At the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Audi has unveiled the new A4 Allroad Quattro that combines high driving comfort with off-road capabilities.
The Audi A4 Allroad is essentially an Audi A4 Avant wagon that was given additional ground clearance, with cladding for improved off-roading abilities. Sales in North America of traditional station wagons have declined long ago, and providing vehicles with SUV-style looks has shown to be effective in increasing sales and generating bigger profits for car companies. For Audi, the A4 Avant did not sell well to justify more imports of the vehicle into North America, but giving the Allroad treatment to the compact wagon significantly boosted sales.
The new Audi A4 Allroad follows the same formula, featuring 1.3 inches more ground clearance compared to the standard A4 wagon. Part of the additional clearance is due to a suspension lift, with the remaining clearance provided by larger wheels with a diameter range of between 17 and 19 inches.
The suspension that these wheels were connected to have undergone redesigning, with a new five-link set-up at the front and a new five-link set-up at the back, which replaced the trapezoidal-link setup from the previous model.
Lightweight materials were used in the suspension to lessen curb weight by more than 26 pounds, and an all-new mode provides improvements to the performance of the A4 Allroad's systems while in off-road driving.
Internationally, the new Audi A4 Allroad will come with a TFSI and five TDI engine options ranging between 110 kW and 150 horsepower to 200 kW and 272 horsepower. The car company has also decreased carbon dioxide emissions by up to 21 grams per kilometer (33.8 gallons per mile), while power transmission will be handled by either a manual six-speed gearbox, the new seven-speed S tronic or the revamped eight-speed tiptronic.
In North America, however, the vehicle will only be offered with a 252 horsepower, 273 pound-feet of torque gasoline engine that will come with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
Inside the Audi A4 Allroad, the car company has also made improvements to the vehicle's tech. The optional Virtual Cockpit will include a screen-based cluster of gauges, the latest version of the MMI infotainment system, 4G LTE connection capabilities and an audio system bearing the Bang & Olufsen brand.
The Audi A4 Allroad's driver assistance technology is similar to that found in the new Audi Q7 SUV. It has features including parking assist, adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist, exit warning and collision avoidance assist.
The vehicle will be launched into showrooms in Europe this summer, but customers in North America will have to wait until at least fall to catch a glimpse of the new Audi A4 Allroad. The entry-level price for the Audi A4 Allroad is €44,750, which is roughly equivalent to $48,700.
The new Audi A4 Allroad Quattro is not the only thing that the car company is focused on at the North American International Auto Show, as Audi has also unveiled a hydrogen-powered H-Tron Quattro concept.
The concept includes Audi's fifth-generation fuel-cell technology, which is capable of giving off 110 kWh of performance.
