2009 Audi S5 Coupe - Nav, Bang Olufsen, Carbon Fiber, Back Up Camera, Sunroof! on 2040-cars

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2015 Audi Q7 spotted with a blurry first look

Here's the good news: we finally have visual evidence of the upcoming and all-new 2015 Audi Q7 luxury SUV. A set of photographs show that Audi has been putting the SUV through its paces, with an eye towards an on-sale date sometime late next year.
The bad news is that it was not one of our usual clear-lensed spy photographers that captured these first images, but rather a sycophantic follower of our friends at CarPix. The resulting images are a lot lower resolution than we've come to expect, and there are far fewer angles from which to judge the car.
Still, we can make out the nose of the new Q7 is a bit flatter and wider than the rounded affair of the current car, and wears similar swoopy LED headlights as are found in the rest of the Audi range. We expect the overall dimensions of the 2015 Q7 to stay about the same as the existing model, but rumor has it that the SUV could be 800 to 900 pounds lighter in the next generation.

An Outback for architects | 2017 Audi A4 Allroad First Drive

There are crossovers – big SUV-like things that give people the commanding view of the road they crave so much – and then there are crossovers. Lifted wagons in the vein of the Subaru Outback are arguably the crossover archetype, but they've become the exception, not the rule. That's where the Audi A4 Allroad fits in. Like its predecessor, the 2017 Allroad is a rather good-looking alternative to a mid-size SUV. The A4 Allroad is again based on the lovely A4 Avant, a wagon that isn't sold in America. The Allroad has a slightly raised suspension compared to its overseas counterpart, slightly higher-profile rubber, standard two-tone paint, roof rails, fender flares, lower body cladding, and a grille with vertical slats to emphasize the rugged point. And for reasons that no automotive purist has ever been able to derive, the look totally works. You can have a two-tone Allroad in one of 13 colors with gray trim along the bottom and the fenders. Or, pay an extra $1,000 on top of the cost of metallic paint and you can opt for one of five monochrome color schemes. In either case, you'll get a handsome, aggressive front end; 18-inch five-spoke wheels; standard Xenon or optional LED lighting up front; and LED lighting in the rear. The rear blinkers have a standard swiping effect borrowed from the R8, and the same sequential motion is applied to the front turn signals on models with the optional all-LED headlights. It's a party trick, but a neat one . We'd be hard pressed to think of an interior that Audi has screwed up recently, and the latest A4 has a particularly good one that translates well to the Allroad. No matter the trim you choose, you'll get your choice of dyed leather, including the requisite brown to best showcase the Allroad's rugged intentions. The level of gadgetry and pricing rises as you work your way up the trim tree – from Premium, to Premium Plus to Prestige, with the sweet spot in the middle – and it more or less mirrors that of the A4. Opting for the Technology Package on Premium Plus models gets you Audi's Virtual Cockpit instrument cluster, a fully configurable gauge package that sets the standard for info display in the industry. (It is so choice. If you have the means, we highly recommend picking one – er, it – up.) Here, the optional advanced dash is paired with an 8.3-inch center display, which is equally intuitive and responsive.

2015 Audi A3

The five-door Audi A3 hatchback, on sale in the States since the 2006 model year, never earned the respect it deserved. Despite possessing the automaker's well-regarded build quality and a range of strong powerplants (including an excellent diesel option), the entry-level model always played second fiddle to the rest of the Audi lineup, suffering from less innovative technologies and fewer premium options on its list. Many buyers considered it inferior to the rest of the models in the company's showroom. But those misconceptions could be about to change, as Audi is in the midst of introducing its third-generation A3 family to the States with expectations that the range will finally align with the rest of its portfolio.
First to arrive is this new sedan, notable as it is the first time the A3 has been offered as a compact four door. The new bodystyle is positioned as a premium C-segment offering, with its most obvious competitor being the new Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class (BMW has not officially announced a 2 Series Gran Coupe, which would be the third entrant in the segment). The automaker says its "A3/S3 models will be among the most technically advanced Audi products around" and there will be "no sacrificing Audi craftsmanship and premium appointments." To put the automaker's claims to the test, we spent a week with this new sedan in Southern California.