I am wondering what many of you here think about Audi. When you think about the top luxury automakers you think of Mercedes, BMW, Lexus. But IMHO Audi makes one hell of a car. They have a competetor to the S500,745, and LS430 and also have S line to compete with AMG and M. There inteiors are top notch and the ride is extremely rock solid.

If you want my opinion on how Audi is not yet on top.... It seems that Mercedes has the design and cachet, BMW has the Sportiness and precision, and Lexus has reliability and refinement. It seems Audi makes a capable car but nothing stands out about it. It doesnt have the brand of the MB, the sportiness of the BMW, or the reliability of the Lexus.

What are your opinions?

 

I see them as an alternative to the cheaper MB's and expensive VW's.

 

Audi makes NICE cars, but to me, aside from offering AWD, they didnt do anything special to set themselves apart from MB, Lexus, and BMW for a LONG time. Only recently have they begun to wake up. Aside from the last generation A4, which IMO save Audi in the US, Audis were not very popular. The previous gen A6 and A8 were solid cars but didnt stand out in either performance or luxury from its competitors, and Audi failed to stand out as a company with no real direction.

Recently Audi has stepped up significantly by offering the S and RS sport car variants, the TT roadster, and especially the new A8 which is really impressive. The company is headed in the right direction but they still need major help in terms of building Brand Recognition in the US. They also need to offer an SUV, why is the Touareg sold as a VW, not an Audi??

 

IMO it's the same with the Benz: Just plain uncomfortable and does not compare to that of a Lexus. I sat in my friend's 2002 S4 sedan one time, and the seats felt as hard as a rock (no joke). The instrument cluster lighting, on the other hand, looks so bright coming from stock (it's like a blood-red amberish color). Stock audio system is OK quality (not the best but not the worst).

 

Truth is, I wanted an A6 4.2 over my GS430. But it was leasing out at almost $100 more per month even though the stickers were almost identical. This is because the dealer markup on the Lexus products is far higher (allowing Lexus to discount more) and the residuals on the Lexus were a bit higher as well. Lexus December to Remember Event helped even more by offering 39 months for the same residual and money factor as 36 months.

While I liked the old A6, the new one is just incredible - it has technology that most cars do not have (direct injection) and seems to be nicely priced. The interior looks like one of the best on the market as well. This all from pictures and specs mind you, I have not seen it in person.

The new A8 is beautiful IMHO - a guy has one in my building and I can't take my eyes off of it.

So my thoughts? Audi is creating cars that I want.

Oh and I've heard the dealer service nightmares and boy do I have my own with Lexus, so I'm not really sure this is an issue. At least Audi has free scheduled maint.

 

Audi in my opinion makes great cars. I believe the new Audi A8 is a truly beautiful car. The car in my opinion is better than the S-Class and 7-Series. The old one lacked style inside and out. The Audi A6 the first generation and second generation are great cars aswell. I would take the new A6 over the new 5-Series.

Audi I believe is my second favorite luxury car maker while Lexus comes out on top.

 

Doug I sat in my buddy's A8L about a week ago. The interior was so rich I did not want to get out of the car . The exterior was an off-grey color. I agree I Could not stop looking at it! For 70,000 fully loaded its an amazing car. I also like the upcoming large grilles on the future models. Makes it look aggressive and distinctive.

 

quality... lots and lots of problems with quality. Audis as well as VWs have a problem with parts breaking... expensive parts breaking. Majority of their parts are made in Mexico and assembled in Germany. when VW/Audi opened that plant in Mexico, the quality of the cars went way down. Although the Cars that are assembled in Germany (ie: A8, S8, RS6, and S4) have far fewer problems than those that are actually assembled in Mexico (Jetta, A4, Passat, and just about every other car in the VW brand) they still have their kinks that cause the cars to be brought back to the dealer for service. Mercedes is becoming like this, and BMW isnt too far behind. Lexus/ Toyota seems to avoid this problem because they arent affraid to shell out the money to make the car run, without any major problems, until it dies. Toyotas are notorious for that. Ask any new MB, BMW, Audi driver how many times they have had to take there car in for service (other than routine stuff, brakes, oil changes, etc) and youll see. Then turn around and ask the same thing to the Toyota/Lexus owners. The answer should come to no surprise to the Lexus/ Toyota owners on this board.

 

I love Audi's, my only beef with Audi, has a car maker, is that all of their cars look pretty much the same. If they want to increase market share, they've got to come up with different looking cars. The Audi TT for example, is a great car with excellent looks and pretty good performance. However, i'd offer a 4.0 as an optional engine... make it compete against the Z4's and the AMG SLK's, and that kinda stuff.

 

The only problem with that, is that they basically had to shoe horn the 3.2 v6 in the TT. same for the S4 and the 4.2 V8. Their engine bays are WAY over crowded. Did you know that to change the #1 O2 sensor on the Passat W8 it requires pulling the entire engine???? yeah, its also about improper planning.

 

Sleek, original designs, but I've heard of horrible build/endurance quality.

 

I think your right. The thing is MB and BMW have made pretty reliable cars up until the late 90. Then they starting pushing non-functioning electronics into there vehicles. But from what I have read Audi reliability has ALWAYS suffered and its only NOW its slightly improving.

 

i personally hate audi... most noticeably is their reliability.... and i dont find their cars aesthetically appealling

 

Audis are a good car for slick roads.......they offer the Quattro AWD system on most of their products. Unlike Subaru AWD products, and as other posters here have noted, Audi reliability is generally second-rate.
And on the Audi S-cars with the high-performance rubber, you may have to change to winter tires to get the best AWD traction anyway....this is also an issue with the Subaru WRX and STi.

 

I had a modded a4 for a while, and my dad had an 01 s4. I love their interiors. Fit and finish are great. To be honest, I prefer their interiors to my gs, but not by much. The sport sterring wheel in the s4/a4 sport pkg was great as well as interior/guage lighting.

In two years my a4 only needed normal maintenance and I flog the crap outta my cars. Early B5 s4's had some turbo problems. Check that, I replaced my turbo vacumn hoses with silicon racing hoses as I kept blowing the stock hoses. Oh, and I got some change stuck in the ashtray and it wouldn't open. Any minor issues were always fixed under warranty. My warranty work (at Audi in Westmony, IL) was done without question, no cost, and included wiper replacements, washing of car, and audi loaner while in service.

I keep them up there with Lexus on my fav's list. So many bmw owners in my area are a**holes I just can't see myself in one. Audi's sportiier nature than lexus helps put them in bmw's slot for me.

One major advantage audi's have over lexus for do-it-yourself'ers is ODBII interfaces to palm or laptop computers using vag-com software. You can diagnose your car; engine, electronics, awd system, brakes, etc. as well as log performance data. All by only spending $100 or so.

The "new" s4 is a nice alternative for gs owners who need a 4 door, prefer something sportier and can give up a bit of room.