Dressing up an estate car in off-road attire isn’t a new concept, but it has a habit of turning out some surprisingly desirable and very usable cars. The Audi A4 Allroad is one such cars, with a higher ride height and some body cladding giving the A4 Avant a new look and feel.
The idea has been popular enough that Audi has now built two generations of A4 Allroad, the most recent running between 2016 and 2021 in the UK, and the most affordable models are now half the price they were when new. If you’re tired of seeing SUVs everywhere, a car like this could be the antidote.
Alternatives to the A4 Allroad include Audi’s own larger A6 Allroad, as well as the Volvo V60 Cross Country, the more affordable Skoda Octavia Scout, and the long-running Subaru Outback - one of the cars that first kicked off the rufty-tufty estate car trend.
The Audi A4 Allroad is a niche within a niche - a stylish load-lugging estate, already a dying breed in a world of SUVs, which has then been adorned with the trappings of off-roading, such as a taller ride height and rugged body cladding. But for a small band of buyers, that could be all the car you’d ever want or need.
After all, the roads aren’t getting any better, and with a 34mm increase in ride height, the A4 Allroad is a little further above them than an A4 Avant. Audi has combined that taller stance with a slightly softer suspension setup, that’ll feel like gliding on a cloud compared to the firm ride of the S Line specification that so many regular A4s are sold in. Yet it doesn’t lean like a ship in corners, handling mostly as well as any other Avant, while standard quattro all-wheel drive gives it excellent traction. To cap it all, it’s one of the most refined cars in its class.
The styling is quite satisfying too - it turns out the A4 Avant’s already handsome shape is done no harm by a few off-road details. The interior meanwhile is just as well built, logically arranged and elegantly styled as that of any other A4. A selection of earthy, countryside-appropriate interior and exterior shades help distance it from more sporty, darkly-trimmed A4s.
It’ll happily seat four adults and the boot, if not class-leading, is a decent size, while Audi’s accessories range made best use of the space with various items aimed at outdoorsy types and pet owners, so keep an eye out for some of these when you’re shopping.
Audi wasn’t alone in dressing up one of its models in off-road clothing. The Volvo V60 Cross Country is the closest alternative on paper, while the Subaru Outback is less classy but even more capable when the going gets rough. On a tighter budget the Skoda Octavia Scout does the job too, while the Audi A6 Allroad gives Audi fans a larger option.
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It’s the diesel engines that best suit the Audi A4 Allroad, and you can’t really go wrong with any of the options. The 2.0 TDI (or later 40 TDI) makes a lot of sense with brisk performance and the highest economy of any Allroad, and it should be more affordable, like-for-like, than the V6 versions. But as a private buyer searching for a used car, Benefit in Kind rates won’t be a concern, while VED bills shouldn’t vary too much either - so the extra performance and smoother engine of the V6 is a much bigger draw.
Both the standard and Sport trim lines are well-equipped, and while Sport does offer the more kit overall, the temptation to maximise the Allroad’s pliant ride and stick with the regular car’s 17-inch wheels (also best for economy) makes a lot of sense.
As the Audi A4 Allroad was already a spin-off from the regular A4 Avant range, Audi understandably kept things simple for the car’s trim levels, with a regular variant and a Sport trim line on top of that. Both were well-equipped so there’s no real penalty in keeping to the standard car (and economy is improved on the smaller wheels). Various options, from different alloy wheel designs to leather finishes, boot accessories and technology packs could be added to both models, so most used cars are likely to feature different equipment.
The Audi A4 Allroad’s dimensions are:
The Audi A4 Allroad’s boot size is:
Any A4 Allroad registered before April 2017 will be taxed based on its CO2 output, making the 2.0 TDI with its 128g/km rating (on the smallest wheels) the most affordable to tax, currently costing £150 per year. After this date, VED or ‘road tax’ reverts to a flat rate system. Some models will still be cheaper than others - if the A4 Allroad you’re looking at had a list price below £40,000, then it’ll cost £180 per year, while those costing over £40k new get a surcharge in the second to sixth years after being first registered, and a yearly bill of £570.
Depending on the model you’re looking at, insurance groups for the A4 Allroad range from 26-43 (out of 50), with an earlier 2.0 TDI in regular trim being towards the bottom end of this range, and the 50 TDI in Sport trim nearer the top. Some of the later models (such as the 40 TDI) are more expensive than their earlier equivalents though - group 32 for this model is more than the equivalent Audi Q5 SUV.
Read our full Audi A4 Allroad review
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