News & Reviews- Make: Audi

Frankly, I wasn't expecting to be impressed by the S5 Cabriolet I recently drove. Oh, don't get me wrong. I laid the accolades on pretty thick after a weeklong stint behind the wheel of a 2010 model that was done out in the same gorgeous hue of Sepang Blue Pearl paint, but that was five years ago and all we've seen since is a mild, albeit arguably effective mid-cycle makeover for the 2013 model year. Under the skin, ladies and gentlemen, the S5, like the A5 it's based on, is an eight-year-old design, the automotive equivalent of an octogenarian in people years. I hate to admit it, but I love it when I'm proven wrong.

Despite how many S5 Cabriolets have passed by Vancouver's jaded car enthusiast crowd over the past octennial, the car still turns heads as quickly as it ever did, no matter where you're driving. People stop in their tracks and stare. Truly, I never experienced anywhere near this much attention at the wheel of a brand new Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II done out in a Read Full Story

Talk about staying power, the Audi Q7 is now in its 10th year without a major update yet sales are still strong. In 2007, the first full year the Q7 was sold into the North American markets, Canadians bought a total of 1,235 examples, but that number has steadily grown over the past eight years to 1,959 unit sales in 2014, whereas the first six months of 2015 have already seen 1,084 Q7s drive away from dealer showrooms. If Q7 sales could continue, and they won't because the last remaining examples will soon be sold before the model awaits a completely redesigned 2016 Q7 arriving early next next year, they'd likely set another record despite its aging design.

Aging yes, but there are still plenty of reasons to choose a Q7 over one of its competitors. It was given a thorough facelift in 2009 for the 2010 model year, the revised version introduced at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in Monterey, California. I was there, and while I took in the unveiling and enjoyed Read Full Story

Just one look at the Audi A6 and it's easy to see why it's become one of the most popular mid-size models in its premium class. It's not all that different in design from other Audi sedans, but for some reason the larger its cars get the more proportionally attractive they become.

That's not to say its A3 or A4 aren't good looking in their own rights, they are and their sales reflect this, but the longer and wider A6, which has just been given a subtle yet effectively edgy facelift for 2016, allows a sharper version of Audi's trademark horizontally-ribbed hexagonal horseshoe-shaped Singleframe grille more space to stretch out and a more upright presence that meets tougher European pedestrian safety standards (and therefore protects ours better too), gives its beautifully reshaped multi-angle headlamp clusters slightly longer and narrower appeal, helps the more crisply chiseled lower fascia greater width to cut through the air, which it does quite effectively, followed up with Read Full Story

To watch Audi's A4 evolve over the years has been a most interesting process. The lines have become evermore chiseled and angular, the grille larger, the lighting elements more detailed and LED infused, interior more luxurious and feature set more abundantly equipped, but the overall shape has remained just as singularly defined as this car's mission, to deliver premium five-passenger comfort and all-weather performance to luxury buyers with discriminating taste.

Like all "compacts" within the luxury sedan sector the A4 has grown quite a bit since inception, now 183 mm (7.2 inches) longer than the original 1995 version, with a 193-mm (7.6-inch) longer wheelbase, plus it's 93 mm (3.6 inches) wider and 12 mm (0.5 inches) taller, and I'm not talking about the long-wheelbase version sold in other markets, but of course we now have the wonderful A3 four-door filling the entry-level void the A4 outgrew. Both are great looking sport sedans, but most would agree the A4 is the more enticing Read Full Story

When Audi first unveiled its production Q5 at the 2008 Beijing auto show and later that year at the LA auto show there were only four compact luxury crossover SUVs to potentially compete against, but in less than a year when this smaller Q-ship hit the North American market it was up against six rivals. Now, half a dozen years and one facelift into its first generation the popular four-ringed model faces 10 compact premium challengers, three of which are entirely new this year. To say the compact luxury CUV segment is growing is a major understatement, it's bursting at the seams. This makes the Q5's success all the more impressive.

Last year it was by far the most successful, selling 7,862 units in Canada compared to 6,557 for the next closest competitor, Acura's RDX, 5,599 for the third placed Mercedes' GLK, and 5,219 for BMW's fourth ranked X3, while the rest of its opponents were much farther down the sales chart. It's been the number one seller in its segment for the last Read Full Story