What’s the ideal company car like? A vehicle that has high fuel efficiency, low CO2 emissions which means less taxes and the best long-term quality. The Audi A6 fit these characteristics with perfection; add to that the fact that the Audi A6 is the most reliable business sedan and viola: the ideal company car.

The Audi A6 long-term quality and reliability has been confirmed for the second year in a row by the Faults Report 2010 published by the inspection company DEKRA. Audi’s business sedan was awarded the title “Best of all Classes” with a score of 88.1%.

DEKRA Faults Report awards the models with the lowest fault rate over a high mileage, thus rewarding high long-term quality. Besides the fact that this special evaluation is an excellent marketing for the question in question, but also provides buyers with an important purchase guide.

For the first time DEKRA is also awarding cars with the lowest fault rate overall. With 97.3% the Audi A4 came second grabbing another accolade for the Ingolstadt carmakers.

Earlier this year the Audi A6 also landed the top spot in the ADAC breakdown statistics in the prestigious field of the “Upper Midsize/Full-Size” segment, reassuring even further the A6’s long term quality.

To make it even more tempting for companies, Audi offers exclusive finance options, Audi A6 leasing and contract hire options.

As an Audi dealer we are a bit suspicious of affirming that the Audi A6 is the ideal company car. So why not share your thoughts and opinions with us? Is the Audi A6 the ideal Audi company car?

Female car purchasers are on the rise, with worldwide sales figures rising year after year. Without a doubt, the female voice within the auto industry is stronger than ever. That said; an award of worldwide significance defined exclusively by women and their relationships with cars, has been long overdue.

Up until now the auto industry has never seen an award with a judging team of only women. Over the past year, eight female motoring writers from around the world have tested 21 cars from the short list.

These awards had four main categories: Women’s World Family Car of the Year, World Sports Car of the Year, World Economy Car of the Year and World Luxury Car of the Year.

The judging criterion was nice and simple: judges are asked to vote according to the criteria women utilise when buying a car. Thus safety, value-for-money, aesthetic appearance, storage space, child–friendliness, ease-of-driving, colour, sex appeal and environmental footprint are all categories the judges will be analysing.

Audi had two models listed among the 21 selected vehicles. The Audi A6 was competing in the luxury car category where it came second while the Audi TTS was named Women’s World Sports Car of the Year after beating some high calibre competitors.

Certificates will be awarded to individual category winners and to the supreme winner early in 2010. The certificates have been designed by Bob Child of graphic design company Peartree Studios in Colerne, Somerset, England.

Vorsprung Durch Technik means “progress through technology” and a literal translation would be ‘advancement through technology’. This strapline has been used by Audi since the 80’s to highlight the company reputation for technical expertise.

Progress through technology has not only been Audi’s ad strapline but has also been the company’ working philosophy since its creation back in 1909. Since then, Audi has contributed to a number of milestones for the auto industry.

Over the past decade, Audi has revolutionised the auto industry with a number of technological advancements that prove performance and efficiency can be combined without sacrificing one or the other.

When Audi’s engineers develop a new technology, they have only one thing in mind: increase vehicle efficiency without sacrificing performance – hence Audi Space Frame and the ultra-precise S-tronic transmission.

ASF (Audi Space Frame) is an innovative way to build a vehicle’s body with a lightweight high-strength aluminium frame that gives a car outstanding safety, excellent performance and phenomenal efficiency, while the S-tronic transmission – with its shorter gear changes increase fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions – combines the agility and responsiveness of a manual gearbox with the convenience of an Automatic.

With the TDI engines, Audi simply redefined the diesel engine; with its unique common rail system for more efficiency and power delivering better performance along with a 15% reduction in fuel consumption while the TFSI engines where the first to combine petrol direct injection and turbocharging to provide greater power with reduced fuel consumption.

On the new TDIe engines, the ‘e’ stands for efficient. These engines are without a doubt the most efficient diesel engines in the world and it’s already on the roads running models such as the Audi A6 2.0 TDIe and the Audi A4 2.0 TDIe (with remarkable CO2 emissions of only 139g/km, resulting in an annual road tax of just £120 and a competitive 18% company car tax rating).

Audi is cleaning up the premium sector with its highly efficient models. The new Audi A3 1.6 TDI has the lowest CO2 emissions in its class with just 109g/km. For Audi, good efficiency means low emissions and low emissions means cheaper road tax, making the A3 range one of the best choices for a company car. Add that to the Audi contract hire and leasing options you can potentially save thousands of pound each year.

