Review of the new Audi A6 Allroad Quattro

The spectacular success of the previous generation allroad model caught Audi completely on the hop. It was built as a stop-gap measure, a fire fighting gesture at a time when the company had no full-sized 4x4 whatsoever but the project took on a life of its own, helping to establish a recognised niche.

Launched in 2000, that model sold extremely well around the world, eclipsing the standard A6 Avant estate in some markets. The weight of expectation that landed on Audi's shoulders to create an even better car didn't prove a burden. Rather than rushing the allroad out with the latest A6 Avant's launch in 2005, the marque instead took their time, did the job right and developed a model that's smarter than many will ever realise.

Just ask yourself whether you need a full-sized 4x4. Most of the time these things are too big, too heavy to provide an enjoyable drive, hideously thirsty when you do prod the throttle and they earn you disapproving looks from all quarters. The genius in the allroad is that it offers the capability of a 4x4 with the stealthy appearance of a standard estate model. The old allroad played up to the 4x4 crowd with its plastic body cladding but the latest car is, if anything, even more low key.

The body cladding has been ditched and the styling is understated, with subtle wheelarch spats and stainless steel under-ride plates offering some protection to the car's vital organs. The number plate has been repositioned higher up on to the grille to prevent it being ripped away by sharp inclines. Other design features include chrome strips on the grille bars, beefier bumpers and bigger door mirrors. The sill extensions and wheelarch trims help prevent gravel damage to the car's paintwork. Aluminium roof rails are also standard.

"The allroad is all the car most will ever need"

It's underneath that the A6 allroad really gets clever. The adaptive air suspension of the old model was a masterstroke, allowing the allroad to handle like a normal estate car when in tarmac mode and then giving it the ride height to do some quite respectable clambering when fully raised. The latest allroad reprises that theme, but remember that this is a much bigger car all round. The wheelbase is fully 76mm longer than the old allroad, so it may not be quite as manoeuvrable in situations at the extremes of what the car can tackle. The car is wider too with a front track up by 22mm to 1,596mm while the rear has been increased by 2mm to 1587mm. The good news is that weight distribution between front and rear axles has been optimised.

The aluminium suspension system is a combination of A6 and A8 parts with a few unique allroad touches. The air system allows the driver to trim the ride height of the body by as much as 61mm both automatically - depending on speed - or manually via the multimedia interface. Five driving modes are offered - dynamic, automatic, comfort, allroad and lift. The dynamic mode is much like a sports suspension setting and lowers the car, reduces drag and promotes better fuel economy. In automatic mode, the body is raised by 15mm but reverts to the dynamic level if the electronics detect that the car has been driven for some distance at speeds of over 120km/h. In comfort mode, the body lowering is suppressed.

The allroad mode offers ground clearance of 175mm, although at 80km/h the body is lowered by 15mm and drops a further 20mm at over 120km/h. In the manually-selected lift mode, the body sis a full 185mm off the ground to negotiate rough terrain at low speeds. Should a speed of 35km/h be exceeded, the system will switch to allroad mode. For buyers who are really looking to stretch the capabilities of their A6 allroad, Audi also offer 245/45 R18 all-terrain tyres together with a reinforced engine underguard.

The ESP stability control system, now in its eighth generation, has also been tuned to cope with the specific demands of all-terrain driving. An off road mode can be activated by pressing the ESP button in the cabin and this raises the threshold for ESP intervention, the system putting a priority on forward propulsion rather than keeping the car within a few degrees of straight ahead.

Don't get us wrong. No one is pretending this to be the world's ultimate off roader. What we're saying is that on that one day in a hundred when you need to go where you've never gone before, it will do 80% of everything a huge, heavy mudplugger will manage. In fact, if it wasn't for the long front and rear overhangs and your natural tendency towards caution at the wheel of such an expensive-looking motorcar, it would probably do more.

Four direct injection engines will be offered but you'll have to wait a while for the two petrol units. The entry-level petrol engine is the 255bhp 3.2-litre FSI V6 while for those who really want some performance at their disposal, there's also a 350bhp 4.2-litre FSI V8. Diesel customers choose between either a 180bhp 2.7TDI unit or a 233bhp 3.0-litre powerplant. Both feature common rail injection, six cylinders and a choice of either a six-speed manual or a six-speed Tiptronic automatic gearbox.

There's something hugely appealing about the Audi allroad. It does its job elegantly and efficiently without drawing undue attention to itself, making bigger 4x4s look a trifle overblown. A 2.7-litre diesel model would make me a very happy man indeed.