Wednesday 5th June 2019

Don't want an SUV? Get a new A6 Allroad

Fourth gen off-road A6 gets choice of V6 diesels, standard air suspension and chunky towing capacity

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Don't say it too loudly, but you'll find one or two fans of the Allroad Audis in the PH office. Why? Because they possess all the off-road ability that will ever be required - certainly as much as the average SUV buyer uses - enveloped in a handsome Avant body. They're regular, desirable estates, just made a little more rugged. What's not to like?

Audi has been making the A6 Allroad for 20 years now, clearly fans in the late 1990s of what Volvo had done with the XC70. Still going strong, the Allroad has now been launched in its fourth generation, and will be available to order from August.

The same key differentiators return versus the regular A6: standard air suspension, standard all-wheel drive, increased ground clearance and a more rough and ready look. It's an overhaul that's always suited the cars quite well, and nothing's changed here - Audi says the "special body attachments emphasise the most rugged Avant's capabilities and aluminium-look underbody cladding provides additional protection." In the UK, a Sport or Vorsprung Allroad will be offered, with the latter replacing those aluminium accents with black details.

The standard ground clearance is 139mm; a lift mode raising it another 30mm below 50mph and 45mm below 22mph. It also lowers 15mm from standard at motorway speeds above 74mph. There's standard hill descent control as well, to help get whatever you've towed - up to 2,500kg - to wherever you need it to go.

The engines will help with lugging loads around, UK buyers having the choice between a pair of V6 diesels using mild hybrid technology. The 45 TDI makes 231hp and 369lb ft, the 50 TDI boosting those figures to 286hp and 457lb ft. Both will do 155mph, should that matter, and all-wheel steer is standard on the Vorsprung model.

Otherwise it's as you were for the A6 Avant - certainly no bad thing if our experience of the S6 is anything to go by. UK Allroad buyers will have 11 colours to choose from - including Gavial Green, unique to this car, which evokes the original Allroad - and three interior colours of black, pearl beige and okapi brown - perfect. Prices are expected to start from £55k for the standard 231hp car, with the higher spec and more powerful engine naturally set to cost more. For less than half that, however, this 2014 Allroad presents a strong case - especially with more than 300hp...

 

[steveb8189]

Always find it amusing manufactures set the car up for European motorways. So this lowers the suspension at 74mph? I'm sure that's good when the speed limit is 120 kph but why not set it a little lower for the UK specification?

Same with the boxter deploying the spoiler at 75mph

[Dave Hedgehog]

'Get a new A6 Allroad' - not with the awful giant front grill, thanks but i will pass

[Jimbo.]

Tailoring the car for their biggest market? Not deploying spoilers, lowering ride height etc until they make a difference (and not before, at which point they’re just drag)?

[Sheepshanks]

steveb8189 said:

Always find it amusing manufactures set the car up for European motorways. So this lowers the suspension at 74mph? I'm sure that's good when the speed limit is 120 kph but why not set it a little lower for the UK specification?

Same with the boxter deploying the spoiler at 75mph

My daughter's SEAT Ateca raises the headlights at 68MPH.

Edited by Sheepshanks on Wednesday 5th June 16:55

[Shakermaker]

smart, an older A6 Allroad is on my list of potential purchases to replace my Superb

Skoda have done their own version of this now as well, with the upcoming Superb Scout, which will of course only offer Skoda's range of 2.0 four-cylinder engines but I suspect will be £15-20k cheaper.

[Mammasaid]

So max ground clearance of 169mm, i.e. just over 6 1/2 inches?

So it ain't going places my V90CC (215mm) will...

[belleair302]

Strong money when compared to a Subaru if I was doing some mild cross field driving on 'school sports day' stuff. Good styling but I like the Volvo more even if not such a great drive.

[Shakermaker]

Mammasaid said:

So max ground clearance of 169mm, i.e. just over 6 1/2 inches?

So it ain't going places my V90CC (215mm) will...

139 + 45 at under 22mph apparently, so 184mm, so still an inch less than you V90

[Fish]

My A$ Allroad is excellent and has performed off road brilliantly, mainly due to weight the Discos with their own gravity field normally get stuck..

Please can I have airsuspension on the A$4 when you bring it out.. A6 is tooo big.

