# Why Audi?



## Qest (Jan 1, 2006)

Why did you choose Audi over all the other brands?
I know they have great interiors. I know the Germans sweat the small stuff that makes the drive better. I'm a huge fan of AWD.
Audi has some prestige. Audi makes some cars that don't really have direct competitors.
Did I miss anything?


----------



## A4Jetta (Feb 16, 1999)

*Re: Why Audi? (Qest)*

I love Audi's pure, organic, classic, clean, minialistic design philosophy. The interior materials and fit-and-finish are benchmark in the industry where others are judged.
Both Quattro and FWD handle exceptionally. They got nice powertrains with huge aftermarket potential and superb refinement. The ride/handling compromise is balanced without losing German chassis's stiffness and suppleness. They also build some of the world's best sports sedans along the lines of BMW.
Audi is the thinking person's tier-1 brand. Its not as "status symbol" as Mercedes and BMW nor as overpriced as Lexus.


----------



## BHB (Oct 26, 2004)

*Re: Why Audi? (A4Jetta)*

quattro... heritage ... bust interior build quality of any brand IMO


----------



## Harold (Jul 31, 2000)

*Re: Why Audi? (A4Jetta)*

Ready for a long answer???
Around '84 my family went to Garmisch-Partenkirchen (sp?), Germany for a week of skiing. It started snowing, a lot, we were in town and the hotel was half way up a mountain on a winding road. My dad,driving a '71 Chevy Caprice only made it up to the Ski lift parking area, hotel was another 1/4 mile or so up the mountain. 
We walked the rest of the way. It continued snowing heavily. The whole time the only cars we saw going up the mountain were Audi quattros. Needless to say it left a lasting impression on a certain teenager.
I took drivers' ed in HS in a Golf 1(was in Germany in HS). Had my GTI for a very long time (see sig) and briefly had a VW Quantum syncro wagon for 2 years ( borrowed Audi 4000 quattro platform) and knew I wanted another quattro car. So naturally I wanted an Audi. The ur-S4/S6 is a car that I lusted for but could never afford new. But when prices fell I seriously considered one. One test drive and it was all over, the power, the luxury, I had to have one.
Couple of other reasons but I don't want to ramble too much.











_Modified by Harold at 12:12 AM 4-26-2006_


----------



## Qest (Jan 1, 2006)

*Re: Why Audi? (A4Jetta)*

Lexus is overpriced??? How do you figure?


----------



## A4Jetta (Feb 16, 1999)

*Re: Why Audi? (Qest)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Qest* »_Lexus is overpriced??? How do you figure?

When Lexus costs as much as German rivals, its already overpriced.


----------



## Qest (Jan 1, 2006)

*Re: Why Audi? (A4Jetta)*

Lexus is better value for money. For people who want reliable, luxurious transportation, Lexus is tough to beat. Look at residual values, or ownership costs.


----------



## delta v (Jun 8, 2001)

*Re: Why Audi? (Qest)*

Why Audi?
I ask myself this question many times...it just comes down to your first love, I guess...


----------



## Harold (Jul 31, 2000)

*Re: Why Audi? (delta v)*

Never liked Lexus, in their beginning it was such an obvious copy of Mercedes styling that it wasn't funny. It is usually easier to just copy something and improve it. But how about coming out with something original? 
And the reason why you are singing Lexus' praise in an Audi forum is?


----------



## Qest (Jan 1, 2006)

*Re: Why Audi? (Harold)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Harold* »_Never liked Lexus, in their beginning it was such an obvious copy of Mercedes styling that it wasn't funny. It is usually easier to just copy something and improve it. But how about coming out with something original? 
And the reason why you are singing Lexus' praise in an Audi forum is?









