Audi Allroad or A4 estate – whats the difference?

Yes, to comply with the stereotypes of this site I am an Audi driver, but I dont work in IT.

Currently driving a 3 door A3 but thinking about upgrading later in the year to a 5 door A4 estate, as planning to have kids at some point in the near future.

Anyway, as the title suggests, whats the difference between the Allroad and an A4 estate, does the Allroad have higher ground clearance, and is only really for farmer types? Assuming the Allroad is 4WD/Quattro as standard?

Depending on how tall you are and the likely height of your kids I would avoid the A4 estate as it is a bit tiny in the back – espeically if you are of the taller persuasion and like a relaxed driving position.

Allroad has a higher ground clearance and 4WD but don't know that it's necessarily much better off road.

In a moment someone will be along to tell you to get a Skoda if we are to fulfill the standard car pot requirements…

BTW, I'd get a Passat to fit the baby stuff in easier…

isn't the allroad based on the A6, therefore larger than the A4?

Organic – Allroad (based on the bigger A6) is always AWD, the "normal" A4 is either FWD or AWD depending on the model (powerful ones are AWD). And they are All Wheel Drive not Four Wheel Drive (being a bit picky!)

Allroad is slightly raised and has protective body panels/bash guards. No good for full on off roading but decent for light stuff (bumpy tracks, a bit of mud, etc).

The A4 depends on what model – I find the low powered FWD models a waste of money – a Passat does the job just as well as does a Skoda Octavia. The more powerful models are decent though – well made, fairly good handling and they are lovely to sit in. Boot is pretty small for an estate but still handy and room in the back is tight bit still not bad.

I would say look at the 3 series touring (bit bigger in the back, better on fuel, etc) but they are DIRE off road – or even on wet grass!

current allroad is a4 based Surf-mat a6 one ended production last year

old a6 one was a fantastic car and suprisingly capable off road, used to work for an Audi dealership and we had a demo day on a course set up by landrover guys, even they had to admit it was better than a lot of more conventional offroaders

Pretty well all Audis are a bit dull to drive, and the Allroad will be even duller, being jacked up. Seems like a silly compromise to me as any normal car will do slightly bumpy tracks, and for anything more you need a 4×4.

The new A4 have fantastic interiors, are well built, reasonably spacious and are not bad to drive. The 4WD is Haldex clutch "on demand" so not full time – definitely do not get a front wheel drive only model.

As oldgit said, you should look at the Passat as well – same floorpan, build quality as good, and cheaper

With the A6 allroad check the price for suspension repair as this is a relatively common gripe, also, fuel economy isnt that good. Other than that nice cars

a4 isn't haldex, that's only a3 and tt

Don't Audi alternate between the A4 and A6 chassis for things like the Allroad and RS every couple of years?

Get an RS6!!

Passats are also nice and cheap 2nd hand since no-one wants such a dull low-grade rep looking car. Of course, that doesn't make them any less great of a car 🙂

At least, this is true of saloons.. seems that people who buy them themselves go for estates.

Slightly off-roaded/raised normal cars are great for people who have to drive a lot for work but still need access to sites that are a bit of a challenge for normal cars. I know a forest manager who used to have a normal car, but it got thoroughly trashed by off-roading it.. he then had a big pickup truck but that was a chore on all the road miles.

The passat is based on an A6 platform, the golf estate is the equivalent to the A4. Also I recently saw a Seat Exeo which is identical to the last A4.

Used to have a diesel 2004 A4 estate 2wd, nice car, but the sport suspension was 'firm'. Recently had a new A4 estate as a courtesy car, very nice but front wheel drive and over 200bhp isn't a good mix when putting your fot down hard, it was lively drive.

I'd buy another but I would have a quattro version if I was getting one of the more powerful engines (>200bhp)

Original Allroad was only available in the A6 Avant body style. I've got one (Feb 2002 model). Very pleased with it, though it's not cheap on the rare occasion anything goes wrong with it.

New Allroad comes in A4 Avant and A6 Avant styles. Main difference is size (obviously) and the A6 still has the ride height adjustment air suspension (A4 suspension is fixed height). Both have Quattro permanent 4-wheel drive.

If looking at the A4 (not the Allroad version), the SEAT equivalent is worth a look as it's basically the previous model A4.

