[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by DuHasstMich

Off-topic - But would be interesting to have a similar thread for Volvo as well, with extra-ordinary safety features and feature packed Sedans/SUVs, would love to see how our members feel about Volvo.
The only grouse I have with them is limited model lineup.

They used to be a fantastic alternative, offering "full option" cars with all the features that bmw/benz wouldn't offer in India. But sadly, they killed off their diesel model. Also being FWD biased and along with their limited dealership network and massive price hikes with no real facelifts or model changes in the past 7 years, it isn't attractive anymore.

[Asoon]

Voted No,
Audi feels like 1.3x of VW / Skoda
- Engine options, platform, gearbox shared with brands which are a segment or two lower [this is a large dent on the brand image]
- In general also, their products driving appeal and the premium feel of BMW & MERC
- They are perceived bland because they lack champion product (S-Class for Merc, 3 Series / M Series for BMW, G-Wagon for Merc, X6 for BMW)
- Only product of their's which was able to create a strong impact in the space is Q7 (which I feel is Innova for the premium class, again not a champion/ flagship product feel)

[careind]

I would say NO.
I am sticking to the indian market here.

This is a forum for enthusiasts and we talk in terms of Cubic capacity of engines, the torque et.al. and so wouldn't represent the way of thinking of rich/super rich in terms of luxury.
With the explosion of higher disposable income with the middle class, the bar for luxury has also been raised to higher levels.
Those who are being chauffeured around would be more worried about exclusivity, creature comforts than size of the engines or the torque or Value for Money.

Benz has been around since before I was born and has always been perceived as THE ultimate status symbol. That perception is hard wired and would take at least another 2 generations to change.

Audi has had good sales years before with discounted price that has made more cattle-class ( us salaried ones) people afford one on the lower spectrums because of the true VFM that it offers, thus diluting the brand image.

I truly believe most luxury products follow conspicuous consumption combined with Veblen effect, in terms of value ( and not the absolute money spent ) . In that sense, an A6 at 80L may give more VFM but would not be that much conspicuous because it looks like an elongated A4 ( pardon the blasphemy ) and looses out on the exclusivity.
A C-class is over priced and hence would not be preferred by VFM buyers which by itself would qualify it for the veblen effect due to its exaggerated value.

Especially post covid, I think Audi went the VFM route continuing with the discounts and features onboard whereas both BMW and Merc had gone the other way to further isolate themselves with the Veblen effect and conspicuous consumption.

Now we have a truly entry level "luxury" product of X1 and GLA with puny 1.3/1.5L engines selling at 60/65L apiece. But the actual serious luxury offers are well beyond the reach of aspirational buyers. But Audi has diluted this by giving "true" luxury products which then ceases being aspirational/exclusive.

That is probably the reason why I see more Audis in my company parking lot, rather than BMW/Mercs

[gb97ce6]

What I have seen recently is that the old money, that is, families who were wealthy long time ago are currently not buying Audi cars. The industrialist, the hospital owner, the mill owner, the land baron etc etc are not seen in Audis. They are buying other brands , merc, bmw, volvo etc

The hospital owner comes in a Merc …and the doctor who works there drives an Audi. And this perception matters a lot. Why because the truly rich decide the luxury market and the perception. And what they are willing to pay is what the brands charge! It does not matter if Audi is almost as good as the other two.
What the rich guy drives around is noticed by all the new money aspirants like auditors, lawyers, professionals and others down the ladder who want to be there or nearly there. Their next best option is Audi. So in terms of perception and luxury quotient Audi is just not there ..at the moment.

[B747fan]

I voted for yes.

Audi, BMW and Mercedes are all considered to be part of the Big 3. Even though Audi has seen a decline in sales, I would still not consider it out of the race. Sure it has to catch up in terms of sales, but that doesn't mean it isn't behind in other ways.

In terms of styling, I find Audi to be on the same level as Mercedes, and better than BMW(personal take). In terms of performance, sure Audi lacks RWD sedans as others have mentioned, but Audi makes up for that with its SUVs. I find the Q3 as a better product than the X1(space+engine) and even the GLA in terms of space. The 2.0 I4 engines are a work-horse and don't have any major issues with them, and as they serve in a wide range of VW group cars(this dilutes the exclusivity a bit, but performance doesn't let you down), they are easily serviceable, and also offer tuning.

The major issue is lack of diesels, as the luxury segment is still majorly diesel-driven. I know someone who had a 2015 Q7(since sold, had 193k+ on ODO as of late 2022), who is unable to decide on a new luxury car(currently driving a Kia Carnival) as he wants an Audi but it has to be a diesel due to high-running, and would buy a diesel if they ever launch it again. He was offered a TD GLS for 1CR a year ago but rejected it as he only wanted an Audi.

The Sedans are very value-for-money, and I know someone who has replaced a Mercedes sedan (2010 E-Class) with an Audi sedan (2023 A4) just because it was more vfm, but also more comfortable than what Merc was offering in the same price range (A200 vs A4). The A6 is also very vfm in the segment dominated by the E-Class right now. One can get an A6 for C-Class money, and enjoy a car that is a segment higher. If the A6 was offered with a Quattro variant, I personally would've gone for it as a replacement to my 2010 E-Class as well, but for now I haven't made a final decision yet.

