Audi News
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U.S. car buyers are fond of compact crossovers, and they buy a lot of them. They range from high-volume entries by Toyota, Honda, Ford, and Chevrolet to more luxurious utility vehicles from the likes of Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Range Rover. (Lincoln and Lexus will join that crowd next year.) But only two compact crossovers offer the option of a diesel engine. Both are German, and we've now driven each one. This first of two reviews covers the 2014 Audi Q5 TDI, a new-this-year diesel option for the Q5 crossover that's been with us since 2009. We'll review the Mercedes-Benz GLK250 BlueTEC...
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Audi Joins The Juke Set: Q1 Crossover Due In 2016?
The world loves its SUVs, but SUVs aren't best known for loving the world back. These big hulking behemoths are often accused of being a catalyst for climate change, and it's true that efficiency isn't the SUV's strong point. But people like them regardless. So what to do? If you're Audi, you join...
Antony Ingram -
2015 Audi A3 Sedan Priced From $29,900
Audi has announced pricing for its 2015 A3 Sedan, a new compact sedan entry into a market currently occupied by the Mercedes-Benz CLA. Not unsurprisingly, buyers will pay the same for the new A3 as they would for its Mercedes rival. At $29,900, the A3 sedan matches the CLA precisely at the entry...
Antony Ingram -
Audi Sees Tesla As Direct Competitor, But Likes Dealers Over Direct Sales
It's always interesting hearing one automaker's opinion of another, and even more so when a huge global company has to concede that a young upstart is worth keeping an eye on. The huge global automaker in question is Audi, part of the massive Volkswagen group. And the young upstart? Tesla Motors of...
Antony Ingram -
Lighter Composite Wheels Cut Weight Of New 2015 Audi A8
Lighter wheels could help improve this big luxury sedan's fuel economy.
Stephen Edelstein -
Audi R8 e-Tron Not Completely Dead Yet, Suggests Official
Yes, Audi earlier this year did say that it won't be building its electric supercar, the R8 e-tron. But the plug might not have been pulled completely. According to Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, the member of the Audi AG board of management in charge of technical development, the R8 e-tron was an...
Bengt Halvorson -
Diesel engines and typical American-style commuting conditions are already a great match. Longer daily-driving distances get diesels up to their peak operating temperature—and hopefully out to higher highway speeds, where they return their best fuel economy. In low-speed stop-and-go driving, however, even modern-day diesel engines are no revelation in efficiency, sipping away at their fuel at a less frugal rate. It's where we’ve noticed, for instance, that a Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid will surge ahead of a Jetta TDI in real-world fuel-efficiency, for example, even if the TDI is...
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Audi Urges Diesel-Friendly Regulations, Holds DC Diesel Rally
Audi and corporate parent Volkswagen believe clean diesels are being ignored by government regulations and incentive programs that promote hybrids and pure electric cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
Audi Sport Quattro Concept: Yet Another Plug-In Hybrid For Frankfurt
The rumors were correct--Audi's Sport Quattro Concept, due at the Frankfurt Auto Show next week, isn't just a gas-guzzling V-8 but a plug-in hybrid concept. Okay, it's actually both--at the heart of Audi's latest concept, you'll find a four-liter, twin-turbocharged gasoline V-8, with cylinder...
Antony Ingram -
Plug-In Hybrid Model To Join Next Audi A4 Range: Report
Audi has had its fair share of criticism from plug-in car fans, but the automaker now seems to be coming around to the idea of electric propulsion after some rather public dismissals of the technology. Audi's first production plug-in model will be the A3 e-tron plug-in hybrid arriving next year...
Antony Ingram -
Will Audi's Next Sports Coupe Use E-Tron Quattro Hybrid Tech?
It seems strange that Audi has so far failed to capitalize on the huge success of its R18 e-tron quattro endurance racing cars. They're without doubt some of the most technologically-advanced race cars of the modern age, yet the Ingolstadt automaker has made only token references to the R18 with...
Antony Ingram -
Are Diesels The Future For Luxury Sport Sedans? Audi Says Yes
As gas-mileage standards tighten steadily through 2025, how do you have a big, powerful, luxurious sedan more efficient? The Tesla Model S shows one way--make it all-electric--but other makers are taking other routes. Audi, perhaps more than any other German luxury make, says the answer is diesel...
John Voelcker -
The 'Ultra' tag will be familiar to fans of endurance motor racing, seen since 2010 on Audi's Le Mans-winning race cars. It hasn't yet featured on an Audi production car though, up until now--and as you'd expect, it's Audi's most fuel-efficient production car ever. The Audi A3 1.6 TDI Ultra uses a familiar engine to European buyers and unfamiliar to their U.S. counterparts--as the Ultra won't be hitting American streets. The 1.6 TDI already appears in several other Volkswagen group models in various states of tune. In the Ultra, it's good for 73.5 miles per gallon--albeit recorded on the...
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Audi e-Tron Quattro Diesel Hybrid Race Car Wins Le Mans 24 Hours Race
Audi has continued its dominant run at the world's most famous endurance race, winning the Le Mans 24 Hours on Sunday. The team's twelfth Le Mans victory is also the second for its hybrid race car, the R18 e-tron quattro. France's Loic Duval, Scotland's Allan McNish and Dane Tom Kristensen took the...
Antony Ingram -
Audi Experiments With Hydrogen-Powered A7
Audi looks set to add another technology to its wide 'tron' roster--hydrogen power. As Autocar reports (via Motor Authority), the company is working on a fuel cell Audi A7, with trials due to begin at the end of August. Not a word was said about the model at Audi's recent future lab tron-experience...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Audi A3 e-tron: Full Details On Audi's Plug-In Hybrid
"We're proud the Audi A3 e-tron doesn't look like an electric car." Ouch. If Audi is truly serious about electric vehicles, that probably isn't the phrase we'd have chosen to prove it, while showing off its new plug-in hybrid A3 model. But then, the Ingolstadt automaker might be on to...
Antony Ingram -
Audi Announces Fuel Efficiency And Pricing For A6, A7, Q5 Diesels
Audi has revealed pricing for its full lineup of diesel models, joining the existing A8 L TDI and Q7 TDI SUV. Each new model uses the same 3.0-liter V-6 turbodiesel engine and 8-speed automatic transmission to deliver strong performance and surprisingly frugal economy figures. The engine produces...
Antony Ingram -
Audi R8 e-tron: First Drive Of Audi's Electric Supercar
We'll start with the bad news: No, Audi definitely won't be producing any more examples of its R8 e-tron electric supercar. And even if it did, it'd be well beyond the reach of mere mortals--rumor has it that each of the ten e-trons currently in existence have set Audi back around $1.3 million. All...
Antony Ingram -
The Audi A1 e-tron was almost a sideshow to our day at the company's future lab tron-experience at Berlin's spectacular and disused Tempelhof Airport. Drives squeezed in over lunch or at the end of the day reflect the A1 e-tron's unfortunate status: Stillborn prototype, rather than fully-fledged production model. And after driving it around Berlin's crowded streets, we think that's a shame. Unique drivetrain The Audi A1 is a subcompact car sold in Europe, based on a similar platform to that of the equally Europe-only Volkswagen Polo. It's sold in both three-door and five-door 'Sportback'...
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Audi A3 g-tron: First Drive Of Natural Gas Compact Car
We lost count of just how many times Audi engineers used the phrase "no compromises" during their 'tron' presentations in Berlin. And driving the Audi A3 Sportback g-tron, a near-standard A3 running on natural gas, it's hard not to agree with them--at least initially. For the average car buyer, the...
Antony Ingram -
Audi Tron Program: Latest Update On Plug-In Audis, More, From Berlin
Audi's 'tron' program has been, well, a little confusing over recent years. Back in the early days it was oh so simple--one concept car, known simply as the Audi e-tron, represented Audi's foray into future mobility. Since then it seems a dozen models have come and gone, but after presentations...
Antony Ingram -
Audi: "R8 e-tron Electric Supercar Won't Go On Sale"
Good news: Audi's off-again, on-again electric supercar--the R8 e-tron--is now confirmed for production. Bad news: You won't be able to buy one, as the company has decided to make just ten vehicles, all for research purposes only. The company confirmed to Autocar that it has produced ten R8 e-tron...
Antony Ingram -
Audi Startled By Tesla Sales Success? Deleted Press Release Seems To Say So
It may be that short sellers and naysayers aren't the only ones a bit surprised these days at the positive press received by electric-car maker Tesla. Yesterday, Germany luxury-car maker Audi issued a rather unusual press release in which it pointed out that it sells more cars than Tesla Motors...
John Voelcker -
Audi LED Lights Actually Save Fuel, Cut Emissions, EU Says
Many people imagine that fuel efficiency stops and starts with engine technology and driving technique, but there's a little more to it than that. Making a fuel-efficient vehicle involves a holistic approach that examines every aspect of a car's design and tries to reduce its impact on fuel...
Antony Ingram