Audi's business model really seems to work. Part of the vast Volkswagen Group, the company can purchase components at "volume" rates and sell its cars at premium prices.
VW is vying for world No 1 position ahead of General Motors and Toyota. Audi wants to be the number one premium car brand and the Allroad is part of that picture.
Most car companies now have a parallel range of SUVs alongside their saloons, hatches and estates. Increasingly, such SUVs have MPV-like 7-seat interiors and are some way from being out and out offroad dual-purpose vehicles with a transfer box and high/low ratio gears.
VW is vying for world No 1 position ahead of General Motors and Toyota. Audi wants to be the number one premium car brand and the Allroad is part of that picture.
Most car companies now have a parallel range of SUVs alongside their saloons, hatches and estates. Increasingly, such SUVs have MPV-like 7-seat interiors and are some way from being out and out offroad dual-purpose vehicles with a transfer box and high/low ratio gears.
The latest A6 Allroad arrived here in the spring of 2012 following the previous year's new A6. Even the most basic 4x4 system will transform a normal car's ability and Quattro versions of both saloon and Avant are offered. (There is also an A4 Allroad along the same lines which was revised recently)
The Allroad concept is a niche within a niche - an estate which sits higher and has a little more about it but is not an in-your-face SUV. Volvo's XC70 is probably the closest any other car maker comes to the Audi and Subaru has been ploughing this furrow for quite a while, if at a lower-price point.
The new A6 Allroad has all the Quattro virtues - mechanical self-locking centre differential and Sport Diff to vary the drive between the rear wheels in the quest for greater grip. Ground clearance is usefully improved and there are protective body panels and cladding both above and below the "waterline".
The car's electronics (ABS braking and ESP stability control particularly) have been adapted for snow, sand or mud and the odd off-tarmac foray. Hill-Descent Control is here and slope angle display too. Adjustable air-suspension plays a useful part and drive can vary from normal on-road 40/60 front/rear to 20/80 or 60/40 at the "drop of a cog".
Mercedes and BMW have 4WD versions of their saloons and estates but, apart from BMW's X5 hatch-like SUV crossover, Audi's Allroad is the only premium SUVlike estate. Fit and finish are, as expected, impeccable (interior especially) and the subtle "added value" of the Allroad gives the car a distinctly exclusive feel. Buying into this classy "old money" motoring world does not come cheap.
Asking prices range from £43,465 for the 3.0 V6 TDI 204 PS entry model to £49,760 for the 3.0 TDI 313. However, the mid-range 245 PS version will attract most buyers, at £45,005. Both 204 and 245 PS engines come with 7 speed S tronic dual-clutch automatic transmission; 313PS is 8 speed Tiptronic auto - manual gearbox not offered. A petrol model in the price list - but unlikely to be in demand - is the 3.0 TFSI 310.
VERDICT: Audi's ability to tackle such a niche sector so authoritatively is evidence of the real "critical mass" now behind the marque. Quattro technology lends the larger Audis a distinct dynamic poise which the FWD variants lack when compared to Mercedes' and BMW's finely honed rear wheel drive layouts. Long lists of optional extras can make the final purchase very, very expensive. But this Audi shows once again that what counts is "...not (necessarily) what you do but the way that you do it".
FACTS AND FIGURES:
Audi A6 Allroad 3.0 TDI Quattro 245PS S tronic
Max speed 147mph
0-62mph 6.6 seconds
Official combined cycle mpg 44.8mpg
On test 33-37mpg
CO2-165g/km (Road Tax £170)
Insurance group 36
Braked trailer max 500kg
By Huw Thomas
First published in Welsh Farmer, the newspaper of the Farmers' Union of Wales.
The Allroad concept is a niche within a niche - an estate which sits higher and has a little more about it but is not an in-your-face SUV. Volvo's XC70 is probably the closest any other car maker comes to the Audi and Subaru has been ploughing this furrow for quite a while, if at a lower-price point.
The new A6 Allroad has all the Quattro virtues - mechanical self-locking centre differential and Sport Diff to vary the drive between the rear wheels in the quest for greater grip. Ground clearance is usefully improved and there are protective body panels and cladding both above and below the "waterline".
The car's electronics (ABS braking and ESP stability control particularly) have been adapted for snow, sand or mud and the odd off-tarmac foray. Hill-Descent Control is here and slope angle display too. Adjustable air-suspension plays a useful part and drive can vary from normal on-road 40/60 front/rear to 20/80 or 60/40 at the "drop of a cog".
Mercedes and BMW have 4WD versions of their saloons and estates but, apart from BMW's X5 hatch-like SUV crossover, Audi's Allroad is the only premium SUVlike estate. Fit and finish are, as expected, impeccable (interior especially) and the subtle "added value" of the Allroad gives the car a distinctly exclusive feel. Buying into this classy "old money" motoring world does not come cheap.
Asking prices range from £43,465 for the 3.0 V6 TDI 204 PS entry model to £49,760 for the 3.0 TDI 313. However, the mid-range 245 PS version will attract most buyers, at £45,005. Both 204 and 245 PS engines come with 7 speed S tronic dual-clutch automatic transmission; 313PS is 8 speed Tiptronic auto - manual gearbox not offered. A petrol model in the price list - but unlikely to be in demand - is the 3.0 TFSI 310.
VERDICT: Audi's ability to tackle such a niche sector so authoritatively is evidence of the real "critical mass" now behind the marque. Quattro technology lends the larger Audis a distinct dynamic poise which the FWD variants lack when compared to Mercedes' and BMW's finely honed rear wheel drive layouts. Long lists of optional extras can make the final purchase very, very expensive. But this Audi shows once again that what counts is "...not (necessarily) what you do but the way that you do it".
FACTS AND FIGURES:
Audi A6 Allroad 3.0 TDI Quattro 245PS S tronic
Max speed 147mph
0-62mph 6.6 seconds
Official combined cycle mpg 44.8mpg
On test 33-37mpg
CO2-165g/km (Road Tax £170)
Insurance group 36
Braked trailer max 500kg
By Huw Thomas
First published in Welsh Farmer, the newspaper of the Farmers' Union of Wales.
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