New Audi A6 Allroad: classic jacked-up estate returns to tempt SUV lovers
“The new A6 Allroad conquers any terrain,” says Audi, but will it conquer SUV buyers too?
SUVs continue to sell in huge numbers and while that’s meant jacked-up estates such as the Mercedes E-Class All-Terrain, Volvo V90 Cross Country and Skoda Octavia Scout have bitten the dust in the UK, Audi has decided now is the right time to bring out a new edition of its rugged executive estate, the A6 Allroad.
This is the fifth generation of the model and it follows a series of high-rise estates that first hit the market in 1999. Like its predecessors, the new Audi A6 Allroad comes with beefier styling cues to go with uprated off-road performance and a V6 diesel engine – but for the first time, a plug-in hybrid petrol edition is available too.
While previous A6 Allroads have had wheelarch extensions, the new model gets a wide bodykit - giving us a very good idea of how the upcoming RS 6 super-estate will look. The Allroad’s body is 110mm wider than a standard A6 Avant’s, with 19-inch wheels as standard and 20-inch or 21-inch rims available as options if you want to fill out those extended wheelarches a bit more.
With an adaptive air suspension set-up that’s bespoke to the Allroad, it sits 34mm higher than a standard A6 Avant. There’s also a 55mm adjustment range for the ride height with ‘offroad’ and ‘offroad+’ driving modes, offering “a wide spectrum of off-road capabilities as well as a dynamic and comfortable driving experience on the road”, according to Audi.
In the event the jacked-up ride can’t save you from a grass verge, rocks or whatever else you may find off road, the A6 Allroad comes with underbody protection at the front and rear plus new side skirts to match the bulkier front and rear bumpers. All the underside protective panels are finished in black - in either high-gloss or matte paint. There are seven metallic options for the main body colour, with ‘Plateau Grey’ joined by silver, brown, green, blue, black and white – with ‘Arkona white’ as a base colour.
Alongside the lifted suspension there’s rear-wheel steering, which Audi says “improves manoeuvrability and agility at low speeds”. The rear wheels can turn up to five degrees in the opposite direction to the fronts, plus they can turn in the same direction up to two degrees to increase stability at higher speed. According to Audi, the overall steering feel is better too, thanks to stiffer control arm bushings, a more rigidly bolted steering rack and extra camber on the front wheels.
Like every Audi Allroad in the past, the new model comes with a ‘quattro’ all-wheel drive system, which ensures “optimal power delivery on any terrain”, says Audi.
The powertrains include a turbocharged three-litre V6 diesel engine with mild-hybrid technology: a belt alternator starter and a powertrain generator as well as an electric-powered compressor. Together they produce 295bhp and 580Nm of torque allowing for a 5.4-second 0-62mph time and a 155mph top speed.
The plug-in hybrid model uses a two-litre four-cylinder petrol engine paired with an electric motor for a total of 362bhp and 500Nm of torque. However, despite the extra power, the PHEV is slower than the diesel from 0-62mph by 0.1 seconds, probably because of the extra weight of its plug-in hybrid set-up.
What its chunky 25.9kWh battery also means is that there’s an impressive all-electric range: 59 miles, according to WLTP testing. That’s only four miles off the standard, more aerodynamic A6 Avant e-hybrid. Like that car, the Allroad has a maximum 11kW charge rate, meaning a full top-up will take 2.5 hours.
The previous A6 Allroad was launched in 2019, but removed from sale in the UK only three years later after it accounted for less than half the number of RS 6 models sold.
UK pricing for the new A6 Allroad hasn’t been revealed yet, but in Germany the V6 diesel will start from 77,250 Euros (around £66,000) while the plug-in hybrid will start from 80,250 Euros (around £69,000). We expect the A6 Allroad go on sale in the UK later this year.
You can find some tempting used Audi A6 Allroads on the Auto Express Find A Car service with prices starting from under £9,000.
