New A6 avant or allroad

[dmahon]

The wife decided she wanted to switch her A4 Quattro convertible for an SUV (Q5) , which of course has made me look at new cars too. I was thinking about a top end diesel Jaguar XF Sportbrake a couple of years old, but also like the look of the A6 avant with the BiTDi engine.

There is a great deal on PCP for a new one with up to £7000 Audi contribution and low APR - are they about to bring out a new model?

What's the difference between an A6 avant and an allroad?

What are the "essential" extras to specify (and which are a waste of money)?

[Scott K]

The most basic difference between the 2 is that the allroad comes with air suspension. Slightly different looks from outside with the plastic wheel arches and different grill. I prefer the look of the allroad but very personal. You should manage to get at least 10k discount-check out orange wheels or drive the deal-especially if you are willing to take delivery this quarter as Audi have a big push on.
Options-where to start? Depends how you use the car and who you carry. Do you need wifi? Heads up display. Lane assist etc.
I like heated seats but that may not be a concern for Somerset. I like the BOSE as well. I have a lot of the options but really is very personal. Apparently s lines sell well and the dealers keep telling you the sunroof makes a difference-they don't tell you it costs more to service it though!

[Scott K]

On the biturbo avant, orange wheels are doing about 11k off list without any options. Bit more on the allroad sport but it has a higher base price.

When I was looking for my one a couple of years ago, I started off looking at year old but it soon became apparent that new ones worked out cheaper. Crazy.

[Donmeister]

I guess in many ways, it comes down to how many boxes you can afford to tick. All the options would be nice to have. I can only speak for the options I picked - the things that have pleased me the most are the Bose, the tech pack and especially the matrix lights - they are really quite clever. Inside, I specced the supersport seats and they have been well admired as well as very comfortable.

[L3nnox]

I ordered an Avant BITDI Black edition, only option was heated seat and totally bebadged. I'm leading and the prices are superb at the moment.

The Allroad in my option needs upgrade wheels and colour keyed to make it look less like half build halfords special. Not a fan of the colourless arches.

[Whippy53]

New one out next spring.

[drewetm]

I require the functionality of the ALLROAD very occasionally ( got sick of bottoming out my current A4), but don't like the looks of the bumpers and wheels

I decided to buy a A6 balck edition quattro and have the suspension added as an extra

It will look great and should have the ground clearance when required, albeit I will have to be a bit careful of the wheels

been waiting for it now 4 months, pick it up tomorrow

Orange wheels pretty much gave it to me!

[bmoster]

New one out next spring.

Surely the new model (C8 I assume) will be out in spring 2018 being 7 years after the current one.

[Scott K]

There was word they were going to delay it as the new A8 is coming out with some automated driving facility which will then get rolled out to the A6 but it's all guessing until someone sees it.

[AllotmentChap]

I went for the Allroad for a couple of reasons - the air suspension (which is almost impossible to find on a used non-Allroad because it's an option nobody buys) and the ability to raise the ride height (great for trips into forests, unmade roads, etc). I also like it because there's not so many around, and so they're a bit different. I couldn't stretch to the BiTDi, but test-drove one and an it's a monster. Even the 245 (that I bought) is pretty swift off the mark - given the car is about the size of an aircraft carrier. It's a real wolf in sheep's clothing, and you can surprise a few boy racers whilst wearing your flat cap and barbour jacket.

The Allroad has quite a few things as standard that are normally options, but I would say the ones you definitely want are:
- The upgraded MMI/Satnav pack. The Google maps, larger screen and better connectivity are awesome, and being able to connect with an rSAP phone or stick a SIM in the dash and providing a 3G wifi hotspot for anyone in the car is brilliant.
- Heated seats
- Painted wheel arches - some people like the plastic ones, and it does look more rugged, but even painted they still give it a good SUV stance, but I think it just looks a bit more subtle.
- Colour DIS - having all the controls for satnav, music etc on the dash is essential (this might be standard on the Allroad, can't remember)
- Electric folding wing mirrors - surprisingly, given all the other bits and pieces, the Allroad doesn't have these as standard. I only realised after buying a 2nd hand car and a week later finding they didn't fold. Annoying, but not the end of the world (and something to bear in mind).