Wagon Wonderland: Audi A6 Allroad Practically Confirmed for America
With the Audi RS 6 Avant confirmed for America and the manufacturer teasing wagons via social media throughout the summer, we figured Germany would soon send another wagen our way. And while nothing has been confirmed through official channels, Audi executives are already saying it’s to be the A6 Allroad.
Rumors stated that the model would make its way to the United States ever since the updated A6 premiered at the New York Auto Show in the spring. Audi managed to encourage these rumors without issuing any confirmation — at least until Oliver Hoffmann, managing director of Audi Sport, chimed in earlier this week.
Speaking with Automobile, Hoffmann confirmed that the Allroad will be sold here — and he wasn’t the only executive to do so.
From Automobile:
All indications are we will once again get an A6 Allroad; the last time one was sold in the U.S. was more than a decade ago. The final decision hasn’t been made official via announcement, but top German executives, including [Hoffmann], tell us the wagon is headed for the U.S. We expect confirmation soon, after the U.S. arm finishes presenting its business case with a price point and projected volumes.
Our own sources have indicated that the wagon will likely go on sale before year’s end, similarly citing pricing, packaging, and volume projections as the only hurdles left to overcome.
In Europe, Audi sells the Allroad with a trio of 3.0-liter V6 diesels using a mild hybrid system. Base TDIs receive 227 horsepower and 368 pound-feet of torque. The 50 TDI brings that up to 282 hp and 457 lb-ft, while the top-shelf 55 TDI manages 344 hp and 516 lb-ft. All use an eight-speed Tiptronic (manumatic) transmission and the brand’s quattro all-wheel drive.
With no gasoline engine to speak of, Audi will likely borrow the 3.0-liter turbo V6 found in the A6 sedan. That means 335 hp and 369 lb-ft mated to the S-Tronic (DCT) gearbox, if adopted. But the Allroad should retain its adaptive air suspension, which allows the car to raise its 5.5-inch ride height by nearly two inches (depending on your speed), as well as Audi’s off-road mode, hill descent control and tilt angle assist.
Expect the manufacturer to say something definitive about the model soon.
[Images: Audi]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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Damn. I just got into a '19 A5 Sportback. I might have waited a bit and saved some more monies had I known this was just around the corner. This will be my next car. I had an A6 loaner awhile back and the screens work just fine. It took me about a day to figure it out and it is pretty slick, especially using wireless CarPlay, which is just so much easier to use with a touch screen rather than spinning the MMI wheel around and trying to execute a command.
For everyone moaning about the screens, try using the climate controls in the previous gen C7 A6 without looking at them. The design was terrible. There was no fan speed knob or set of buttons. Instead, there was just a TINY "fan" button. To adjust the fan speed, you had to first press that button, and then the temperature knob became the fan speed knob for a few seconds. It was clunky and distracting, and there's a reason why literally no one else does it that way. Meanwhile, the area right in the middle of the dash just under the CD slot typically has 3 or 4 blank buttons in that car depending on options, because Audi is terrible at interface design. It would've been incredibly easy to build in two large temp knobs and two sets of fan speed buttons if they had put in any real thought to intelligent use of the available space.