[Richard-vcdkn]

When I lived in the US for a few years I owned one of the original allroads, 2.7T with air suspension.

The suspension was a reliability nightmare, with leaking airbags and worn out pumps.

After replacing two bags and the air pump (worn out compensating for leaks) I gave up and bought a conversion kit to take it to conventional coil suspension.

The next gen after that dropped the air suspension, I am surprised it's making a comeback.

Apparently the issue with the airbags was down to road grit getting between the exposed folds in the rubber and just rubbing holes in the bellows.

Hopefully they have fixed this design flaw.

[Motormatt]

I've always liked these, great do it all machine.

[RobM77]

Mammasaid said:

So max ground clearance of 169mm, i.e. just over 6 1/2 inches?

So it ain't going places my V90CC (215mm) will...

If ground clearance is what you need, then no, it won't. As the article's title hints though, many people end up with an SUV for other reasons, such as towing capacity, so it's nice to have a high towing capacity in a car that doesn't carry the numerous and significant disadvantages of a high ride height.

[Tubbycharged]

Shakermaker said:

smart, an older A6 Allroad is on my list of potential purchases to replace my Superb

Skoda have done their own version of this now as well, with the upcoming Superb Scout, which will of course only offer Skoda's range of 2.0 four-cylinder engines but I suspect will be £15-20k cheaper.

JFYI the Skoda I believe will not have the air suspension system that allows the raising and lowering of the ride height and is so key to how these perform. I also believe, though am somewhat hazy on the details that the A6 Allroad has a more robust/advanced Quattro system over and above other VAG products (eg A4 Allroad, Skoda Scout etc) - but I am sure others more knowledgeable than me can confirm.

I have had two of these A6 Allroads over the years as second/family cars (C6 and C7 models) and they are fantastic on slippery muddy tracks/across fields and beaches, as well as very comfortable motorway cruisers. The air suspension is key to this. They are less good and quite 'boat-like' in cities however.

[ducnick]

The clue is in the name-all road
6.5 in ground clearance should be fine for most U.K. A roads. Obviously if you live in one of the more pot holed areas of our British towns it won’t be sufficient. Won’t sell many in Northampton I suspect

[dimots]

If they did this as a Petrol or EV I might be tempted.

[Fipster]

dimots said:

If they did this as a Petrol or EV I might be tempted.

Yep, I really hoped for a decent petrol option too. I was convinced that was why it had been delayed. Oh well.

[numtumfutunch]

Holy Memory Lane Batman!!

At the height of the financial meltdown I was torn between a TDV8 RR Sport and a petrol V8 Allroad for a bit less

I bought the RRS and ran it for almost 8y for only modest financial ruin until it was about to need a ££££ air suspension rebuild

My Allroad itch remains unscratched but I have no tame indies nearby for when warranties expire and Im not that brave to budget for a similar suspension rebuild from Audi UK

And they don't do a V8 anymore

Cheers

[Roger Irrelevant]

Mammasaid said:

So max ground clearance of 169mm, i.e. just over 6 1/2 inches?

So it ain't going places my V90CC (215mm) will...

Though I am a big fan of rufty-tufty estates this is what puts me off Allroads (and a lot of the other manufacturers' equivalents for that matter) - the ground clearance on a lot of them isn't actually that good, and I find that ground clearance is more useful than the 4WD much of the time. Obviously I'm in a tiny minority that does actually use their car off-road regularly and for which this will actually matter but it's a shame as I would otherwise really like an Allroad. I should also stress that it's not a shame to Audi as I'd never spend £50k on a new one only to hammer it along forest/shooting tracks every weekend!

[legless]

I like these.

I've had two of the C7 allroads in the past - a 3.0 204PS diesel and a 3.0 313ps BiTDI diesel. The 204PS one always felt a bit lacking (even if it did sound OK), but the BiTDI was incredible, and in many ways was one of my favourite cars to date.

Of all of the A6 range, it's the best motorway hack. The ride is uncharacteristically lovely. I'll look forward to trying this new C8 version one day.

[GTEYE]

In the last picture particularly the wheels look comically large, possibly the black arches make them look more so.

Gives it a rather Hot Wheels stance,

Here in Germany, small wheels rule - this is a rather British trend. Here an M Sport/S Line/AMG line is a rare sight - it’s SE spec all the way...