Mate had an Allroad. He liked it but it was proper thirsty – he's got an XC90 now and thinks it's pretty economical!
Fairly complicated suspension that was correspondingly expensive to fix and ultimately was the cause of it being part ex'd.
Funniest bit was when it had a problem with leaking suspension [air] spheres (or something – he chucked some stans goo into the sphere and it fixed it straight away. Used it like that for over 12 months before he changed cars 🙂

Just had a problem with my Allroad suspension leaking air (was fixed yesterday actually). Cost £600 to replace a strut. Would've preferred not having that expense, but it is an 8 year old car with 89k on the clock, and other than an accelerator chip that went wrong 3 or 4 years ago, nothing else has gone wrong with it before.

a4 isn't haldex, that's only a3 and tt

You are right – you learn something every day

The passat is based on an A6 platform, the golf estate is the equivalent to the A4

Not correct, although I was wrong as well. The latest Passat is based on the Golf MK V platform, and both are unrelated to the current A4.

Anyway, the current A4 estate is still a nice but boring car with a good amount of space, and the Passat is just as big, slightly more boring, cheaper, and probably as well built.

An Allroad doesn't do anything for anyone except adding cost and poorer dynamics, unless you are driving forest tracks every day

Any benefit in staying with the A3 and going for a 5 door quattro?

For some reason I dont like the look of the 5 door A3's as much though.

Should also mention I want a diesel quattro.

Just had a problem with my Allroad suspension leaking air (was fixed yesterday actually)

That's what happened to my mate……. Stans to the rescue. He's thinking of buying a load, changing the labels and selling it to Allroad owners 🙂

A 4×4 version will get much less mpg. Will drive more pants than a standard Audi A4.

CaptainMainwaring – Member
An Allroad doesn't do anything for anyone except adding cost and poorer dynamics, unless you are driving forest tracks every day

Mine's got the 7 seat option, so it has better dynamics than a people carrier and is less expensive to own/run than a 7 seat SUV.

I wouldn't buy another Allroad though as it no longer has the 7 seat option. Next family car will probably be an X5 with third row seating.

Problem with Passats is that the nice entertainment/satnav system is ludicrously expensive to spec from new, so there are very few around with it. It's nice, but not £1800 nice…

Do Audis have the same problem?

Last Thursday we picked up our new A4 Avant after we sold the wifes 3 year old CTR, we had similar requirements to you and have driven just about all the current crop of estates. For us the A4 was just a cut above everything else, plus we went with the quattro package for added stability. The new chassis feels a really nice platform.

I test drove the Allroad and just didn't like the feel or style. We test drove a Passat and it was ok but we felt the slightly lower price wasn't really worth it enough to go that way over the A4.

When I asked Audi about the AWD giving lower MPG they stated that Audi themselves give the same MPG figures for the FWD and AWD models so they reckon the AWD doesn't give less mph!?!

And yes, the satnav is very expensive, we opted not to go for the satnav but went with the upgraded entertainment system instead.

whats the difference between AWD and 4WD? aren't they just the same thing?

Similar with i-drive on BMWs – silly priced option and in BMWs case, pretty hateful too. People recommend extending warranties if you have i-drive but no need to worry without it. Hmmm….

I think Audi and VW have better systems but almost £2k is very very silly.

Warton – AWD means the amount of drive to the front or back wheels varies – with some systems (many Haldex ones) a car is totally FWD in "normal" use and then varies that ratio when pressing on. 4WD is generally a fixed mechanical system as used on many off roaders, rally reps like Imprezas and some of the top end performance cars like the 911 Turbo. The amount of drive to the front and back wheels is usually the same at all times.

aah ok, so with an audi the quattro model would be the equivalent of 4WD?

Warton – yes indeed (the original Quattro) but modern Audis are a confusing mix of both AWD and 4WD! Generally the fastish ones are AWD, the really fast ones are 4WD.

is this an excercise in guessing?

could people identify their post with "know" or "guess" so the bolx can be easily filtered?

@organic355 – I've got a 5 door A3 quattro (3.2). One of the factors that swayed me was the AWD element because I need to be mobile in bad weather for one of my jobs. All I can say is that it gets places a 3L 3 series doesn't (direct comparison) when there's ice and snow around, but that's about it. It's not great in purely 4×4 terms but you do get a bit better traction when it's slippery. That said, a 1L Polo with thin tyres would probably do better in snow. When the weather's really bad, I use a higher ground clearance 4×4 and there's no comparison. The main benefit I see in the AWD is that it gets me off the line when on a wet hill start junction. It's a great car and I love it. I know what others mean about "Audi drivers" though. People watching at the dealership can be interesting while waiting to collect my car after service and serves mainly to reinforce the impression you get when being tailgated on the motorway by some. We're not all like that though……..

