rottenbend Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 (edited) My wife's new car turned up on Friday. We've been looking to replace our existing car for quite some time and the A6 Allroad seemed to fit the bill. Just the ticket for our frequent family trips to Devon. Good experience at the dealers, salesman was excellent and the deal (both in terms of discount and finance) was pretty good. The car is a Phantom black A6 Allroad Quattro 3.0TDI Tiptronic Special Edition. Over the standard spec the Special Edition includes: 19" alloys Comms pack low (DVD Sat Nav) with 6CD changer Parking sensors Heated seats Light package Full paint finish (which includes matt paint on the Allroad exterior trim - wheel arches etc. - instead of grey plastic) Privacy Glass In addition I plumped for the following options: Valcona leather upgrade Comms pack high (3G MMI and Hard Disk Nav) Multifunction sports steeering wheel with paddles Blinds for rear windows Tyre pressure monitor Audi Music Interface Xenon Plus First impressions are excellent, very well put together with a lovely interior, comfortable ride, refined torquey performance. My wife and kids love it which is half the battle. The 3G MMI is paricularly impressive and the 3D Nav works pretty well as far as I can tell so far. Negatives are the so-so economy (33MPG) although it's early days and the car has been used only in town and on B-roads. The Isofix fixtures are also awkward and not protected so that the leather gets creased when you fit child seats. Some exterior shots... DPF means no more exhausts that turn down Some interior shots. The leather is paranut brown which is only available on the Allroad - it looks darker in real life and looks great against the black. Rear bench before the kids get hold of it. Load area is big enough even if it isn't the biggest in the class 19" alloys look great but I suspect the car would ride even better of 17 or 18 inch rims Air suspension in Allroad mode Air suspension in dynamic mode Dash is standard A6 fare but non the worse for that. Air suspension height is set via the MMI Telephone integration is very good and seems better than that in my BMW Audi Music Interface means a decent connection to the iPod AMI also gives you two SD slots and hard drive (Jukebox) space. It will rip CDs to MP3 if required. Not much space left in the glovebox! DVDs can be played on the high def MMI monitor. Sound quality seems to be very good through the DSP system. Even does half decent surround sound with movies 3.0 TDI V6 is refined and torquey Xenon Plus means LED DRL's - love them or hate them. The ones of the Allroad are a single horizontal strip built into the headlamps. Edited June 20, 2009 by rottenbend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabby Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 Very nice - always fancied an allroad and if I did it would be something v. similar to this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark_90 Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 Looks very nice although I'm not sure about the leather! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rottenbend Posted June 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 Looks very nice although I'm not sure about the leather! It's a totally different colour in real life. It's a much darker brown. Black on black is just a bit too black! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philbes Posted June 21, 2009 Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 "Just the ticket for our frequent family trips to Devon". Do you go via farm tracks? Why not a standard A6 Avant? Sure you have your reasons, just wonder why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rottenbend Posted June 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 "Just the ticket for our frequent family trips to Devon".Do you go via farm tracks? Why not a standard A6 Avant? Sure you have your reasons, just wonder why. Good question! Several reasons actually :-). I did originally consider an A6 Avant (as well as all the other usual suspects BMW 5, Mercedes E, Volvo V/XC70) The ride is way better on the Allroad due to the air suspension. The S-Line suspension is far too hard (especially for the wife and kids and probably for me too if I'm honest) and the SE version looks plain dull. You can get air on the A6 Avant however but by the time I'd specced one with air to the same specification of the Allroad it was >£2k more expensive and consequently poor value. The finance deal (1.0 APR) was only available on the Allroad Allroads hold their value better than normal Avants so that combined with the cheaper finance means it will cost me quite a lot less overall It will be able to go places my old car couldn't and the car will have to tow a boat/trailer from time to time so the extra ground clearance will come in handy. The Allroad does have specific electronic settings which means that it will cope with (admittedly light) off roading better than a standard Quattro. I also quite like the way it looks. With the extra trim painted in body colour it has more presence than an A6 but doesn't look too utilitarian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted June 21, 2009 Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 I like! Nice buy. The engine economy should improve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Posted June 21, 2009 Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 Very nice and a great deal too I had the previous model Allroad Special Edition and I loved it - great car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rottenbend Posted June 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 Very nice and a great deal too I had the previous model Allroad Special Edition and I loved it - great car Great photo. I need to find a rugged location like that and take some pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philbes Posted June 21, 2009 Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 Good question! Several reasons actually :-). I did originally consider an A6 Avant (as well as all the other usual suspects BMW 5, Mercedes E, Volvo V/XC70) The ride is way better on the Allroad due to the air suspension. The S-Line suspension is far too hard (especially for the wife and kids and probably for me too if I'm honest) and the SE version looks plain dull. You can get air on the A6 Avant however but by the time I'd specced one with air to the same specification of the Allroad it was >£2k more expensive and consequently poor value. The finance deal (1.0 APR) was only available on the Allroad Allroads hold their value better than normal Avants so that combined with the cheaper finance means it will cost me quite a lot less overall It will be able to go places my old car couldn't and the car will have to tow a boat/trailer from time to time so the extra ground clearance will come in handy. The Allroad does have specific electronic settings which means that it will cope with (admittedly light) off roading better than a standard Quattro. I also quite like the way it looks. With the extra trim painted in body colour it has more presence than an A6 but doesn't look too utilitarian. Thanks for taking the time to explain. It now makes perfect sense. Hope you enjoy the car as much as you expect to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon690 Posted June 21, 2009 Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 Very nice+++ I've decided that the replacement for my current (old shape) Allroad will be a new one with a very similar spec to yours. Did you get a decent discount? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Posted June 21, 2009 Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 Great photo. I need to find a rugged location like that and take some pics You need to get yourself up north then. All these pics were taken in the Lake District & Yorkshire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rottenbend Posted June 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 Did you get a decent discount? Pretty good I think. They got close enough to the internet broker (coast2coastcars) price for me to go with the dealer. They didn't match the price exactly but they provided an excellent service when speccing the car etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drewcam Posted June 21, 2009 Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 Very nice indeed RB I love the new allroad. I would choose one over the normal A6 just because of the looks alone. I had one as a loaner once and absolutly loved it. Yours is a very nice example indeed but i think i would have to see those seats in the flesh before i gave you my honest opinion at the moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rottenbend Posted June 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 Yours is a very nice example indeed but i think i would have to see those seats in the flesh before i gave you my honest opinion at the moment Trust me if the colour was the same as it looks in pictures I wouldn't have ordered it . I'm going to have to try and get a better photo without a flash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_Bangle Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 33mpg Nice car - I have one in my fleet with a very similar spec albeit in silver with alcantara sports seats & 18" rims. With regards to the MPG, over the last 40K km (28,000 miles) I have averaged 35mpg almost exclusively on <cough>fast<cough> A & B roads. If I drive like a Sunday driver then it may drop to 40 mpg - not that i've seen that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rottenbend Posted June 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 (edited) Here is a new picture of the interior without flash which gives a better representation of the colour of the leather. I still think it's too bright on this picture but it's an improvement. Those who have seen it think it looks great. Edited June 22, 2009 by rottenbend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drewcam Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 That does look better RB Seeing it more in a true representation and i can see the appeal to be honest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlot Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Hope you enjoy it. Fully agree with your reasons for going for the Allroad. The SE A6 looks plain and putting air on it adds nothing to its value. Also the new SE pack on the Allroad is spot on. Thanks for the photos in dynamic - looks similar to my A8. Does the handbook say what the ground clearance is on each of the ride heights? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rottenbend Posted June 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Thanks for the photos in dynamic - looks similar to my A8. Does the handbook say what the ground clearance is on each of the ride heights? I've just looked it up. Apparently there are 5 ride heights (expressed in terms of ground clearance). 185mm, 175mm, 160mm, 140mm and 125mm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlot Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Thanks a lot. I presume that 125mm is the dynamic height that you show on one of your photos? Incidently the 3.0 diesel responds very well to a remap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rottenbend Posted June 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 Thanks a lot. I presume that 125mm is the dynamic height that you show on one of your photos?Incidently the 3.0 diesel responds very well to a remap! Yes I show the 125mm ride height on one of the photos. However, it hadn't been driven on the dynamic setting that point so could settle a little further. I think I'll wait until the engine has a few more miles on it before considering a remap. What sort of power/torque could I expect? Who does a good job? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlot Posted June 24, 2009 Report Share Posted June 24, 2009 Most of the remappers can do the same and its roughly +20/25% on power and torque. I'm using Superchips Mybluefin as I can take it off when it suits me. The view I take on my A8 is that all the components to do with the gearbox, chassis and brakes are the same with the 4.2tdi so the extra stresses are low and the 3.0tdi engine has been around for a while and I don't recall reading about it going pop. On a previous car I have used DMS. They are expensive but the customer service is excellent. You can actually reprogramme the dampers to be firmer on the dynamic setting as well if you get to that stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gizze Posted June 24, 2009 Report Share Posted June 24, 2009 That looks lovely, I did comment on your pics in the gallery. Buying a new A6 avant doesn't make sense you're right, the allroad looks so much nicer and it suits the Audi 'handling' far better. I have got a 3.0tdi S-Line at the moment again as my car is in having some warranty work done, and the ride on it is terrible compared with the SE, really is crashy and doesn't actually seem to handle any better at all either, however, it does look nice. But your allroad actually looks nicer than the S-Line avant imho, it looks more purposeful. I really wanted an allroad but they was approx. 40% more used at 3 years old than the A6 Avants that were about, so I decided on an avant as it is a second car, but looking at yours makes me think maybe I should have gone with one after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_B Posted June 28, 2009 Report Share Posted June 28, 2009 Fantasic motor you've got there! God this makes me miss my allroad! Would have been a heck of a lot better than the RS 6 for hacking round Islay recently... Having had both the C5 2.5 TDI and the C6 3.0 TDI, the C5 was fractionally better for ground clearance and off-roadery, but to be honest the difference is small and the C6 has such better on-road behaviour that it's well worth it. You reasons for choosing an allroad over an A6 are about the same as mine RB - prefer the air suspension (couldn't get it on an A6 at the time) and the look the wider arches give. I had to be different/awkward and put leather/alcantara sports seats and black velour carpet in mine though! I was pricing up allroads on the audi site the other day, and I must say they looked a bit steep, but if there's SE packages going, that's going to pull it back a bit I'd say - most of the eye-watering aspect of the price was the extras I'd have. Hmm. I miss my allroad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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