One of Audi’s most innovative and economy focused technologies is the Recuperation Technology, which recycles the energy used to brake to lighten the engine’s load reducing fuel consumption by up to 3%. Already making the difference in models like the new Audi A8 and the next gen of Audi A3s.

As you can see, Audi follow the “Vorsprung Durch Technik” strapline from the design to the quality inspection process each vehicle goes through. Such attention to detail coupled with a genuine environmental concern has earned Audi a series of awards over the years. The most recent high-profile accolade going to the Audi A3, which has been named 2009 Green Car of the Year by the Green Car Journal. Another massive award coming from What Car? Magazine, who have given the title of “Most efficient luxury car” to the A8 2.8 FSI.

Now its time for you to have your say about Audi highly efficient models, if you had to choose which Audi model would you crown the most Highly Efficient of them all?

What a year this has been for Audi. In the year of its 100th anniversary, the German automaker won an array of accolades and this week; with four more being added to the collection.

First one comes from Wards magazine and wardsauto.com, for the fourth consecutive year. Audi’s 2.0 TFSI turbocharged engine came first on Ward’s 10 Best Engines, considered by many as the “Oscars” of automotive engine awards.

The award honours the engine’s excellence, taking in consideration a series of factors like efficiency and technological innovations. Audi AG’s new generation of 2.0-litre TFSI turbocharged 4 cylinder engines had little trouble in winning this years awards thanks to small but highly effective innovations including an optimised turbocharger; variable exhaust-valve-lift technology; revised electronic controls; a lower compression ratio (9.6:1 vs. 10.3:1) and refined internal components.

Meanwhile, down under in Australia Audi celebrate a triple triumph at the 2009 Australian Best Car Awards. The Audi Q5 3.0 TDI was named “Best Luxury 4WD” while the Audi TTs TFSI won for the second in the “Best Luxury Sports Car” category and the trifecta was completed with the Audi A6 Sedan 3.0 TFSI Quattro claiming the title of Best Luxury Car.

Audi couldn’t ask for a better year to celebrate its 100 years of car making history, and what a year it has been for the Ingolstadt Company so far. Awards of all sorts, special marquees at renowned auto shows like the Goodwood festival of Speed and the Frankfurt Auto Show, not the mention the introduction of highly efficient engines, new models and ultra-innovative concept cars.

Last week, Audi just added two new accolades to its collection, the first comes from the biggest internet poll in the automotive industry, the online auto portal “AutoScout24″ conducted its 8th Internet Auto Award and guess what, Audi achieved an amazing total of four first places.

The Audi A3 defended its title in compact class and finished top for the second year in a row, while the Audi A4 reigned in the midsize class. In the upper midsize class the Audi A6 knocked down some tough competition to finish first and last but not least the Audi R8 topped the sports cars and coupe category.

The Autoscout24 poll is aimed to find Europe’s most popular cars, the voting was carried out in several languages, voter could choose from 331 vehicles in 9 categories and over 250,000 votes were computed.

Meanwhile the assembly line for the Audi A3 and Audi A3 Sportback won the Automotive Lean Production Award for streamed line production processes and exemplary excellence via efficient and economical approaches.

If you want to find out what is Audi’s secret to such a highly efficient assembly line don’t miss our next post were we’ll look into detail at the Audi A3 assembly process.

As Peter Kössler, Plant Manager at the Audi Ingolstadt site said:

“Today’s state of the art is only temporary – tomorrow we will be even better.”

The Audi A6 is one of the more understated car models of the brand and this following review decribes it very nicely.

A lovely review of the Audi A6 quattro:

“It’s a bit of a wolf in sheep’s clothing, the Audi A6 3.0 T quattro. Here you have a tidy, well-finished, mid-sized sedan of slightly conservative appearance doing a claimed 5.9sec sprint to 100km/h.

I’m not going to say much about the Audi’s interior at this point. Suffice to say it’s class-leading in most respects – that’s not news. The roominess of the A6 makes it even more pleasant. Leg, head and elbow room are all ample and comfort levels speak for themselves.”

For full specifications of the executive Audi A6’s available here at Audi Nationwide please visit the website.

