Audi A4 Allroad Review

The A4 Avant is Audi’s popular estate car that received practical and protective styling cues to turn it into the A4 allroad back in 2009. With the second generation now launched, does it appeal to buyers wanting an estate but with the practicality of an SUV? We took it on the roads around Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire to find out.

There is a good selection of engines to choose from, a 2.0 TFSI petrol producing 252PS, a 2.0 TDI diesel with 190PS and a 3.0 TDI available with 218PS or 272PS. We drove the latter version, which for the first time sees an 8-speed transmission available on the model and has an increase of 27PS over the previous generation engine with 600Nm of torque available. This gives the driver an electronically limited top speed of 155mph and a class leading 0-62mph time of just 5.5 seconds. Unfortunately, it’s only the petrol engine which benefits from their new quattro on-demand all-wheel-drive with ultra technology at the moment.

With drive select available to change the characteristics of the car, a quick flick of the button sees it changed to off-road mode and the A4 allroad is more than capable on rough terrain. Even though Audi’s latest quattro technology is on the 2.0 TFSI 252PS version and not the model we were driving, it got through some gravelly lanes and fields with some ease - the light, responsive steering giving you confidence with the solid ride keeping it on the straight and narrow. With 34mm of extra ground clearance over the previous model, there is also the option for adaptive suspension with damper control, but be prepared to pay nearly £1,000 for that. The model also benefits from an off-road detection system which will adjust the electronic stability control aiding with traction.

Having driven the new quattro with ultra technology, which seamlessly switches from four wheel-drive to all wheel-drive and improves efficiency it’s definitely worth considering if you go for the A4 allroad.

The 3.0 TDI isn’t the quietest of engines, it did tend to whine at low speeds and there is a bit of wind noise. Will it put people off buying it? Not really, it’s not too intrusive and to be expected really, but the engine works better at higher, cruising speeds when cabin noise is kept to a minimum.

The cabin is very much Audi, it’s sleek, modern and packed with technology but are their latest models all starting to show no real identity?

The driver has everything at their fingertips, the sporty steering wheel incorporates functions for the multi-media system and there is a sharp, 7-inch colour screen which shows car information, media, navigation and phone connectivity.

The 3-zone climate control sits in the middle of the centre stack and is easy to operate, with other standard equipment available including, cruise control, DAB radio and LED daytime running lights, while options on the Audi A4 allroad include the virtual cockpit display (seriously, no Audi model should be without it), front sports seats, a cool, LED interior lighting package and a head up display.

Options can mount up though and our test car had over £15,000 worth on it. That does get slightly ridiculous when it’s just an A4 avant in disguise.

As expected there is plenty of space in the A4 allroad, front passengers have plenty of legroom with drinks holders and cubby holes for storage, while the rear passengers have just enough head and legroom, comfortably sitting four adults.

The class-leading boot is really good at 505-litres which can be increased to 1510-litres with seats folded, and little additions like a powered boot lid and an electric load area cover make it geared to be practical.

The optional panoramic sunroof is definitely a good choice if you want it to feel light and airy, but it will add £1,250 onto the price. Blimey.

Priced from £36,010 it is more than the rival Volvo V60 Cross Country which costs from £30,445 and even though the standard Audi A4 avant is extremely popular as an estate car, does this have the edge for people wanting something a bit more rugged, and would any owner actually take it off-road? It does make you wonder.

With combined MPG figures ranging from 42 to 57 for the 2.0 TDI 190PS, which is class-leading, CO2 emissions are as low as 128g/km for that engine, so it falls into tax band D and will cost £110 annually.

It’s available to order now with first deliveries of the model in September.

Quality is always of a high standard in an Audi, the aluminium trim inserts feel tough and long lasting, as do the other plastics used around the cabin. It is a solidly built car, it has to be if you do want to use it as an off-roader.

It’s so disappointing to currently see Audi struggling in reliability and customer satisfaction surveys when they are such a premium brand, and although there has never been any major issues with the A4 Avant any niggles can end up being costly to fix.

The Audi A4 allroad has never been rated in the Euro NCAP tests but the A4 scored the maximum five stars in the test in 2015.

It comes with six airbags, rear parking sensors, their intuitive pre-sense city safety system which will help to avoid collisions at slower traffic speeds, a seatbelt monitoring and tyre pressure warning system. Options include adaptive cruise control, parking assist, which will steer the car into a space for you, collision avoidance and rather strangely, not coming as standard for an off-roader is hill hold assist.