Audi A6 Allroad (2012) first official pictures

This the new Audi A6 Allroad, the third and final addition to the A6 range. It’s Audi’s third generation of A6 Allroad, and this new model will be officially unveiled at the 2012 Geneva motor show in March.

Audi would prefer you to call it ‘the Avant for any kind of road’, but in essence the Allroad is a high-riding A6 Avant with some additional body cladding. The Allroad sits six centimetres higher than its Avant sibling, and thanks to flared wheelarches and additional bumper addendum, it’s also minutely bigger too. Plastic side sills, a vertically slatted grille, twin exhausts, roof bars and stainless steel underbody protection round off the Allroad-specific changes.

Inside it’s mostly standard A6 fare, but the MMI multimedia system now depicts the pitch of the A6 Allroad, the kick plates say ‘Allroad’ and the carpets and instrument panel are black.

Four V6 engines are offered, and unless you live in a land where fuel is cheap, the 3.0 TFSI supercharged petrol unit probably isn’t for you. Peak power is 306bhp, total torque is 325lb ft, 0-62mph takes 5.9seconds, but the combined fuel consumption figure is 31.7mpg. Best to opt instead for one of the three 3.0 TDIs…

3.0 TDI 201bhp/332lb ft
3.0 TDI 241bhp/428lb ft
3.0 TDI 308bhp/479lb ft

The least powerful engine can achieve 46.3mpg and 159/km CO2, while the twin-turbo 308bhp TDI can hit 62mph in 5.6 seconds; the latter is mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox while the other three engines use Audi’s seven-speed dual-clutch S-tronic transmission.

All models features Audi’s Quattro four-wheel drive system, mated to a torque vectoring system that brakes the inside wheels in a bend to aid traction and cornering. Adaptive air suspension is also standard, and can raise the A6 Allroad 10mm higher than its predecessors – the system also lowers the car by 15mm at high speeds.

UK sales start in summer 2012.

By Ben Pulman