Audi allroad wagon adapts its stance to suit roads or trails
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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LEADVILLE, Colo. -- What happens when you cross a curve-craving sports sedan with a mud-loving sport-utility vehicle?
Designers working for the German automaker Audi tried to mix these two seemingly disparate concepts, one a sleek pavement speeder that slinks snug against asphalt, the other a boxy off-road machine hiked high in the suspension in order to clear rough stuff on the trail.
What they produced in this hybrid cross is the Allroad, although in Audi's lingo, capitalizing a product's name is often shunned so it becomes simply the allroad.
It's a slick design based on Audi's mid-size A6 avant (an Audi term that signifies station wagon styling), but rigged with a wider track and variable-height pneumatic suspension, different body panels with protective armor cladding and a luxurious passenger compartment draped in supple leathers, glossy hardwoods and touches of satin-finished aluminum.
It also packs more power than the A6 avant, thanks to its unique bi-turbo V6 engine that also appears in Audi's S4 compact sports sedan and the A6 2.7T.
The plant musters 250 hp at 5800 rpm and has a flat torque curve with 258 lb-ft spread between 1850 and 3600 rpm.
Why tie two turbo-chargers on only one engine?
The pair -- one for each cylinder bank -- takes up less space than a single large unit and the small size of each turbine means faster response from accelerator pressure to firing time and higher torque at lower engine speeds, plus more overall efficiency.
An intercooler on each set of cylinders chills the incoming charge of air, which increases the air density and thus the quantity of oxygen needed for combustion. This process further extends the efficiency of the allroad's turbo-chargers.
Net effect: Audi's wagon has very little lag in the timing between throttle depression and actual acceleration -- punch it and it springs to action.
All of the torque generated by the large engine translates through a six-speed manual transmission (a rarity for sporty station wagons) or an optional five-speed automatic coupled to the Tiptronic clutch-less shifter designed by Porsche.
To control tire traction on pavement, the allroad also comes with Audi's quattro all-wheel-drive system, a permanently engaged mechanism that channels the engine's power to all four wheels.
A torsion-sensing center differential sends up to two-thirds of the power to whichever wheels, front or rear, can maintain the best tire grip.
In addition, the quattro system includes electronic locking for front and rear differentials in a process that senses and restrains individual wheel spin, then redistributes the driving torque from one side to the other, left or right, to achieve the best traction for any wheel.
As an ultimate safety system for maintaining traction, the quattro device results in superior grip at all times on pavement, whether wet or dry.
To bridge the functional gap between a low-slung pavement cruiser and high-clearance SUV, Audi applies the magic of the height-adjustable suspension system that moves the chassis up or down to one of four different levels.
An air compressor inflates a rubber bladder located at each wheel to raise or lower the platform.
Square buttons set high on the center dashboard govern the up-and-down movement, although the wagon also moves automatically to a standard setting of 6.6 inches for normal pavement runs but drops to the lowest level of 5.6 inches when the speedometer exceeds 75 miles an hour.
Turn away from pavement and head down a lumpy trail, but first select the highest suspension setting of 8.2 inches -- that's tall enough to match the clearance of most off-road sport-utes.
And the allroad feels entirely competent on a muddy trail, where the elevated stance and quattro traction for all wheels work together to keep tires gripping through slippery goo or even when scrambling across the bed of a rocky stream.
A neat trick is to steer it on a course that demands multiple chassis positions, like the venues used for our allroad drives.
Around town at lesser speed we used the standard setting of 6.6 inches, which also applies on curvy roads in the mountains. Crank up the juice for a speed run on the freeway and you can feel this vehicle hunker down to 5.6 inches for some fast work, in the process forging a more aerodynamically efficient package that improves fuel economy. But at a trailhead, punch up taller settings (about 7.5 inches for runs up to 50 miles an hour or the top level of 8.2 inches for slow and tough crawls) and in only a second or two the platform resets high, then off you go.
However, even when slogging through off-road slop, as a driver strapped in the cockpit you will never feel like the allroad is some brutal sport-utility warrior because the passenger compartment more closely resembles a luxurious European touring car.
No other automaker matches the handsome styling and deluxe appointments that Audi delivers in luxury vehicles like the allroad.
The airy cabin provides two individual front bucket seats divided by a center console and followed by a rear bench with twin indentions for two but a breadth wide enough for three. Front seats move twelve ways by power controls and the rear seatbacks split 60/40 and fold to expand the cargo bay.
A third bench, facing the rear and sized strictly for children, is optional and can be removed.
Luxurious appointments include power equipment for everything and fine leather seat upholstery in a two-tone pattern, with touches of light brown walnut wood ringing the cockpit on doors and dash plus bright highlights in aluminum.
Standard equipment includes a leather-wrapped sport steering wheel, air conditioning keyed to automatic climate controls for two zones, electronic cruise control and a stereo package with CD player. Options range from automatic transmission and sunroof to a premium package with Xenon headlamps, a convenience package with multi-function steering wheel and heated front and rear seats, a guidance package with navigation system and acoustic parking aid, premium Bose sound and a six-disc CD changer.
The allroad price chart starts at $41,900 plus a $550 delivery fee, with the automatic transmission and sunroof extra for $1,000 each and a premium package set at $900.
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| 2001 AUDI ALLROAD VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS |
| Description: |
Mid-size sport wagon
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| Model Options: |
Mid-size sport wagon
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| Wheelbase: |
108.6 inches
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| Overall Length: |
189.4 inches
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| Engine Size: |
DOHC 2.7-L V6 bi-turbo
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| Transmission: |
Manual/6, Auto/5 Tiptronic
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| Drive: |
AWD quattro/EDL
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| Braking: |
Power 4-disc/ABS/EBD/ESP
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| Airbags: |
2 (front) + 2 (side)
+ 2 (head) + opt. 2 (rear)
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| Gas Mileage: |
M/6: 16/21 mpg
A/5: 15/21 mpg
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| MSRP Price: |
$ 42,450 to $ 53,375 |
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