Next Audi A6 Allroad ready to rival E350d All Terrain

The all-new Audi A6 Allroad has been spied undergoing final testing before its official reveal in the next few months. The recipe will be the same as before, combining the A6 Avant’s body shape with extra ride height and some rugged styling features, appealing to those that think the SUV fad is just that, a fad.

This Allroad is the fourth of its type, and comes 20 years after the original C5 A6-based Allroad was introduced as a stop-gap to rival high-body premium SUVs like the BMW X5 (which Audi didn’t properly compete with for another five years). But after finding its niche, one now occupied by Mercedes, Volvo and plenty of other manufacturers lower down the pricing order, this new Allroad promises to offer the same combination of road car-like driving dynamics, with a little extra capability over rough or slippery surfaces.

> Click here for our review of the E350d All Terrain

Like the A6 on which it is based, the new Allroad is built on a heavily updated version of Audi’s MLB platform, with increases in structural rigidity and stiffness from a lighter body-in-white. The Allroad will likely include 48V mild-hybrid technology, something standard on all six-cylinder A6 models, which has classically been the only engine choice in the last two Allroad generations. The new model should be little different, although we suspect the A6’s impressive new 204bhp 2-litre 40TDi would make a good fit at the entry-point of the range.

The interior will likely be near-identical to the standard A6, including the latest dual-screen MMI Touch infotainment system, that like in all models with this set-up, dominates the entire interior design, with a love-it-or-hate-it combination of haptic feedback touchscreens and glossy black surfaces.

Despite being the first Allroad of Marc Lichte’s design leadership, we expect this to be an example of restraint, unlike some of his more aggressive designs, pairing plastic body cladding with a more subtle and understated design of the bumpers and wheels. If glamour is more your style, the Q7 and Q8 have plenty of that, so we expect the Allroad to appeal to a less extrovert crowd, as it classically has.

It’s due for official reveal in the next couple of months, so we expect it will make its entrance at this year’s Geneva motor show, before reaching customers later this year.