Next month, Audi celebrates its 100th anniversary. The celebrations started back in January when Audi became Germany’s favourite premium brand and will go on throughout the year.

To prove Audi’s success in Germany, the Audi A4 Salon is the top selling premium salon, its big brother the Audi A6 also reigns in its segment while the Audi TT was crowned Germany’s best selling sports car and on top of all that, does a 13th consecutive year record growth say anything?

To mark this special birthday, Audi prepared an Events Calendar to celebrate its 100th anniversary with events spread out throughout the year.

To praise Audi’s 100th anniversary we prepared a collection of new wallpapers with some classic models from Audi and the extinguished Auto Union, right now you can download the wallpaper of the 1939 Auto Union Type D, also available is the Audi Q5 Custom Concept wallpaper and many more, visit our Audi Downloads page and choose your favourite Audi Model.

From now till the big day on the 16th of July, the exact date Audi will turn 100 years old, we’ll be uploading more wallpapers for you to download, so stay tuned here at Audi Nationwide’s Blog for more.

Audi has one the most complete fleet of vehicles, from the sportive Audi A3 hatchbacks to the ultra luxurious Audi A8 saloons, to help you choose an Audi Company Car that best suit your company, we at Audi Nationwide compiled a list of Audi’s best models to ease your decision process.

Audi A3 – Everyday Luxury

The Audi A3 is a model with endless options from Cabriolets to Hatchbacks, the A3 has all the practical benefits of a sports car together with advanced technologies and the classic refinement from Audi. Its design combines the muscularity of a sports car with the practicality of a hatchback and flared panels help deliver sporty driving dynamics and looks.

Audi A3 Leasing for Company Cars and Audi A3 Specifications

Audi A4 – Evolution

The new Audi A4 is beautifully built and flawlessly engineered. The Audi A4 Saloon boasts modern, ultra-stylish looks and advanced technology. Audi’s traditions of perfect performance, luxurious interiors and high safety levels are all here. Satisfying to own and drive, it’s clear why the Audi A4 Saloon sits proudly at the top of its class.

Audi A4 Leasing for Company Cars and Audi A4 Specifications

Audi A5 – Intelligent

The New Audi A5 is special from the first sight of it; the first time you accelerate the first corner and the first long journey. For this special feeling there are now three very special Audis: the new Audi A5, its Sporty big brother, the Audi S5 and the recently launched Audi A5 and Audi S5 Cabriolet.

Audi A5 Leasing for Company Cars and Audi A5 Specifications

Audi A6 – Executive

The Audi A6 offers unrivalled beauty, power and cutting edge technology. In all areas, from styling, performance and handling to value, safety and environmental responsibility, it simply excels. Superior technology and refinement make the Audi A6 one of the most desirable models in the prestige market.

Audi A6 Leasing for Company Cars and Audi A6 Specifications

We want to hear from you, out of these four Audi Models which is your favourite or the one the best suits your company’s needs? Leave your thoughts in our comments section and don’t forget to check back for next week’s post

The premium quality of an Audi car also pays off for their consumers when it comes to insurance costs.

The German Insurance Association GDV has again given the entire Audi model range especially favorable ratings in the full-coverage category.

The best ratings went to Audi models A3, Audi TT, A6 and A8, which received the most economical insurance classifications in the premium segment. But most of the engine versions of the other Audi models also achieved especially economical ratings.

Audi customers save a lot compared to owners of competing cars, because Audi cars are usually rated one to two categories cheaper. Over 80% of the 129 different versions offered in total by Audi have the best full-coverage rating compared with their premium competitors.

The owner’s driving style is not the only factor when it comes to the insurance rating. The intelligent design of the car, which ensures optimal crash characteristics, is also important.

After all, the less damage done to a car, the less that will have to be paid out in terms of insurance costs.

The German Car Blog give a very positive review of the Audi A6.

They say of the A6: ‘Subjectively, the new cars are even better-looking; the new engines more powerful but less thirsty (Audi says down by an average of 15% across the range), the driving experience up a notch and the suspension “more refined” and the cabin “more user-friendly”.’

‘The best of the new A6 range is the 3.0 TFSI with its new supercharged (yes, it’s still badged ‘T’ for turbo, but now uses supercharging) V6. The 2995cc unit has a mechanical supercharger with two intercoolers to produce 213kW from 4850-6800rpm and 420Nm from 2500-4850rpm.’

What more could you want?!!