Used Audi A6 Allroad 2018-2021 review

Here’s a scenario: you’re a relatively well-off businessman with an adventurous soul and a family, and you’re looking for a new car combining luxury with space and some off-road ability. Instead of the default – an SUV – how about the Audi A6 Allroad?

It can tow a horsebox through a muddy field or take you to your favourite hiking spot while still cutting the mustard as it sits on your driveway or in the company car park. And because it’s not a glitzy large SUV, it shows you don't follow the crowd.

The A6 Allroad is based on the Audi A6 Avant estate and, as the name implies, is designed to conquer those rough tracks that are off-limits to regular estate cars. It’s been tweaked to provide increased ground clearance – handy for crossing fords – and comes with Audi’s quattro four-wheel drive as standard.

Buyers get a choice of Sport or Vorsprung trim, and there are three 3.0-litre V6 engines available: a petrol and two diesels of various power outputs. All the engines have mild hybrid technology to help enhance their efficiency, and other gizmos include semi-autonomous driving (borrowed from the pricier Audi A8).

All the engines available with the Audi A6 Allroad are 3.0-litre V6s. Let's start with the entry-level diesel: it's called the 45 TDI and has 242bhp, which will get you from 0-62mph in 6.6sec with enough low-down oomph to cruise about with ease. That's our pick, mainly because it keeps the price more sensible, but if you tow a caravan, the 282bhp 50 TDI might be a better bet. It can crack 0-62mph in 5.9sec but, more importantly, it's really grunty throughout the rev range. There's also a petrol version, badged up as the 55 TFSI. You have to rev it harder than the diesels but, thanks to its healthy tally of 335bp, you won't find it lacking when you do. It's the fastest iteration, with a 0-62mph sprint of just 5.5sec.

The seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox that comes with the 45 TDI and 55 TFSI is quick through the gears. The eight-speed automatic gearbox (standard on the 50 TDI) also provides pretty snappy gear changes but can be a tad hesitant as you go to pull away.

The A6 Allroad gets adaptive air suspension as standard. It's a better-riding car overall than the Volvo V90 Cross Country, which is good at speed but can be lumpy around town. The A6 Allroad is comfortable at any speed and over pretty much every type of surface. There’s no contest if you judge it next to the BMW 5 Series Touring, which, in M Sport trim especially, is much firmer. The air suspension offers you the option to slacken the springs right off in Comfort mode, for extra waft, or firm them up a little to stop any sickness-inducing body float on really undulating country roads.

If you want the best ride, avoid the bigger wheels that come as standard with Vorsprung trim. They don't ruin the A6 Allroad's inherent suppleness but they do degrade it a little over sharper imperfections.

The air suspension can be raised manually to allow you to negotiate rougher ground and is self-levelling so it automatically keeps the A6 Allroad level with weight in the boot or when hitched up to a trailer. That helps it to feel more stable on motorways. When it's not weighed down, it's supremely planted and secure on twisty roads if you pop it into the stiffer Dynamic mode, and its traction-enhancing quattro four-wheel drive adds further security on slippery surfaces. It's a more agile alternative to the V90 Cross Country, with nicer, more positive steering, too.

Four-wheel steering is standard on the top-spec Vorsprung trim. It helps to reduce the car’s turning circle at slow speeds (in a tight car park, for instance), and at higher speeds it steers the rear wheels in the same direction as the fronts to enhance stability.

All the engines employ mild-hybrid technology, harnessing the energy that would normally be lost under braking to allow brief periods of engine-off coasting. The aim is to conserve fuel and, of course, reduce engine noise. A bonus of the technology is that it makes the engine’s stop-start system operate very smoothly.

The A6 Allroad’s V6 diesel engines are smooth in the main, but you can still hear a diesel rumble when accelerating hard. The 55 TFSI petrol is quieter, and all the engines are smoother than the motors in the V90 Cross Country and some of the 5 Series Touring’s engines. Wind and road noise are hushed at speed, especially if you avoid the biggest alloy wheels that create some increased tyre roar.

Every Audi A6 Allroad has a comfortable driver’s seat with a huge range of electric adjustment (including four-way lumbar adjustment), aiding comfort on long journeys. Vorsprung models have Sports seats with bigger side bolsters to hold you in place more securely when you take to twistier roads.

The climate control settings are accessed via an 8.6in touchscreen, which is positioned low down on the centre console below the infotainment screen. With the main climate menu always on display, rather than being buried among numerous other menus in the infotainment system, it’s more intuitive than the Volvo V90 Cross Country’s all-in-one arrangement. Still, we much prefer the physical controls you get in the BMW 5 Series Touring (and the Audi Q5, which is an SUV) for ease of use while driving.

Audi’s Virtual Cockpit is standard, replacing conventional analogue instruments with a large, 12.3in screen that can show a wealth of information, including full-screen sat-nav maps.

Seeing out of the front of the A6 Allroad and over its bonnet is no problem, and its relatively slender windscreen pillars do little to obstruct your view at roundabouts and junctions.

Rear vision is hamstrung only slightly by the steeply raked rear screen, but a standard rear-view camera helps when reversing, while a 360-degree camera is standard on the Vorsprung trim. The standard front and rear parking sensors on both trims provide guidance in tight spaces.

All models also come with sophisticated matrix beam LED headlights that can adapt their main beam light output to avoid dazzling other road users. That means they can remain on main beam more often, helping you to see further.

