Faults:

Only one fault on the vehicle, which was a sensor on the brakes which flashed up a brake fault on the DIS display.. when the vehicle had been left overnight replaced under warranty (dealer lent me an A5 3.0 TDi whilst it was fixed.. nice!)

Apparently a common fault.

Otherwise completely faultless.

General Comments:

The 3.0 TDi engine is amazing.. simple.. the torque is incredible and the economy superb for such a big lump with four wheel drive. I regularly get 45 mpg on my commute, which is 40 miles mix of country roads and motorway into city.

Tyres make a huge difference, Dunlops on from factory; I replaced them with Michelin Pilots.. transformed it.

Quattro handling.. what can I say, I'll never go back to a front wheel drive..

S-line spec makes the car.. factory sat nav upgraded for free by dealer to latest spec with traffic messaging.

Went 19600 miles before needed service.. pricey but..

Faults:

The mice seem to like eating the electrical wiring in the car.

The gas door lock gets out of alignment easily.

The driver window stuck down in a rain storm.

The Ignition coils rusted.

The O2 sensor went out.

Oil pressure sensor went out.

The right headlight had a wiring short.

The trunk latch stopped working.

The window washer reservoir will not hold fluid.

General Comments:

I love my car, but I HATE that it is in the shop so much.

I wish that there was a happy median that I can find with my car and the shop. It would not be so bad if the shop that I had to take it to did not take 4 days to do an oil change. They are very slow, even when you have a scheduled appointment.

I think that all the problems that I have with mine are unique to my car. I am thinking about selling it and getting a new one, a Q7. I hope that they are better.

Faults:

So far so good, no problems with the car so far. Don't like how the heated seats stay on since they are manual. Have to remember to turn them off for next time I start the car. The mechanism to open the sun roof seems a little sketchy to me, plastic wheel and all, but hasn't broken yet!

General Comments:

I have truly enjoyed this car in the last few months since I bought it. I have always wanted an Audi, and I am definitely looking forward to seeing how it handles in the winter. Before purchasing, I took it into my mechanic who specializes in foreign cars, and he couldn't recommend an Audi more - in fact, he even owns one. Can't beat that. Didn't know if I would like the 1.8 engine, at times is a little slow in 1st gear, but you start to feel quite a bit of power once in 2nd gear. Other than some blind spots, I think the car is great. The interior is well done, the body of the 2005 looks expensive and sporty.

Faults:

Remote locking failed. Apparently a common fault, being affected by mobile telephones. Required firmware upgrade and 2 days off the road.

Auto-opening boot unreliable. Dealer unable to fault.

Squeak from driver's seat.

Nearside headlamp badly affected by condensation. Renewed under warranty.

General Comments:

It's not all bad. The engine is phenomenal - it will pull strongly in 6th gear and returns tolerably good economy. The boot is huge. The interior light package is very nice. The Bose stereo is good. People admire it, and it's not a BMW.

On the down side, the climate control is unconvincing - never really seeming to do very much about significant discrepancies between external and internal temperature.

There is no MP3 or DAB stereo option (Vorsprung Durch Techik, anyone?).

There are more (i.e., some) cockpit squeaks and rattles than I'd have expected from Audi. I HATE squeaks and rattles in a car. And the interior design is rather sombre (black and silver), although I acknowledge that this is a matter of personal taste.

Most annoyingly, my dealer tends to return the car saying that it's working perfectly only for a defect to recur, sometimes within minutes. This is very vexing indeed. My A4 has been off the road for, I think, 5 days in the first year of ownership for warranty attention to relatively minor faults, many of which have recurred.

In summary, I miss my Alfa Romeo 147. The dealers were no better than Audi, but there was more of a sense of joy about the car. If only I'd been able to put the A4 engine in it...