4 rings love
 

I went to an Audi corporate event today at a nearby racetrack they rented. It was a training for S and RS models current and future strategy. The had multiple S4, S5, S6, S8, and RS models. I didn't get an seat time due to pesky insurance issues but it was still a fun day and damn impressive to see the S and RS cars running. I did get a ride in a S8 and that car is unbelievable for a full size sedan. The RS5 is crazy!

I still love me some BMW but Audi is storming hard and their plan is to be the number one luxury brand worldwide by 2020. With their current and future models they could be right there. A few interesting tidbits I picked up: 2014 will see a Q5 TDi stateside, a S version Q5 (SQ5) is coming, there will be a RS7, and they will launch a full Exclusive program for most models allowing for full customization to customer specs.

I took a bunch of pics but here are a couple and a nice little video.
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...th_Video64.jpg

Nice post. Any feedback on maintenance
issues with Audi? I like the A5.

Still not great in the reliability department (not that BMW is either though). Also, I think they are still having carbon build-up issues with the direct injection engines.

Audi has come a long way recently, but I am still not a fan of nose heavy all-wheel drive and understeer.

Thx. A friend has the coupe and
did not have many complaints
so far. Audi just needs a little
more HP in some of these cars
to get more interest it seems.

A Geezer bud of mine at our Mtn golf club has a 2011 A6s, maybe a 'C6' designation?
NEway, helluva car...his has a V8, not sure of size, but it hauls azz. Not my cup, but he loves it.

Car lust is a ubiquitous and hard to overcome addiction...
GL, mD

I think Audi makes great cars. I would have no problem at all buying an Audi as a family car, but I bought my e46 M3 to take to the track as well as daily drive. In that situation, I prefer the better balance of the M3 with rear wheel drive.

Audi is putting plenty of HP in their cars these days and with all-wheel drive, many of them are capable of extraordinary 0-60 times. I think the new S8 rips 0-60 off in about 3.8 seconds (destroys Alpina B7) and the S6 can hang with an f10 M5 0-60 although it has far less power, which means the upcomming RS6 is going to b e a complete monster.

The C6 was quite boring and looked too much like a Passat, imo. The C7 looks much better and has been scoring pretty well in the magazine comparo's.

With the poor reviews the f10 has been getting in general (too big, numb steering, etc), the C7 would may be a good alternative.

A friend of mine had an A8. It did spend too much time at the dealer's service department.

Being around those cars it's hard not to be impressed. I didn't get any interior shots but the interiors' details and fit and finish are so nice. I know they are the apex cars of the marque so the details are sometimes unique but still, it's so wonderful being in the S8 or S6 with that gorgeous quilted leather and the carbon fiber trim and everything is so intoxicating.

As far as the reliability and servicing issues, I think all cars have their issues and we all know BMW has it's fair share of problems so I would not be put off by reliability concerns. I think that as all of these high line cars get more complex, there will be more niggling issues. As I sat in the S6 with Audi Connect and all the bells and whistles I did think "I wouldn't want to own this after warranty" but that is true of BMW, MB, whatever.

As an interesting coincidence, I just spent the last couple of hours poring over the two Audis in my driveway and talking Audis in general with an Audi certifies master tech who was over. Yes, we talked about all sorts of problems including a 2013 with very low miles that basically blew an engine due to poor quality out of the factory. (That car got a new engine as the fix.) Is it more interesting to talk about the horror stories or the about all the cars that work perfectly fine? Of course, just as here, the problems are what makes for discussions. Every manufacturer has lemons and issues. You just have to hope you aren't the poor schlub that has to drink the lemonade.

I had carbon problems with my 08 535 at 50,000 miles. I understand that Audi has bigger problems and Lexus has a extra injector that sprays gas to avoid the problem.