Audi A6 Allroad review: “the perfect multi-tool of a car”

Well what have we got here?

The fifth generation of the Allroad brand, this time with more of everything that makes the Allroad the perfect multi-tool of a car. May have spoiled the ending there. Sorry.

But this time the A6 Allroad gets some serious gear – and it’s 110mm wider than the standard A6, so looks a bit like an off-road RS6. This is the stuff dreams are made of. Tracks are swollen by 74mm over the base car, and it sits 34mm higher in ambient driving mode than the last pumped-up variant, with 55mm of suspension change available from the standard air suspension.

The wheelarches make the point, but it’s a seriously chunky Audi – though the 21-inch wheels look a bit vulnerable, so the perfect spec would probably be 19-inch steels (19-inch alloys are an option, so they’ll clear the brakes) with more aggressive tyres. Sorry, going a bit off-topic.

Talk me through the exterior changes.

Well, widebody. So that’s the first impression. The grille is massive and features Allroad-specific hexagon-ish shapes, the side inlet vents reaching almost all the way up to the LED headlights from the chin of the bumper. So quite an aggressive front end. The front wheelarch gets a functional anterior vent, and the embossed side skirts are, again, bespoke to the Allroad.

Wheels run from 19s to 21s, and the rear arch is chunky, wrapping around to a neat rear with A6 lights and twin exhausts. It’s from the back where you really see the extra width – mostly held in the shoulder. Good-looking without being too showy, very technical in feel, faintly insectile from the front. The A6 is already a decent-looking car, but the Allroad has a bit more character. This is a good thing. 

So what engines and transmissions can you get?

Currently two versions in the UK: a 3.0-litre TDI with mild-hybrid bits (MHEV+) and a 2.0-litre TFSI (petrol) e-hybrid. The diesel gets 295bhp and 428lb ft if you round up, the TFSI 364bhp/280lb ft. So the diesel is actually a tiny bit faster surfing that torque; 0-62mph at 5.4 seconds, with the petrol car taking 5.5.

But the e-hybrid manages (a theoretical) 117.7mpg, with the diesel 47.9. And that e-power also has an EV-only range of up to 63 miles while the battery in the MHEV+ only really allows you to pull into/out of parking spaces on silent power. So there are advantages for the complicated e-hybrid, while the diesel feels more brawny and possibly appropriate for the look. 

Both get a seven-speed ’S-tronic’ gearbox and quattro ‘ultra’ all-wheel drive, which consists of a couple of extra clutches in the transmission that can disengage the rear axle negating the 4x4 drag inefficiencies. Though don’t worry – the system isn’t just reactive when it senses slip, it’s also slightly proactive: it figures out driving style, mode and conditions to pre-load when you need it. Clever stuff.

What’s the interior like?

It’s an A6. An 11.9-inch driver’s display (cockpit plus), framed with a 14.9-inch touchscreen to the left of that. There’s an optional 10.9-inch passenger display (still not discovered anyone that uses one regularly), a steering wheel that’s flat at both ends of the… er… circle. A lot of the gear is optional or part of a specific trim level, but the basics of wireless charging, 10-speaker stereo, decent materials for the upholstery, climate control and the rest are all present and correct.

There are many airbags, though no heated steering wheel as standard. There’s a panoramic roof with switchable opacity (£2,400), sports seat with massage (£4,715) and things like the Tech Pack for £2,695 that includes the B&O premium sound system, head-up display, ‘Ambient lighting pro’ (not sure what that actually is), and hopped-up USB interfaces. Metallic paint is £775, but to be honest, you have to dig around the trims and figure out what has what before adding anything else.

Walk-ups are the usual; bigger wheels, nicer leathers, selectable finishes and more autonomous ADAS (programmable and trainable parking, extra surround-view cameras, that sort of thing). The Matrix LED headlights are definitely worth having; they actually work. And that’s not a given with all manufacturers. 

As far as practicality goes, there’s a 466-litre boot (1,497-litres with the back seats folded) and it’ll tow 2.5 tonnes if you spec the tow-bar kit. So largely just a normal estate car. Though the e-hybrid gets less bootspace (404 litres) thanks to the extra tech fitment.

The only letdown is really that this is ‘just’ an A6. There’s no nod to the Allroad’s broader dynamic remit, and it might have been nice to see some more thought – so more interesting materials or elements that would make this feel a bit more rufty-tufty from the inside. 

What about the actual driving?

All Allroads get rear-wheel steering as standard, so the moment you pull out of a parking space, it actually feels more nimble than the bulky profile might suggest. Five degrees counter to the front wheels up to 37mph trims the kerb-to-kerb by a metre: after that, it’s steering the same way as the fronts to aid stability.

And it is stable. In fact, the Allroad is really quite surprisingly rapid down a bumpy road. The UK isn’t lacking in that department, so in the real world, the brawny diesel’s lazy but consistent torque makes the Allroad devour ground with an easy lope. Body control is fabulous, the brakes are progressive and hardy and there’s lots of grip. No, it’s not a sportscar, but as mentioned, for real-world living, it’s probably more appropriate than a more ‘sporty’ car that spends half the time skipping on a badly-surfaced road. It’s ace.

Body control is fabulous, the brakes are progressive and hardy and there’s lots of grip

There are also modes, as you might expect. ‘Balanced’ mode is what you get every time the A6 Allroad is switched on, and that does the middle ground thing; the ‘Dynamic’ mode (or when speed exceeds 75mph) lowers the suspension by 20mm below normal to maximise ‘stability and control’; then in ‘Offroad’ mode ground clearance is increased by 15mm above normal with tweaks to the damper settings, and ‘Offroad+’ messes with the traction control parameters to allow more slip, locks up the diff with more vim and allows for higher shift points from the seven-speed S-tronic ‘box.

And there’s an extra-height mode above Offroad+ that can lift the body another 20mm up to speeds of 21mph. Saying that, in ‘Vorsprung’ specs, there’s also an Audi ‘drive select assistant’ that’ll decide the best mode for the prevailing conditions.

How much does it cost?

Well, an A6 Allroad with the V6 TDI (the cheapest possible engine), starts at £69,720. For that you get enough kit without feeling too sparse, but press people don’t get to play with base-spec cars much. A Vorsprung gets all of the kit you need plus some you don’t, but runs to £81,520, with the car we actually drove specced to over £90k including some tasty options. Be careful of over-guilding this Audi Lilly – it’s easy to do.

The TFSI e-hybrid Black Edition is £72,145 on-the-road, with the Vorsprung version listing at £83,945. Realistically, the most Allroady option is the brawny diesel, but the e-hybrid has a place. So it’s not cheap, but runs roughly £8-10k cheaper than the equivalent 2027 Audi Q7 with the same motor. But saying that, you probably won’t need a second car. Ever.

Your verdict is probably quite obvious at this point…

The Audi A6 Allroad is just one of those cars that makes sense, because the breadth of ability is obvious. It’ll handle the odd farm track, remain composed on brutally rubbish UK B-roads, and carry people and stuff in comfort. It might be a bit aggressive to look at, but no worse than a giant SUV (hello Q7), and it’s got a lovely interior, decent spec and plenty of tech. In terms of whatever mission statement Audi was projecting, it nails it.