Whoa! YOU brought up Lexus, not me.
Yes, the original LS was essentially a copy of MB. Yes it's easier to make incremental improvements to an existing design than to start from scratch. Yes, originality is a virtue...but so is reliability, so is having a dealer network that treats every customer like they're the king or queen of the world. So is cutting the unnecessary fat out of a car to make it less expensive. So is making a luxury car so quiet it's likened to a coffin.
That design you malign as unoriginal sent shockwaves through the industry that reverberate today, more than 15 years later, sending MB et al back to the drawing boards with fear in their hearts. In many ways, Lexus is the best car in the world, just ask JD Power, Consumer Reports, etc.
That doesn't mean I don't care for Audi, however coming here to unilaterally sing Audi's praises is like preaching to the choir. Shall we all be yes-men?
While you and I desire AWD, most car magazines prefer RWD. All you said, other than dissing Lexus out of nowhere, was Audi has AWD, which competitors now have as well, and that Audi is more luxurious, and powerful than VWs of yore. The same can be said of practically every luxury brand out there. Doesn't sound like big whoop to me.


----------



## Harold (Jul 31, 2000)

*Re: Why Audi? (Qest)*

Actually, I didn't bring up Lexus one of the moderators did.








Personally I could care less what JD Powers said, if I am not mistaken they do an initial survey and maybe a 6 month follow up, right? Not much going to be wrong in a car in 6 months. How about a 100k or 200k follow up? As you may guess I don't worry about residual value, etc because I generally keep my cars for long periods of time. 
As far as Consumer reports, I started disliking them when they dissed VW's Mk2 Golf/Jetta for not having separate turnsignal indicators. (How will I know which turnsignal I activated







) Seemed to me like they were ranking a car for the clueless housewives. They do seem to rank/test appliances pretty well.
My version of reliability must be very different from other peoples. If a new car has a burnt out tail light in 6 months some people would rank it low in reliability, I would not. Now if the power windows or something mechanical went, then I would consider that unreliable.
Yes, the competitors all have AWD but who started with using it throughout all their models? Which car companies have been using AWD for 20 years now. Seems like Audi has vorsprung (lead/ advantage) with technology and then the other companies follow along to "keep up".
Bottom line: I like Audis (and other German cars as well), I have driven and ridden in plenty of Japanese cars and for one reason or another they just don't do it for me. 
But trying to argue why any car is better than another is kinda like arguing to someone about how blue is better than red, Coke vs Pepsi, etc.


----------



## Tommi (Jul 1, 2005)

My choice was not straight forward. I was looking for medium sized quality wagon. Wanted AWD and good winter qualities (living in Finland...) In suitable size/price categorythere there were V50, V70, and Audi. E90 BMW tourings were not available, Mercedes c-series is ugly, small and for old people (coming from volvo family that would have been treason...) Passat variant was not availble, I have bad exp of Opels thus Vectra was out, Alfa Romeo 159 wagons suitability to winter is questionable and resale value joke. Saab has never been my cup of tee...
So went driving Audi (2.0T FWD manual, AWD M and tip and 1.8T AWD M ). Was going to get 2.0T Q M as had newer owned and only once driven automatic. Then went to Volvo. V50: way too small - different size category than A4. V70: wife thinks it was too big. I thought that suspension was boaty and AWD is haldex. 
So we went back to audi dealer to get A4 avant 2.0T M Q plus some selected stuff (normal way in Europe). Dealer offered great deal on a car with tip. I redrove tip car and thought why the ... And took the tip car. 
I've been very happy about my choice. I must admit that before I thought that Audi is just a bit pimpedup VW with fully galvanized body (important here where roads are salted during winter).
Audi has won me over.


_Modified by Tommi at 1:28 AM 4/28/2006_


----------



## audiguy06 (Dec 7, 2004)

*Re: Why Audi? (bhb399mm)*


_Quote, originally posted by *bhb399mm* »_quattro... heritage ... bust interior build quality of any brand IMO 

I agree with this well said short answer


----------



## Qest (Jan 1, 2006)

*Re: Why Audi? (bhb399mm)*


_Quote, originally posted by *bhb399mm* »_quattro... heritage ... bust interior build quality of any brand IMO 

Just for the sake of discussion, how about Acura RL vs. Audi A6 3.2 Quattro.
So the RL has a far better AWD system, a lot less heritage, and, as far as I can tell, equal interior build quality. It also has the best Nav out there.
I'm currently considering a lightly used 2005 RL as my next car. To me, the much more advanced Nav and AWD along with a decently sporty automatic are causing me to lean this way.


