Audi A6 Allroad Review & Prices

The Audi A6 Allroad is a jacked-up estate car with four-wheel drive, diesel or plug-in power and beefy styling that’s seriously eye-catching. It’s comfortable, practical and great to drive - but you pay handsomely for all that ability, and a normal family SUV does just as good a job in a rather more conventional package.

Off-road estate cars used to be rather popular, but the A6 Allroad is part of a very small crowd now. It’s like your friend at the office who’s still spending his weekends hiking when everyone else has moved onto padel.

If you specifically want an estate car with some off-road prowess, your sole options come from recently discontinued stock of the Volvo V60 Cross Country or Subaru Outback. The new Subaru e-Outback or bZ4X Touring (closely related) offer a similar vibe while the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo adds a sporty bent, but all three are EVs.

So it’s more likely the A6 Allroad will be cross-shopped with SUVs such as the Audi Q7 or Mercedes GLE, or posh estate cars such as the standard A6 or BMW 5 Series Touring. It certainly beats all of them on looks. Inheriting the steroidal buffed-up bodywork common on Audi’s RS cars, but combining it with tough plastic cladding and raised suspension has resulted in a car that looks purposeful, mean, and incredibly cool.

The basic package is still the same as the A6 Avant underneath the additions, so you still get that car’s sleek lines and high-tech lighting all round. The interior is the same too, which isn’t such a positive - it looks nice and it’s packed with kit, but it’s not as functional as older Audis with more functions routed through the touchscreen than ever before. Build quality doesn’t have the tank-like solidity of its predecessors, either.

In terms of space, it’s good but not groundbreaking - the similarly priced Audi Q7 will carry a lot more, not to mention a whole two extra passengers. The A6 Allroad is comfortable for four adults, but the centre seat in the rear is rather uncomfortable and the boot is a bit shallow. That’s especially true of the plug-in hybrid version, which loses some space to the batteries.

Though the plug-in hybrid is undoubtedly the model to go for if you’re a company car driver, it’s not the best engine - that honour goes to the rather wonderful V6 diesel hybrid. It’s powerful, has loads of mid-range performance and settles down to near-silence at a cruise - plus, you can easily achieve over 40mpg without the bother of plugging the car in.

Regardless of engine, the A6 Allroad is dreamy to drive. Four-wheel steering means it’s quite manoeuvrable in town, and the air suspension irons out bumps like they aren’t there. Plus, standard four-wheel drive and some off-road driving modes means it’ll go further on the rough stuff than most SUVs.

Verdict

The Audi A6 Allroad is a difficult car to justify because, on paper, it doesn’t really do anything better than a large SUV. However, the experience of living with it is so much nicer - it’s far better to drive, more efficient in the real world and almost as utilitarian, provided you don’t need to carry more than four people. Add in the cool-factor and the A6 Allroad gets a definite ‘buy’ verdict.

Check out the latest Audi A6 Allroad deals through Carwow, or see how much you could save with an A6 Allroad lease deal. Search other Audi models for sale, or take a look at our selection of used Audi models. You can also sell your current car through Carwow when the time comes to make the switch.

Prices for the Audi A6 Allroad start at around £70,000 for the diesel model, with a £2,500 premium for the plug-in hybrid. That’s substantially more than the regular A6 Avant, but does come better-equipped as standard. It’s also a bit less expensive than the equivalent Q7 SUV.

There are two trim levels. Black Edition gets 19-inch alloy wheels, black exterior detailing, adaptive air suspension and rear-wheel steering. Vorsprung adds around £12,000, bringing 20-inch wheels, upgraded headlights, a panoramic roof with switchable transparency, a passenger touchscreen and a Bang & Olufsen stereo. The cheaper version already covers the essentials, making it the more sensible buy.

Options can push the price considerably higher. Our test model cost over £90,000, but came with options including £4,715 Sport Seats Plus, £1,225 extended leather interior trim and £1,025 upgraded 21-inch alloy wheels. None of these would spoil the experience if they were missing, though the upgraded wheels do look fantastic.

