The regal charabanc
Whenever he sees Audi’s Allroad A4, Neil Lyndon’s mind conjures up a vision of members of the Royal Family driving around (very slowly) in their car of choice
Throughout my week’s loan of the new Audi A4 Allroad, images of Prince Charles kept bobbing up in my head. I saw him with an Allroad in his polo kit; on his hunter; with his guns. Then the visions extended to his entire clan. Camilla was getting into an Allroad. William was getting out of one. Harry and Meghan were driving away in another. I can’t say that these unbidden spectres entirely enhanced my enjoyment of this wonderful car.
Audi’s Allroads – especially in their A6 form - effectively became the default choice of car for junior scions of the Royal Family ever since this decked-out, countrified adaptation of the Avant estate first appeared in 1999. Prince Charles took to it with such ardour that the company would almost be justified in displaying the coats of arms of the Duke of Rothesay and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland as their trademarks.
You can see why. With an enhanced quattro four-wheel drive system, raised suspension, adaptive damping, softer springs that have longer travel, wheel-arch cladding and underbody armour, the Allroad is significantly more competent off-road than the standard A4 Avant from which it is drawn. The Lord of the Isles and Baron of Renfrew would certainly find it capable of smoothing along rough tracks across the grouse moors to the shooting butts. Those modifications, however, also make this version slightly less capable than the Avant on the road. You win some, you lose some – as they say in royal circles.
The 190 bhp two-litre turbo diesel in our test car produces a torrent of torque or pulling power. If you could floor the throttle pedal on a runway, the speedometer needle would be nudging past 60 mph in under eight seconds and flickering to its limit at 137 mph. But staying in a straight line may be the best way to experience the A4 Allroad on tarmac: those suspension tweaks make the body wobbly and waddly through fast corners and mean that they are best negotiated with a regal stateliness.
A 245 bhp petrol version is also available but I would guess that motor probably produces more power than the chassis can handle. Both versions are fitted with a seven-speed S-tronic automatic suspension as standard. Audi claim average fuel consumption of 43.5 mpg but mine was less than 40 mpg during our week’s loan, probably because I was giving it an unprincely wallop of wellie.
Our test car cost £49,800 all-in, which included: £675 for a paint-job in lustrous royal blue; leather upholstery; a panoramic glass sunroof; and one of those parking assistance packages which I am far too arrogant ever to imagine that I need. The stylishly minimalist interior is identical to the one in a top spec A4 Avant, which means it can’t be bettered in a £50,000 car or even in one that costs half as much again. Every fitment, every fabric, every surface reflects top-notch care and quality. All the instruments and controls work with precise certainty.
The satnav and infotainment systems operate through a seven-inch screen controlled by a large circular knob just in front of the gear change. Another screen in front of the driver and between the instruments shows additional information for the driver and – if that’s not enough data for you to digest – a heads-up display can also be specified.
Overall, the A4 Avant Allroad is so good that it isn’t easy to make a case for the bigger A6 Allroad except for vastly more space in the rear seats and the boot. A childless couple or grandparents would find the A4 more than adequate for their needs. Both cars are fine pieces of work; but having to share their delights with spirits of the house of Windsor tends to bring out the sansculottes revolutionary in me – which is hardly the spirit in which the Buddha instructs us to approach the road.
The A4 Avant Allroad is so good that it isn’t easy to make a case for the bigger A6 Allroad