Test Drive: Audi Allroad gets power, connectivity boosts
The 2014 Audi Allroad.(Photo: Audi)
Story Highlights
- Styling: Pretty ho-hum
- Price: Pretty high
- Driving feel: Pretty good
Test Drive normally doesn't revisit a vehicle only a year into its life.
But automakers — especially those of Teutonic persuasion — don't usually boast about meaningful updates only a year after they launched a model.
But they did, so we will.
"They" are the folks at Audi.
The Allroad, a wagon-like crossover SUV that replaced the A4 Avant station wagon for 2013 is the vehicle sporting improvements for 2014.
ABOUT THE ALLROAD
What? Improved engine power, infotainment features just a year after the compact, four-door, five-passenger wagon-crossover SUV went on sale.
When? On sale since July.
Where? Made at Ingolstadt, Germany.
How much? More expensive than the 2013. Premium starts at $41,595, including $895 shipping (up $1,100 due to more standard equipment). Premium Plus: $44,195 (up $400). Prestige: $50,095 (up $400).
What makes it go? 2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder rated 220 horsepower at 4,450 rpm (up 9 hp), 258 pounds-feel of torque at 1,500 rpm (unchanged), mated to eight-speed automatic with manual-shift mode and Quattro all-wheel drive.
How big? About the same as the Audi A4 Avant wagon it replaced. Weighs 3,891 lbs. Carries 27.6 cubic ft. of cargo behind rear seat, 50.5 cu. ft. when rear seat's folded flat. Turning circle diameter, 37.7 ft.
How thirsty? Rated 20 mpg in the city, 27 mpg highway, 23 combined. Test car showed 20 mpg (5 gallons per 100 miles) in suburban driving, dipping to 18.2 mpg (5.49 gal./100 mi.) including cold-weather idling.
Burns premium, holds 16.1 gallons.
Overall: Drives nicely, but has awkward controls and is underwhelming on the "premium" scale.
The 2014 Allroad has more power and better connectivity, Audi says, two attributes that play directly to the brand's customers. So, worth a look.
Alas, not much more power: A software change delivers 220 horsepower now, vs. 211 hp before. Torque of the 2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder is unchanged: 258 pounds-feet.
The turbo four, eight-speed automatic and Quattro AWD is the only U.S. drivetrain.
The connectivity upgrade is because the Convenience Package now is standard and everybody gets the whole Bluetooth, Audi music interface, HomeLink and driver information shebang.
Navigation's still optional, though. We think that's fine, embracing the idea that a $200 after-market navi is better than almost any built-in unit that'll jack up the price $2,000 or more.
Allroad's changes are worthwhile overall, Test Drive believes. But they hardly are the result of the goodness of Audi's heart.
The base model, called Premium, which is the one that benefits from the new standard features, starts $1,100 more than the 2013 at $41,595, including destination.
Premium Plus and Prestige trims, which already included the Convenience Package, are $400 more: $44,195 and $50,095.
Overseas Audi still sells the A4 Avant, but in the U.S. — so the conventional wisdom goes — nobody likes wagons but everybody likes SUVs. So, take a wagon's expensive parts, the chassis and drivetrain, and put on a new "top hat," as car folk say.
Ta-da! A crossover SUV that you can sell for a higher price than the wagon on which it's based. Has the same room inside as the wagon, Audi says, so no sacrifice in utility.
Subaru's done well using the same approach. The XV Crosstrek is pretty much an Impreza wagon re-skinned and up-priced — and it's selling like cheap beer.
Interestingly, Audi considers wagons to be Allroad's main rivals, such as BMW 328i xDrive wagon and Acura TSX wagon.
BMW's X1 small SUV is a nearer rival to the Audi Q3 coming later this year, Audi says.
The current Allroad is more all-weather than all-road, though it does have about 1.5-2 inches more ground clearance than a normal sedan or wagon.
Beyond that, it has the brand's features that are so pleasing when you're behind the wheel.
The brakes are aggressively right-by-gosh-now responsive. We like that. You might think it a bit close to touchy.
The steering turns the car the way you want it to. Period.
The ride/handling combo is pretty nice. Ride's on the stiff side you expect on a sporting brand. But it's not harsh, just firm.
Quattro AWD worked well, as usual, in slippery conditions.
The up-rated engine feels quick — until it doesn't. Its 220 hp is modest for a 2-ton vehicle. Initial acceleration is pleasing and the eight-speed automatic shifts crisply, so most of the time the drivetrain feels dandy.
The test vehicle was getting decent fuel mileage — 20-ish — before the diameter of the Arctic Circle expanded south to Virginia and we had to idle for warmth.
Allroad did not, thank heavens, punish us with the automatic stop/start that automakers are adopting to save fuel and help meet the ever-tightening federal fuel economy standards.
The theory is good: Why run the engine when you're stopped? The execution generally is bad: shakes and shimmies when the gasoline engine restarts as you lift off the brake pedal.
The Allroad's interior, visually appealing, lacked the lake of soft-touch surfaces in vogue. The hard plastic, in some cases, felt cheap. At $41,000-plus that's a no-go.
The back seat was cramped, unless short people were in front.
Audi's central control system, which we once thought had begun to seem simpler, more intuitive, remains awkward to use.
We drove a slew of Audis recently, sampling the diesels the brand had newly installed in several models. Those seemed exceptional, and not just because of their excellent TDI diesels.
So Test Drive has a recent benchmark for Audi-ness, and Allroad falls short.
It's pleasingly sporty to drive and is a good lousy-road machine.
But it made us pine for the classy, if issue-marbled, Buick Regal we drove just before Allroad.
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