Powerful, smooth and efficient - the A6 Allroad is wonderful to drive, though its size can feel like overkill

In town

You might think you’d miss the raised-up driving position of a proper SUV when driving through town, but the A6 Allroad is just high enough to give you a commanding view out, especially if you raise the air suspension up a bit. Better yet, that suspension does a brilliant job of ironing out lumps and bumps, so you don’t need to thread your way between potholes.

Though the A6 Allroad is a massive car, rear-wheel steering comes as standard, which gives it a turning circle closer to that of a family hatchback. That makes it pretty manoeuvrable.

The plug-in hybrid has a range of up to 63 miles on electric power alone, so it’s fantastic for long drives through big cities. But don’t discount the diesel, as its hybrid system lets it drive on electric a surprising amount of the time - so economy doesn’t take the nosedive you’d expect from a big, heavy diesel in stop-start traffic.

On the motorway

No mincing words here - the A6 Allroad is a superlative motorway cruiser. It’s powerful, super-comfortable and incredibly quiet thanks to the relaxed engines and excellent sound deadening.

The assisted driving tech all works quite well, the seats are perfect for whiling away hours behind the wheel, and the diesel model will return over 45mpg if you’re sensible. If you’re a mega-miler, the A6 Allroad is a near-perfect car for you.

On a twisty road

For a car so big and heavy, the A6 Allroad is pretty good to drive on a twisting country road. Though it’s higher-up than the standard A6 Avant, it’s nowhere near as tall and top-heavy as a big SUV like the Q7, so it feels a lot more agile and less roly-poly in the bends.

That’s especially true if you put it into ‘Dynamic’ mode, where the air suspension hunkers down and firms up. This also sharpens the response from the engine and gearbox, making the most of the power on tap. It’s not a sports car or a hot hatchback, and a BMW 5 Series Touring is just a little lighter on its feet in the bends - but the A6 Allroad is still great to drive here.

And if you plan on taking it off the tarmac, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. With the suspension raised up, the A6 Allroad has as much ground clearance as most family SUVs, and Audi’s quattro four-wheel drive system works very well at transferring power to whichever wheels have the most grip.

Plenty of passenger space, but the A6 Allroad’s boot isn’t as big as alternatives - and the PHEV’s is even smaller

It’s very comfortable up front in the Audi A6 Allroad. Our test car had an optional upgrade with multi-adjustable sports seats featuring heating, ventilation and massage - but even the regular seats are very comfortable indeed, and they go back extremely far so very tall drivers can get comfy. It’s absurd that electric seat adjustment doesn’t come as standard even on the £80,000+ Vorsprung model, though.

Storage for smaller items is a bit lacking. The glovebox and door bins are large, but the space under the central armrest is tiny, and the cupholders don’t get a nice folding cover like they did in the previous A6. There’s a wireless phone charger, which is neatly placed and has ventilation so your phone doesn’t overheat.

Space in the back seats

Two passengers can get very comfy in the back of the A6 Allroad - there’s enough legroom and headroom for six-footers, a fold-down central armrest, air-con controls and USB-C ports in the centre and, if you tick the right option box, a vast sunroof making it feel bright and airy.

It’s a bit rubbish for a third passenger, though - the four-wheel drive system means there’s a huge central tunnel that they’ll have to straddle.

ISOFIX points are present and correct on the outer rear seats, and there’s also one on the front passenger seat which is a nice touch.

Boot space

The Audi A6 Allroad’s 466-litre boot looks a little disappointing on paper. A BMW 5 Series Touring offers 570 litres, while a petrol or diesel Mercedes E-Class Estate has 615 litres. The larger Audi Q7 has more room again, with 670 litres in its five-seat configuration.

In practice, though, the Allroad makes good use of its space: we managed to squeeze 10 carry-on suitcases into the diesel. The wide opening and low loading lip make it easy to load bulky items, and an electric tailgate is standard. Folding the rear seats increases capacity to 1,497 litres.

