Italian cars are as good as any these days; reliability is probably better than for most as is rust protection...we drive a Lancia and a Fiat and they run like clockwork...ok, the fit and finsih is not of Audi standard (apart for the Thesis which is probably superior) but then why pay thousands more for something that is irrelevant to every day living with a car...and how boring Audis look...ahhh....