New Audi A4 Allroad First Drive: Ask Us Anything

I sometimes wonder if Stateside wagon fans hesitate to complain about any wagon we get, knowing the model could quietly be swapped out for yet another crossover.

Pickings are slim if you don’t want an SUV and even then, most of the wagons in the U.S. are dressed up as SUVs. Case in point is the Audi A4 Allroad, with us since 2013 after the A4 Avant stopped making the trip over from Europe. But in its latest iteration, is having the Allroad instead of the Avant such a bad thing?

I’ve been driving the 2017 Audi A4 Allroad, otherwise known as the Audi wagon for Americans. Here are some initial thoughts.

Why can’t you all be this way?

I’ve had somewhat indifferent feelings about the new Audi A4 and Audi Q5 designs, as they come across unnecessarily fussier than before. But the extra creases in the sides seem to tighten the wagon profile on the Allroad version. And I happen to like the plastic cladding on the sides, but you go right ahead and pay $1,000 to make that body colored.

The usual comfortable spot

Inside, it’s just like an A4, which is a pretty familiar space. Despite its added ground clearance, you don’t sit that much higher in the Allroad than in the sedan, but at least there’s a good amount of range for the seat height adjustment.

Leaps and bounds

First thing I noticed about driving the Allroad was the somewhat buoyant ride on pavement. You feel the jacked-up nature of it in the Comfort and Auto driving mode settings. Unlike on the Q5, adaptive dampers come standard on all U.S.-bound Allroads, so you can put the car in Dynamic mode or configure the car manually to firm things up and cut down on the bouncing.

All the roads #audi #A4 #allroad #quattroA photo posted by Zac Estrada (@zacestrada) on Jan 21, 2017 at 7:30pm PST

Mountains and molehills

That said, the Allroad is quite capable when pavement turns to gravel. The air suspension offered on the still-not-for-us A6 Allroad would be welcomed, but the A4 model copes well in many situations, operating much like the VW Golf Alltrack and probably similarly capable. Still, I’m not taking on any Toyota Land Cruisers anytime soon.

Cross back over

Wagons rarely come cheap these days. But for $55,000 for this nicely equipped Prestige model, why would you wait for the 2018 Q5, which should cost about as much with the same equipment? Yeah, we can’t think of a reason either – yet.

What else would you like to know about the Allroad? Sound off in the comments.

Photos: Zac Estrada/Carscoops