Climbing up the ladder, we do see Audi lagging behind in the higher priced segment (Q7 is more of a GLE competitor than GLS, and the Q8 is too small to be a GLS competitor). Although the A8 is a very worthy competitor for the S-Class and the BMW 7 Series, sure the latter has more tech, but A8 looks classier. The S and RS line also have better engines than what AMG is offering in similar price range (S5 vs C43 AMG, and even the RS5 is accessible if one is willing to pay slightly more).

(I know my answer is not covering BMW and mainly covering Mercedes vs Audi, as I don't like BMW and I am a Merc loyalist, but if I ever had to move to a different luxury car brand, it would be either an Audi or a Range Rover if buying a new car, if we add used cars to the mix, then Lexus and even a few models of BMW can be considered, but it is very unlikely to happen.)

[ruskinash]

It's interesting to read all the comments, as the title of this thread is open ended.

1. Engineering
2. Brand perception
3. Design
4. Quality
5. Value- for- money
6. Cost of ownership

Different strokes for different folks!

[DivyanshuDiv]

Voted - NO
Lots of parts/platform/tech sharing across VW group's models and brands(Tiagun, Tiguan, Q3 - all have similar looking interior design language), and same segment projected models somehow looks a tad bit less expensive than Beamers and Mercs.

[samik_jonak]

I voted yes.

I have driven most of the modern German cars and it's amazing how Audi manages to design timeless cars. Unlike their German rivals, their electric cars look classy.

I don't know about the Indian market but here in the US, they are priced the same. Back in 2021 when I was in the market for a new car, I test-drove GLA, X1, Q3, Stelvio, and XC40 and liked the Q3 45 TFSI the most.

I often think what my upgrade will be and I regularly drive new cars. I look forward to the new S5 and S7. Audi makes some of the most beautiful cars at the moment.

[Lux_Noob]

Voted yes (disclaimer - also an owner of Q3).

Before I bought the Q3, I considered Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Volvo. As a layperson and someone who only had owned Honda/Hyundai before and had been drooling about these cars for a long time, I had no difference in my luxury perception of these brands. My personal styling (exterior) preference was with Audi/BMW as I find Merc to be very “chauffeur driven Seth-ji” oriented (kidding, no offence to anyone) while the former are more youthful and sporty, in my opinion. The only time I heard of Audi being popular amongst the German trio largely due to discounts was when I discovered this forum (that I didn't get the famous bumper discounts is another story ).

Apart from Q3 and its segment competition, I only test drove the A6/A4 and sat in the 3 series/C - class while visiting the showrooms. Q3/A4 definitely felt less attractive on the interior aspect compared to competition but I believe it is a function of product life stage. Am sure if the new A4/Q3 will be launched, they will have a superior feel compared to what BMW/Merc have today in their respective segments. A6, on the hand, felt as luxury as luxury could be in its segment.

Now having owned and test driven the competition in the Q3 segment, I am somewhat surprised by the above average car IQ of this forum which relatively pans Audi on things like premium quotient compared to the other 2. Keeping power figures aside, just drive the Q3 and see the engine refinement, butter smooth gear shifts, NVH levels, ride quality, AWD and solid build quality. It is superior to what BMW/Merc offer here. Luxury brands have to get their core car basics right first to hold their noses high. Wireless apple CarPlay will be much appreciated but at the end of the day these are still gimmicky features.

Just because a Tiguan (which I have not driven) offers close value does not make Audi worse than the other 2, it just means Tiguan is a great car (if truly close to Audi).
Separately, I do find the Audi discount strategy weird (though great for consumers). Imagine if they just reduced discounts by 50% and instead offered all the small little gimmicky features people get in top end Kia seltos, where would the sales numbers be? And as someone pointed out, Audi sales numbers should only be compared to the petrol/EV sales of ther brands given they don’t offer diesel, to be fair.

[TheARUN]

No

How do I put it, BMW and Mercedes are not higher end versions of common man brands. AUDI is the premium version of Volkswagen. Same with Lexus and Toyota, Acura and Honda, Infiniti and Nissan etc.

[anandhsub]

Voted wrongly on the poll as I mistook buying an Audi over BMW or Merc for brand value.

I would love to buy an Audi, and would look at a preowned A6 or Q5 as a natural VFM upgrade from my Octavia than an A/C class or x1/x3, but it is value for money precisely because it doesn't have anywhere close to the brand value of Merc or BMW

[brraj]

If i have to consider audis it has to give us Q5/A6/A4 3ltr tfsi or have performance diesel options like others.

[JVH]

A few months ago I would have voted for a big No. A recent drive in an A5 in SFO bay area changed my perception. Am now a proud owner of an S5. Such an amazing car and such raw power. Do note that I own a Merc and BMW too although they are quite old now. Cheers!

[Genie]

I would say the brand perception depends on when you started your journey and how one has related to with the brands in terms of the cars they offered.
For example, my starting impression about Merc was when they made over engineered cars and how I loved the brand and its styling and the easy feel of driving. It’s been very long since they moved away from that philosophy and design too.

BMW (for ex. 545i) to me meant precise steering and sporty driving.
Audi was somewhere in between.

But over the years drawing a line between them considering the above aspects has become difficult with all offering a mix of driving feel, luxury etc. across the range. I want to make a mention that BMW for ex. with the puny engines they offer across a range in India don't deserve to be called BMWs anymore. In general, in India higher price point gives bragging rights even if it means paying through your nose for the snob value.

(Genuine enthusiasts please excuse).

[blrautobahn]

I vote yes as a two-time owner of Audi Cars some 18 years apart!