Got an A4 Quattro (7 years old), and really appreciated the 4WD during some winters, especially the recent one.

Would agree about the rear having less space than one might hope, and it was fine for one child and associated paraphernalia on three hour/four hour trips to visit family, but if you have any more, you might prefer a bit more space.
Incidentally, my sis looked at an A6 for an improvement, but it offered little in the way of more space, and ended up with a Volvo V70 instead (two weans and a dug).
A mate has a Mondeo estate, and that's got a huge amount of room in the back.

Allroads are great looking cars, IMO, but dunno if they're worth the extra dosh for what you get.

happy shopping

Subaru Legacy or Outback.

Much better.

Circa 1200 quid to fix the self levelling suspension on the Allroad, it's a common failure. Worth the cost of keeping a warranty.

http://cars.uk.msn.com/features/photos.aspx?cp-documentid=151736872&page=20

A4 estate same size as golf estate. A6 or Passat estate is the one to go for. Or what about a Touran with normal suspension. Bike will fit in the back no problem.

I like the Allroad. It looks 'right'.

The problem with the A4 estate is spotting higher miler/business owner that have had the clock massaged.

Classy 🙂

Legacy's are great too.

…from the point of view of carrying small kids, the A4 Avant I had was the worst car I have ever owned from the point of view of having children puking in the back. Pretty much any journey off motorway produced churning little tums and vile effusions. Just a thought to bear in mind when you choose your upholstery.

(The boot is surprisingly small too, damn annoying when you get to the 'small babies need you to take bloody everything including the kitchen sink with you' stage)

The problem with the A4 estate is spotting higher miler/business owner that have had the clock massaged.

Not a problem at all. Look at the service history as each service will include the mileage. If it doesn't have a service history walk away. High mileage repmobiles can be very good value if they are in decent condition. They will have been fully serviced so mechanically sound. Far better a high miler with lots of motorway work than a low miler that's spent its whole life stop-start commuting

"Audis are a bit dull to drive"

I disagree…

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m570.l1311&_nkw=audi+service+book&_sacat=See-All-Categories

Far better a high miler with lots of motorway work than a low miler that's spent its whole life stop-start commuting

Questions for you
1. How many motorways in 'commuting/office hours' are constantly free flowing?
2. How many businesses do you know that solely drive their staff vehicles up and down motorways?

They will have been fully serviced so mechanically sound.

Sure? All businesses do this? This is a genuine question.

Majority of fleet/company cars will have been serviced at a main dealer at the proper service intervals. Why would they not do it when it's free (to the user)/part of the package?

Far better a high miler with lots of motorway work than a low miler that's spent its whole life stop-start commuting

Questions for you
1. How many motorways in 'commuting/office hours' are constantly free flowing?
2. How many businesses do you know that solely drive their staff vehicles up and down motorways?

That's being a bit pedantic. The point is that high mileage users are generally using their car throughout the day so relatively speaking spend a low percentage of their time in heavy traffic. Surprisingly people tend to use the fastest route to get from A to B so will use motorways or major routes when they can

They will have been fully serviced so mechanically sound.

Sure? All businesses do this? This is a genuine question.

Possibly not 100%, but the vast majority do. As Mike said, a large percentage are either on lease contract or GFV providing full servicing is done

Go and look at sites like Honest John, What Car etc, and they will all say the same about buying high mileage ex fleet cars

My point is how do you know or can lay waste with sweeping generalisations on a fleet/business cars use?

If I was based in Manchester and had a meeting down in Bristol you can guarantee that a fair few times I'd be braking to almost a complete stop and in medium traffic with a fair bit of town use.

TBH- I'd rather buy a 10k a year thats been serviced on the button than a 30k a year thats been serviced on the button three times a year.

hora, yes of course it's a sweeping generalisation, but it's all about percentages. The large majority of company cars are well maintained because it doesn't pay them not to do it.

Your point about driving from Manchester to Bristol makes my point exactly. The majority of the journey will probably have been spent at reasonable speed with some town driving either end. What's bad for the car is stop-start traffic which wears the whole drivetrain more than constant reasonable speed. A car that has spend 70% of its time cruising will generally have less wear than one spent 70% in stop-start traffic

Again it's not just my opinion. All the S/H guides will tell you that well serviced high milers are a better bet than low milers

Edit – what I meant was that a 2 year old car with say 60K miles is a better bet than a 4/5 year old car with similar miles, all other things being equal