is growing on me.

• 

  Near perfection! - 2007 Audi A4
  By Edward - February 28 - 11:05 pm

  With the new 3.2 A-4, Audi has designed, in my opinion, the BMW-killer. This car outdoes the 3-series in three important categories of performance, appearance, and overall value, with handling being a tie. Im so glad I kicked in the extra few thousand to get the 6-cyl. over the buzzy little turbo 4 cyl. It was well worth it, as the six gives you an extra 55 naturally-aspirated HP, which is noticeable on hilly roads as well as in passing situations. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship!

• 

  Buyers Beware!! - 2005 Audi A4
  By neverbuyanaudi - February 28 - 10:01 pm

  Ive owned this car for 23 months and its been in the shop getting repaired for over 2 months. Replaced the computer, fuel tank, burned out lights, coolant leaks, trunk latch broke, seat belt switch, fuel injectors leaking fuel everywhere. Im tired of driving a rental car around. 7 times in the shop for repairs, costing me several hundred dollars from missing time at work to deal with these problems. Dont buy!!!!

• 

  Hard starting - 2007 Audi A4
  By ghawkey - February 27 - 12:01 pm

  Since September of 06, this car has been returned to the dealer for a total of approximately 6 weeks to try to fix a serious mechanical problem - namely, extremely hard starting in cold weather. Based on Audis suggestions, a number of the cars components, including the coils and exhaust valves, have been replaced, but the problem has been neither identified or fixed. (The car has currently been at the dealer for almost 4 weeks with no progress.)

• 

  Good but not exactly solid - 2002 Audi A6
  By Lucio - February 17 - 5:05 pm

  Ok, I love my car... but is possible that the interior parts are so fragile? This is not what i would expect from a car at this pricepoint: The cigarette lighter doesnt work anymore, the buttons on the climate control and the wheel on the light panel has lost the paint after a little bit of use, and the worst is the cup holders - broken them twice simply using them with soda cans! The last thing broken is the central unit (the one that is between the driver seat and the passenger seat), since the cover on the top is broken, so I cant open and close, not even replace since I should replace the entire central unit.

• 

  S6 Avant eye opener - 2002 Audi S6
  By Webg - February 13 - 7:28 pm

  The biggest sleeper on the road. no one knows what they are dealing with until after the S6 taillights disappear from view. Take this wagon seriously.

• 

  For the momey - 2017 Audi A8
  By KKVB - February 6 - 7:46 pm

  Great car for the money. The last gen tech gets you a great deal off sticker. Great power, very comfortable, awesome engine..

• 

  Not too happy - 2002 Audi A4
  By Audi-tor - February 6 - 2:00 am

  This ia very nice looking car, and apparently well finished. But I have taken my car three times to the garage during the first year and it is still there. If you need a part for your car, beg for it. It will take more than what you expect. If you open the moon roof, then a few noises will compete with your fine stereo system. If you drive at low revolutions, then be willing to deal with some annoying vibrations. And not to mention the weird shifts in the transmission.

• 

  Awesome car - 1996 Audi A4
  By whtbowtie - February 4 - 11:45 pm

  If youre reading this you were in my shoes, I bought my Audi with 107k and it was awesome from day one, precision turning car felt secure to the road. All parts are expensive, I put 15000 miles on my car in the last year and I would recommend this car to everyone. But be sure to test everything before you decide to buy-> ALL ELECTRICAL, lights, wipers, windows, climate control and watch for the air bag lights. My only problem with the car was the brakes, Audi/VW has a problem with air in the ABS pump, if you get air in there you end up with locked up brakes only when you go into antilock. Something to test when you test drive the car. Quattro = never getting stuck.