Wireless phone-charging, a DAB radio and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone mirroring are all included from Sport trim, as is a 10.1in touchscreen that's positioned above the A6 Allroad’s climate control panel. It provides access to the car’s stereo, phone and sat-nav functions and has haptic feedback.

The touchscreen menus are logically laid out and it works well when the car is stationary but it's distracting to use when you're driving – you have to take your eyes off the road to find and touch the icons. We prefer the more intuitive infotainment system found in the BMW 5 Series Touring, which uses a rotary controller and physical shortcut buttons that you can operate by feel.

Audi is famous for the quality of its interiors and the A6 Allroad reinforces that reputation: just about everything you touch feels like it'll last forever. This superb build quality is matched by impressive attention to detail, with touches such as real aluminium trim highlights and seductive ambient interior lighting.

Most functions are operated through touchscreens so there are not many traditional buttons, but those you do get click precisely and satisfyingly. Extended leather across the dashboard is standard on Vorsprung trim, which also upgrades the Sport trim’s leather seats to Valcona leather, which is higher-grade and softer.

The driver and their front passenger get plenty of head, leg and shoulder room in the Audi A6 Allroad. The amount of oddment storage is good, with door pockets and a glovebox that are reasonable sizes, along with enough trays and cup holders to deal with what's left over.

There’s ample space for a couple of six-footers to sit behind two more in the front with no danger of their knees pressing into the seatbacks or their heads touching the headliner. That said, the Volvo V90 Cross Country has even more leg room if that's needed.

Handy electric release buttons just inside the tailgate let you fold down the rear seats without having to walk around to open the side doors. The seats fold in a 40/20/40 configuration, so you can carry long, thin items between two rear passengers. The V90 Cross Country, by contrast, has a less versatile 60/40 split.

The front passenger seat has full electric adjustment that includes four-way adjustable lumbar support.

The boot is a usefully square shape that makes it easy to pack, and it can swallow eight carry-on suitcases below the tonneau cover with space left over for a couple of soft bags. With a capacity of 565 litres, it has pretty much the same capacity as the V90 Cross Country (560 litres), but falls some way short of the 640-litre boot in the Mercedes E-Class Estate.

The tailgate opens electrically on all trims and Vorsprung trim adds gesture control (if your hands are full, a sensor under the rear bumper opens the tailgate when you wave your foot there). There are rails in the floor so you can position the four lashing points where you want them, and there's a tensioning strap, a net and two hooks for securing smaller items.

When you fold down the rear seats to make more space, they lie flat with no step in the floor from the boot area.

If you're interested in finding a used A6 Allroad, or any of the other estate cars mentioned here, head over to the Used Car Buying pages to find lots of cars listed for sale at great prices.

You can find a good used A6 Allroad of 2018/2019 vintage for between £25,000 and £30,000, depending on engine and trim, which is a reasonable saving on the price of a new one. For a saving on the new price, spend between £30,000 and £35,000 on a 2020 or 2021 model with a nominal mileage from a franchised dealer.

To keep up to date with used A6 Allroad prices, use our free valuation tool to make sure you are getting the best deal.

Check the value of a used Audi A6 Allroad with What Car? Valuations

MPG

The A6 Allroad 45 TDI diesel officially returns just over 40mpg, while the 50 TDI does just under that. From our experience, the 50 TDI will easily average 35mpg, but to push it towards the claimed figure you'll need a light right foot. The 55 TFSI petrol officially averages 33mpg.

Road tax (VED)

Annual car tax (VED) will be charged at the flat rate, but the Allroad will also attract a supplementary luxury car tax for cars that had a list price of more than £40,000 when new, and that applies between years two and six. Current fees are £155 a year road tax and £335 a year for the supplementary tax. To find out more about the current road tax costs, click here.

Servicing and insurance

Insurance groups range from 36 to 42, and servicing costs are reasonable, with a number of schemes designed to spread the cost. Depending upon the type of driving you do, servicing intervals are either annually or every 9300 miles, or bi-annually and every 18,600 miles.

Some of the standard kit, such as the adaptive matrix LED headlights, front and rear parking sensors, rear-view camera, electric front seats, power tailgate and leather trim you get with the entry-level Sport version. Sport also comes with cruise control, heated front seats, dual-zone climate control, power-folding door mirrors, 19in alloy wheels and privacy glass, so we think that's the pick of the range.

Vorsprung trim adds many luxury features, such as the plusher Valcona leather and adaptive cruise control we’ve written about before, but also a panoramic sunroof, 21in alloy wheels, rear climate control, heated rear seats, power-closing doors, an electric steering column, a head-up display and keyless entry. It's very expensive, though.

Our favourite Audi A6 Allroad: Audi A6 Allroad 3.0 45 TDI V6 Sport

The BMW 5 Series Touring has long been the benchmark estate in this class. It’s plush enough inside to compare with just about any other car on sale. It has a spacious, well-appointed interior and it’s great to drive, with a refined and economical range of engines.

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate has a range of smooth and strong engines, a supple ride and a generous amount of standard equipment. It’s good to drive, if not up to the 5 Series’ exceptional level. Its boot is simply huge.

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If you're interested in finding a used A6 Allroad, or any of the other estate cars mentioned here, head over to the Used Car Buying pages to find lots of cars listed for sale at great prices.