----------



## Harold (Jul 31, 2000)

*Re: Why Audi? (Qest)*

Ahhh, now we have the REAL reason as to why you posted: " try to convince me as to why I should buy an Audi over other brands". 
And here I was thinking you just wanted to know "Why I went with Audi."


----------



## sieben (Nov 23, 2002)

*Re: Why Audi? (Qest)*

they're under the radar (figuratively)
I don't see 17612631927 copies of my car on the way to work every day.
I'm addicted to quattro (though yes, I know that quattro is not "needed" in 99% of situations).
I can get an AWD station wagon with a true manual transmission. Not many carmakers can say that (in the US). Only BMW and Volvo come to mind.


----------



## Qest (Jan 1, 2006)

*Re: Why Audi? (Harold)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Harold* »_Ahhh, now we have the REAL reason as to why you posted: " try to convince me as to why I should buy an Audi over other brands". 
And here I was thinking you just wanted to know "Why I went with Audi." 

Actually, no. I'm not considering an A6 at all. I have 'till December to make my decision so I haven't even narrowed it down to a category.
I was considering a DSG Audi because I adore DSG, but they depreciate too fast to make leasing attractive, and they aren't reliable enough for me to consider keeping a long time.
Hopefully, the VW R32 will arrive in December with 4 doors, DSG and a price within my budget.
Depending on lease specials come December, I'll consider the smaller Subarus, the Mazda Mazdaspeed Mazda6 (ya, that's what they named it







) and also whatever else might be new on the market.


----------



## ratquat (Feb 25, 2006)

hey acura is made in japan! do you trust your car coming from japan? you might as well buy a ford! and lexus a fair match? no... the only thing lexus has on audi is hybrid! and hybrid is for tree huggers and people that live in cali. and what rallys does lexus compete in? sorry but Japanese scene is overated


----------



## A4Jetta (Feb 16, 1999)

*Re: (ratquat)*

Acura already the best Japanese premium brand among all 3. Lexus is uninspiring and overpriced. Infiniti is an overrated Japanese muscle car brand with garish styling and el cheapo interior details.
Acura's driving experience has some Teutonic solidity feel to it, like substantial pedals and steering response. That are the areas where Infiniti and Lexus still can't touched.


----------



## gtiiiiiiii (Mar 6, 2004)

*Re: Why Audi? (Qest)*

hmm, I just thought I should say your sig doesn't make sense, because the DSG DOES downshift when you floor it at low rpms whether you tell it to or not....


----------



## Sepp (Dec 10, 2002)

*Re: Why Audi? (gtiiiiiiii)*

I initally went with Audi becuase my VW Quantum syncro wagon was very tired.
I really wanted a European car with AWD, and a standard transmission.
VW is being lame here in the states, and nothing could be found.
A used Audi was the only way to go.
Now I'm hooked.


----------



## Qest (Jan 1, 2006)

*Re: Why Audi? (gtiiiiiiii)*

Maybe Audis are different, but the VW GLI and GTI both have a button at the end of the accelerator pedal's travel that if you refrain from pressing it in manual mode, it won't downshift for you. If you know it's there, it's very easy to press or not press. That's the driver's decision whether to remain in manual mode, or suggest a kickdown by pressing the button.


----------



## Audi4Eternity (Apr 14, 2006)

*Re: Why Audi? (Qest)*

actually I think the Audi does have a better AWD system than the AcuraRL......definetly.......look at the famous Ski slope the audi can go up......I've driven an RL...very very good.....but it still os not as good as quattro. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


----------



## Qest (Jan 1, 2006)

*Re: Why Audi? (Audi4Eternity)*

The RL's AWD system has the ability to increase the speed of the outside rear wheel in a curve. The sensation is akin to oversteer, but with wheelspin or drama. It just corners suberbly.
Test drive it vigorously, and you'll wonder why anyone would buy anything else in the class. I know I do.


----------

