Audi A6 Allroad quattro 3.0 TDI

 

Our rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Make

Audi

Family

A6

Series

4G MY13

Year

2012

Badge Description

allroad S-Tronic Quattro

Doors

4

Pros

• Effortless performance
• Useful dirt-road capability
• Comfy ride

Cons

• Expensive
• Not an off-roader
• Mediocre handling

In an era when no automotive niche is too small to fill it seems there's a car out there for anyone. Not everyone, for instance, is after a large luxury station wagon that isn't quite an SUV yet has useful dirt-road hardware such as all-wheel-drive and height-adjustable suspension, and comes with bulk pulling power from a diesel engine instead of petrol horsepower.
But those for whom this sounds like the perfect vehicle – and who have around $120,000 to part with – will make a beeline for the new Audi A6 Allroad. Based on the Avant (or wagon) version of Audi's second-largest sedan, this is the third version of the Allroad in a lineage stretching back to 2001.
As before, you get supple air suspension that can be raised to clear obstacles, a strong V6 diesel engine and plenty of luxury gear, but not the height and bulk of a traditional SUV. Only 150 examples are coming to Australia, but experience has shown there are enough buyers out there who reckon this is just the ticket.

Price and equipment

The current A6 Avant is quite a large wagon and at 4940 millimetres in length the Allroad version takes up its share of road space. Visually, it can be differentiated from other A6 wagons by the grey-painted lower body sections, steel bash plates integrated into front and rear bumpers, increased ground clearance and flattened tail pipes for the exhaust.

It costs $117,900, a good deal more than four-cylinder (diesel or petrol) versions of the Avant, or from a different perspective, $27,000 more than the Q7 SUV with the same 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine.

Standard equipment includes 20-inch alloy wheels, eight airbags, and importantly for a vehicle with off-road aspirations, air suspension that can be raised to increase ground clearance and is adjustable for combinations of comfortable ride or stiffer handling.

Under the bonnet

Audi's 3.0-litre V6 diesel has the kind of grunt usually associated with a big V8 but with much less of a fuel consumption penalty. OK, the power output of 180kW might not be in the same realm as a decent petrol V6 but as with any diesel it's the torque (or pulling power) figure that's the one to look for. And with 580Nm from a low 1750rpm, the A6 Allroad pulls like a locomotive.

So performance is effortless whether the driver is tooling around the suburbs or cruising through the countryside; squeeze the throttle and it simply goes. The transmission is a dual-clutch automated manual which can give the occasional pause and even a jerky moment at low speeds but on the whole it's a good combination of acceleration and comfort.

Audi's so-called Drive Select menu can sharpen up the throttle response, or dull it to improve fuel consumption. On that front, there's also a stop-start idle system for city driving which operates quite smoothly.

The upshot is an official fuel consumption figure of 6.3 L/100km, with about 8.5 L/100km more realistically achievable in a combined city and country loop. For such a big car that's pretty good, with the usual caveats of higher diesel fuel prices and the cost of the Allroad itself.

How it drives

The owner's handbook warns that this is not an off-road vehicle and it'd be a brave person indeed to risk all those expensive panels on a rock-hopping or desert-crossing expedition. But the combination of diesel grunt, a compliant ride, extra ground clearance if needed and all-wheel-drive mean this is one wagon very much at home on dirt roads and rough tracks.

That goes for most SUVs as well, of course, so what's the attraction of the A6 Allroad? Possibly that you get car-like handling and manoeuvrability as well, which the Allroad can accomplish provided that one of the more dynamic modes of suspension and steering effort is selected. It certainly has lots of grip from those big tyres, even if the steering feels a bit numb.

On softer suspension settings the ride quality is beautifully supple but handling suffers with too much body movement and a lack of compunction to turn smartly into corners. It's almost like Audi's quest to achieve an SUV-like driving experience has led to an inclusion of dynamic inaccuracies as well.

Comfort and practicality

For this sort of money you'd expect plenty of luxury and the A6 Allroad doesn't disappoint. Leather-trimmed and heated powered seats, keyless entry and ignition (with fingerprint recognition), dual-zone climate control, auto wipers and headlights and sat-nav for the large info screen are all included.

The interior design and quality are up to Audi's usual peerless standards and from the driver's seat there's plenty of information delivered clearly and concisely via the instrument panel displays, and the centre console screen operated by a menu dial ahead of the centre armrest. Storage for oddments is good but not voluminous (a couple of cupholders, a shallow central bin) and the driving position is multi-adjustable for the perfect position.

In the back there's sufficient legroom and width for three passengers, or with two on board the centre armrest has extra cupholders.

The cargo area has a powered tailgate and the roller blind is also motorised. There are aircraft-style adjustable tie-down points and handles to flop the rear seat forward, and while available space is quite good the sloping tailgate doesn't leave as much room for bulky objects as a traditional, squared-off wagon tail.