Choosing the plug-in hybrid reduces boot capacity by 62 litres, leaving 404 litres with the seats up or 1,423 litres with them folded. That’s less than the 460-litre Mercedes E-Class plug-in hybrid, while the BMW 5 Series Touring retains its full 570 litres even with plug-in power.

Loads of equipment, but build quality and usability can’t hold a candle to older Audis

The A6 Allroad has the same interior as the standard A6, itself very similar to the A6 e-tron, Q5, and Q7. That means a pair of screens under one large, curvaceous surround, not much physical switchgear and plenty of shiny black plastic.

It’s quite a disappointing interior for anyone upgrading from an older Audi, actually. Though the tech is a massive improvement, the quality of materials and the usability of the touchscreen and other controls has taken a downturn. Things like the lighting panel on the door card feel especially cheap - instead of individual buttons, it’s lots of switches under one continuous sheet of plastic, and it moves around under your finger and doesn’t feel at all premium.

There are good features. The central screen is a massive 14.5-inches so it’s easy to view and all the icons are a good size. While the climate controls are on the screen, they’re permanently docked at the bottom so you can always access them, and there are a couple of shortcut buttons to call up the driving modes, surround-view cameras or a menu allowing you to quickly turn off the more irritating driver aids.

The driver’s display isn’t fantastic. It looks really cheap - there are massive bezels around it, and it doesn’t feel as premium as the previous ‘Virtual Cockpit’. There’s also a passenger-side display, which is as pointless in the A6 Allroad as it is in every other car.

Build quality feels generally good outside of the cheap-feeling switchgear. The column stalks are nicely damped, there are soft-touch plastics just about everywhere you can reach, and the steering wheel is much nicer than the too-fat one on the BMW 5 Series or the overly complex one in the Mercedes E-Class. But we’ll be pleased when this era of Audi interiors is over…

The diesel A6 Allroad is impressively economical for such a big, powerful car. We achieved 43mpg in normal driving, rising to 48mpg when taking things gently - slightly better than the official figure of up to 46.3mpg. It’s a convincing choice for covering long distances, although short journeys and stop-start traffic will bring that figure down.

The plug-in hybrid offers an official electric range of up to 63 miles, so you could cover most daily journeys without using petrol if you charge regularly. We saw around 40mpg with a discharged battery in the regular A6 Avant plug-in hybrid, although we’d expect the taller, wider Allroad to be a little less economical.

The plug-in hybrid’s lower official CO2 emissions mean a smaller company car tax bill and cheaper first-year road tax than the diesel’s. Both versions comfortably exceed the £40,000 threshold for the expensive car supplement, so you’ll pay this on top of the standard annual road tax in years two to six.

Audi A6 Allroad Euro NCAP score (2024): 5/5

Adult occupant: 87%
Child occupant: 88%
Vulnerable road users: 78%
Safety assist: 77%

The A6 Allroad hasn’t been tested separately by Euro NCAP, but the regular Audi A6 scored a reassuring five stars with particularly good results in adult and child occupant protection. The two cars share all their crash protection and safety equipment, so the rating is largely transferable.

There’s loads of safety kit as standard, and Audi makes it quite easy to silence the more annoying mandatory systems with a configurable shortcut button. However, the lane-keeping aids are pretty good - so you might not mind driving with them switched on.

Our test car had surround-view cameras and front cross-traffic assistance, which warns of approaching vehicles when you’re edging out of a junction. Both useful in a car as long and wide as this.

The latest Audi A6 hasn’t been around for very long so it doesn’t have much of a reliability record. Audi reliability in general isn’t amazing - Audi finished 23rd out of 30 manufacturers in the 2026 Driver Power survey, behind BMW in fifth and Mercedes in first.

The warranty is the bare minimum of three years and 60,000 miles - both BMW and Mercedes offer unlimited mileage over the same time period. The A6 Allroad is a pretty complex beast whichever engine you get - there are hybrid systems, sophisticated air suspension and fancy four-wheel steering all adding complexity, so don’t expect bargain maintenance bills as the car ages.