2016 Audi A8 4.0t Quattro Sport on 2040-cars

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Audi reveals facelifted A7 and S7 in Europe [w/videos]

Audi has revealed the nip/tuck and stylistic upgrades for the A7 that we got clues to in spy shots from back in January. The single-frame grille has been subtly reworked along with the lower front fascia and headlilghts. Those bulbs are underlined by a new design for the LED DRLs, and - in Europe - they can be had with Matrix Beam LEDs that come with dynamic turn signals. Out back is a tweaked bumper, as well as new exhaust tips and taillights with an LED pattern that mimics the front lights.
Cockpit inhabitants get new surface treatments like the aluminum and Beaufort walnut inlays, Valcona leather and five possible colors for the seats. The company's MMI Navigation Plus with MMI Touch is fitted with an Nvidia chip for faster graphics processing, and LTE-enabled internet connectivity is standard.
Up front, the 3.0-liter bi-turbo TDI gets a power boost to 320 horsepower and is attached to an eight-speed transmission; a seven-speed S tronic transmission is paired to the rest of the line. The revised 3.0-liter V6 TDI recently discussed at the Vienna Motor Symposium also joins the lineup, here offered in both the 272-hp and 218-hp variants, that latter "ultra" version said to return 50 US miles per gallon.

Audi Prologue Avant puts new styling focus on wagons

As much as we loved the Audi Prologue Concept that debuted late last year at the LA Auto Show – and, suffice it to say, we liked the first Prologue a lot – this new Prologue Avant from the German automaker may just rock our socks that much further off our feet. We have very little by way of actual, concrete details on what's under the angular wagon-shaped skin of the Prologue Avant, but we'd be perfectly content if it kept the previous two-door's 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 in place underhood, augmented as it was when it was again shown at CES last month with a hybrid-assist system that put total system horsepower at 677, along with a meaty 701 pound-feet of torque. With all that power routed to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission, the 0-60 time of just 3.5 seconds strikes us as plenty quick. The powertrain details hardly seem the point of this new concept from Audi, in any case. Clearly, the big deal is the new bodywork, which builds upon the beautiful foundation of the original Prologue coupe with an elongated wagon shell and three additional doors (two rear doors and a rear hatch). The attractive body sits low to the ground on exaggerated 22-inch wheels, according to Auto Express. We note high-tech lighting elements front and rear and a modified front fascia with a bit more brightwork than the previous version. Assuming there's a bit of future reality baked into the Prologue Avant – which we believe is likely, considering that the coupe we salivated over in LA was said to point the way forward for the brand – it's safe to say we're in eager anticipation of the next several years at Audi. Have a good look at the images that have so far been released, and feel free to let us know what you think. We're sure Audi is interested in hearing your opinions, too. Related Video: News Source: Audi via Auto Express Design/Style Geneva Motor Show Audi Wagon Concept Cars Future Vehicles Hybrid Luxury Performance 2015 Geneva Motor Show

Audi tops Consumer Reports' brand rankings while Tesla leads domestics at eighth

Tesla supplanted General Motors' Buick division as the top-ranked US automaker in Consumer Reports annual brand rankings, though the electric-vehicle maker finished eighth among global automakers. Buick had finished atop CR's domestic car-brand list for three years before Tesla leapfrogged it. Scores were calculated from a combination of performance, owner satisfaction, and reliability. CR noted that Buick scored big on reliability but not so high on performance, while Tesla appeared to present the opposite case. Volkswagen's Audi division repeated as the best overall brand for the second straight year, beating out VW's Porsche unit, BMW, Toyota's Lexus division, and Subaru. Kia and Mazda followed those brands, while Honda finished ninth, between Tesla and Buick. Consumer Reports took results from 31 brands. Reliability issues related to the Toyota Tacoma helped drop that Japanese automaker out of the top 10. Take a look at CR's results for its Annual Brand Report Card here. That Tesla, Audi, and Porsche placed so high is topical, given some of the issues plaguing those automakers. Audi, Porsche, and their parent VW have been coping with the effects of the diesel-emissions scandal that broke back in 2015. The scandal has cost Europe's largest automaker billions of dollars, and forced VW to put a stop-sale on diesel-powered cars in the US in late 2015. And while the Tesla Model S improved from the "worse-than-average" label CR gave it in its 2015 Annual Auto Reliability Survey, the problematic falcon-wing doors on the Tesla Model X SUV pulled that model's reliability scores lower last year. Additionally, the Model X's climate-control system and door locks have also caused issues. Toyota and Lexus finished atop CR's reliability rankings last year. Related Video: