2011 Audi A5 2.0t Quattro Premium Plus...loaded...certified on 2040-cars

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2016 Audi TT [w/video]

What came first, the metrosexual or the Audi TT? While it was close, the descriptor-turned-epithet preceded the 1995 concept car by one year. However, they were both notable cultural evolutions and they happened to work together perfectly. Hugh Grant, playing the cad Will Freeman in the 2002 film About a Boy, could not have chosen a better example of character than his silver TT.
A decade later, the original TT was still important enough that when rumors of the third-generation coupe began to surface in late 2012, the most exciting fantasy was that the 2014 coupe might "recapture some of the distinctiveness and impact" of a 16-year-old car (the TT came to market in 1998). Even speculation by dedicated Audi observers thought the brand would do something novel, even if not mimicry. The obvious takeaway: no one was going to be lighting any candles for the departed second generation. All of that is why when the first leaked image slipped onto the Internet, people began to get suspicious. When the third generation took the stage at the Geneva Motor Show, we could almost hear the digital deflation over the Ethernet, our poll results notwithstanding.
Yet it's still the TT, and in spite of having seen its interior and virtual cockpit and clocked its specs, we couldn't judge it before heading to Marbella, Spain to drive it. What we found out was while it's better than the second generation, it's still very much a TT.

Mercedes may be working on a new electric car dubbed 'Ecoluxe'

Automobile has a lengthy piece this month on how the four German mass-market luxury manufacturers each plan to go after Tesla with their own electric vehicles. It was written by Georg Kacher, the magazine's European bureau chief, and the English version came a month after he wrote the German-language original for Autobild. Tesla isn't exactly a threat to the Germans, but, according to the report, the Model S is planting the right kinds of seeds in niches that are important to the luxury players. The thinking is that - in addition to needed electric vehicles anyway for stricter US regulations - it's better to start designing the machinery now. The article posited Porsche's attack would rest on the coming Panamera platform, but a big hurdle would be battery placement. Unable to find one large space for a lithium-ion pack, engineers would instead put batteries everywhere they could, for a supposed tally of some "108 battery pouches" throughout the body. A few days after the Automobile piece, however, Porsche publicly said it had no intention of challenging the Model S, because the enthusiastic driving the brand is known for doesn't jive with useful range. In Kacher's retelling, Mercedes' plans are even more ambitious, supposedly taking aim at the Model S and the coming Model X. It would do this with an investment in excess of $2 billion in a program called "Ecoluxe" – Mercedes has no brand division akin to BMW's i and Audi's e-tron. The new brand would create a four-strong family of bespoke electric vehicles: a smaller platform with a wheelbase around 106 inches and a larger one with a wheelbase around 118 inches. In addition, the range would have "provisions for rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive, and rear-wheel steering." The numbers are impressive: seating for seven in the larger vehicles, both longer than 16 feet, front and rear storage areas, ratings of up to 610 horsepower and production capacity of 80,000 units per year. When would we see such creatures? Perhaps as soon as 2019. We do know that if Tesla can knock the Model X over the outfield fence, automakers are going to have to do something. We don't know what the chances are that Ecoluxe is Mercedes' first move - but such a plan could help explain the weird Mercedes concept spied in October.

2017 Audi A4 Prestige is round 2 of our long-term test

The first of our long-term Audi sampler platter, a Glacier White metallic 2017 A4 Premium Plus, has already departed from the fleet. Replacing that mid-grade model is a range-topping 2017 Audi A4 Prestige wrapped in a beautiful shade of Moonlight Blue metallic paint. At first glance, aside from the color, not much appears to be different between the two models. Here's what's changed. What we got The Prestige trim starts at $46,850 and sits atop the A4 range. The only way to go up is to step into the new S4, but that dish comes later. The A4 Prestige comes with all of the expected trimmings - a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four making 252 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque, a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, and Quattro all-wheel drive - along with most of the features from the Premium Plus package such as LED headlights and a 3D Bang & Olufsen sound system. Prestige extras include parking sensors with a surround view camera, a full-color heads-up display, LED interior lighting, and bits from the technology package such as Audi virtual cockpit, MMI navigation, and extra parking sensors. The technology package was a $3,250 option on our first A4. The biggest difference between the two models is the availability of certain options. Only the Prestige can be equipped with the warm weather package, the adaptive dampening suspension, and the driver assistance package with adaptive cruise control and active lane assist. We passed on these in order to keep things similar to our long-term Jaguar XE. We added 19-inch wheels with 245/35ZR19 Hankook Ventus S1 evo2 summer tires because Michigan isn't cold and desolate all year round. That said, we did check the box for the cold weather package with heated seats at all four corners and a heated steering wheel. The final option was the sport package that adds a black headliner, sharper suspension, and four-way power lumbar support. All in, the new A4 rings up at $51,575, just less than $2,000 more than the $49,825 Premium Plus, as the latter was equipped with the now-unavailable $1,100 First Edition package. What we skipped We decided once again to skip the manual transmission. While it may inject a little more fun into an already enthusiastic car, few shoppers actually opt for a three-pedal setup. With that in mind, we chose the excellent seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, a no-cost option. We also decided to keep things simple and passed on the driver's assistance package.