First Drive: Audi A4 Allroad

The last time Audi South Africa introduced an Allroad version of its Avant was with the A6 in 2001, which was discontinued after three years. Audi is expecting their A4 Allroad to find a modest 220 takers as it tests the South African appetite for its newest offering, writes Richard Webb.

Audi introduced their first A4 Allroad into Europe in 2009. What you see here is the freshly launched local model, which whilst brand-new here, had already arrived in Europe back in November 2011. Why so late to the party? Audi South Africa delayed importing the A4 Allroad until it could guarantee competitive pricing. They worked hard to land the Allroad 2.0T FSI quattro® S tronic at R433 000, a sticker price that will tempt some out of their SUVs. The 2.0 TDI powered allroad costs just R5 000 more, at R438 000, including all taxes and the standard 5-year/100 000km Audi Freeway Plan.  That marginal price differentiation may encourage some buyers out of their current unleaded fixation.

Audi reckons their car will compete with the Subaru Forester and Volvo XC60 and looks to be decent value against the competition. It could be a rewarding buy, particularly for those who live a sporting lifestyle, like kayaking and MTB’ing. Rear seats in use, it holds a 490-litre payload, fold them flat and it musters a mighty 1 430-litres of luggage space. An optional electromechanical rear tailgate is available and access is good.

Can the Allroad help make estates sexy again though? It’s unlikely, because unlike the Europeans, South Africans don’t ‘do’ estates. I personally don’t fully understand why that is, but since the Allroad is not intended to be a volume seller here, it is happy to sit quietly between the Q3 and Q5 in Audi’s ever growing line up.

So what makes it different to the normal A4 Avant?  The sheet-metal is pretty much the same as the current A4 Avant and benefits from the same fuel saving and cosmetic fettling that the A4 range got in 2012. The luxury German carmaker made changes to the bonnet and grille, with more angular headlights framed by a continuous band of white LED lights. At the hatchback end, it gets new lights and bumpers.

The A4 Allroad’s updated interior is good looking and well laid out, while the revised MMI (Multi-Media Interface) system is easier to use, with fewer buttons. Audi Connect, provides a dedicated wireless data connection and Google map overlays on the navigation screen. It’s very useful and surprisingly accurate.

You have two 4-cylinder options to choose from:  the 130 kW 2.0 TDI, which develops 380 Nm; or a 155 kW 2.0T FSI, which punches out 350 Nm of torque. I tried both the petrol and the diesel on the test route with the diesel engine standing out for its smooth and refined sweep to the red line with a real low-down flexibility. A claimed 6.0 l/100km helps it to make a strong case for itself.

The 2.0T FSI petrol unit returns a claimed 7.3 l/100km, aided by the automatic engine stop/start and energy recuperation system, which is standard on both models. Nicely placed shift paddles behind the sports steering wheel make taking control of the 8-speed Tiptronic transmission a breeze, however, the ‘box’ is so well sorted, it seems pointless interfering, especially in the diesel.

A 180 mm raised ride height and additional under body protection means the A4 Allroad is a capable on or off-road companion.  On the recent launch, I found this permanent all-wheel drive car to be exemplary whilst being driven at unfeasibly quick speeds over muddy, corrugated dust roads on the test route near Hermanus.

Try as I might to induce some understeer, oversteer, or lurid four wheel drifts, anything that could offer up some white knuckle experience to upset my co-driver, it refused to scare anyone. Nothing, other than a subliminal sense that the quattro® magic was working with ORD (that’s the clever, standard ESP off-road detection system) to do its thing quietly and efficiently underneath the stainless steel under body guards. Rally champion Hannu Mikkola, who campaigned the Quattro A1 would have approved.

Google ‘Ride quality’ and ‘Audi’ and you are rewarded with about 2 140 000 results (in 0.29 seconds) and many of those results will speak of a less than glowing opinion of Audi’s ride quality. I was ready to begin whingeing about how my fillings were falling out as it deals with pot-holes and cats-eyes, but the car rode smoothly, only feeling unsettled on some of the more significant craters in the road.

Audi are not accustomed to making many mistakes and they have carefully thought about the reception that this car will get and how many numbers they will sell. The package seems to make enough sense for 220 takers, but I believe it doubtful as to whether it will tempt swathes of SUV buyers out of their default purchase.

All models feature a 1-year/unlimited km warranty and 5-year/100 000 km service plan.

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