Ganjulama

I really love the looks of this car. Of course, I've not had an opportunity to drive one. My local dealership is small and they said I could give them a $1000 deposit and they would try to secure an allocation. It is fully refundable.

I'm not going to lie, spending close to 80K on a car scares me to death, but I have a medical condition that requires me to get a car with an extremely comfortable ride, and that means an air suspension. And you can't even touch a car so equipped for <72K.

I'm considering Porsche Macan, Acura MDX Type S, Mercedes Benz 300 GLC, and a Dodge Ram truck. I've driven the Acura and the Dodge, but I can't get over the expense, especially for the truck.

I really wish I could test drive an Allroad, or any Audi with an air suspension. The dealer where I'm located is small and I can't travel far to cast a wide net.

--Do Allroads hold their value? I'm probably going to trade it after 3 years but I almost never see *used* Allroads. It's like once they are sold the people who buy them keep them forever.
--From what I've read the Audi V6 is a good engine.

Any advice for a newbie considering an Allroad?

Jonathan S.

No passenger vehicles hold their value. Well, okay, right now, sure, some new vehicles have actually appreciated over a few years. (And I was pleasantly surprised at how much I was able to sell my old car for last week with >70k miles – my wife even gave me a big “huh?” when I told her the amount.) But any new vehicle you buy now at MSRP (or ~$1.6k under in my case) will be worth far less in three years.
And maybe some exotic sports cars appreciate, but when you factor in sales tax, insurance, maintenance, etc. for those vehicles, then it’s a negative-return investment.

As for how the A6 Allroad in particular depreciates over time compared to its A6 sedan counterpart and the more crossover-esque SUVs (including the models you mentioned), you could try running some retrospective scenarios through KBB. But the A6 Allroad is such a thinly traded market that I wouldn’t place much faith in that.
That aside, although I suspect that a used A6 Allroad will always find willing buyers, the total cost of ownership sure isn’t cheap compared to a Subaru Outback. (As an economist, I always find the common emphasis on the “cost” of depreciation to be misplaced.)

However, only several minutes into my test drive I was convinced that if I was going to spend absurdly high amounts of money on a car, then this was it! And once on the interstate upon delivery, any regrets about paying all that money were a distant memory. In addition to the underlying platform, the Prestige + Luxury combo adds some truly incredible (and practical, despite the lingo) features.

Engine, I’m coming from a variation of the four-cylinder turbo that VAG drops into so many different vehicles, so I don’t have much of a basis for direct comparison. That caveat aside, wow! The acceleration is far more than I’ll ever need, but even just in ordinary driving, and occasional merging, etc., the power delivery is just so smooth and downright pleasant. Almost reminds me of the few times I’ve driven a Tesla.
If you want raw exhilarating excitement from your engine, then this isn’t for you. Reminds of the only two real criticisms here:
... one of which is something like how the A6 Allroad is a wonderful isolation chamber – said in a way (IIRC) that leaves it open to interpretation as to whether that’s good or bad.
(The other criticism is just that it’s so expensive! Well, if you want to pay less, get the Volvo V90 xc. Or of course a Subaru, which I did for four sedans in a row, and from which I still can’t get my wife to upgrade – although don’t worry, she spends ~$10k/yr of my money on landscaping, which she also backs up with her sweat equity.)

And best wishes for coping with the medical condition. As for the ride, wow, I still can’t get over the feeling of seeing rough pavement coming up, bracing myself for it, then, huh, how can the impact be so muted, even in Dynamic mode, and even with the handling being quite good?

Ganjulama

Yes, aware of depreciation and willing to deal with that. I'm hoping I like the car so much I keep it and it does not kill me with maintenance costs. My last 3 cars have been Subaru's and they have been great, but the ride is not what I need. What I don't want is, if I don't like and want to trade, that it loses 80% of value after 3 years. I'll check A6 sedan on KBB that will give me rough estimate.

This is EXACTLY what I need. I want to feel like my car is being pulled by unicorns trotting on pillows. I'm not getting a car for the handling. Ride comfort is my number 1, 2, and 3 concern.

Jonathan S.

Sounds like you have realistic expectations. Even the unicorns on pillows. Shortly after delivery, on the interstate, I was confused by a warning tone. Oh, that's the speed reminder I set for 75mph. Wait, huh, I'm at 75mph already? I would have guessed 55mph! Fortunately the HUD is also there to remind me. (Especially important for Western Mass and Southern/Central VT, where ~72mph is the de factor max.) Later on, where 80mph seemed to be the standard for the flow of traffic, I would have thought I was doing 60. And that's in Dynamic mode.

The seats were also reasonably comfortable for driving 7 hrs with only one short stop. Then I realized that I had neglected to got into the MMI to adjust the side bolsters. Wow, almost looking forward now to driving several hours straight on the next road trip!

As for resale value, a niche model for sure, but should always be highly desirable among its target market segment, even if niche. So not like some weird failed experiment. And should Audi stop bringing them over here, almost everything is shared with the A6 sedan, so parts availability shouldn't be a factor in resale value. If anything, cutting off the supply of new purchases might even help resale value! (Would be interesting to try to figure out what happened to the resale value of BWM 3 and 5 series wagons once those were discontinued here, or even the previous incarnation of the A6 wagon over here.)

dcwjr

Resale should be strong in 3 years assuming no accidents. I bought a 2015 AR in August 2020 for 20,500. Car had 48k, sticker was $50,915.00. Sold it in February for $17,800.00 and had multiple offers. The allroad has a enthusiasts following and given the limited supply will always fetch top dollar.

samiamat25

I have also recently purchased an A6 Allroad and took it on a 1000 mile roadtrip. I will guarantee you that it is the most comfortable and quiet car I have ever driven. I would probably guess that a Mercedes E class configured with the acoustic glass and air-suspention would be comparable. As for handling, my previous Jaguar sedan and Porsche Macan was far better at that but the A6 is a far better highway cruiser.

I can give an input on the Macan. I had a 2016 Macan S and owned it till 2020. It was a wonderful car! road noise and wind noise is pretty quiet, but the engine is pretty loud, on purpose I supposed as it is more "sport" oriented. The ride of the Macan is rather firm compared to my Jag that followed after and the Allroad currently. I test drove the air suspension option of the Macan but it was still on the firm side. firm but still comfortable, as long as you stay with 20" or smaller rims. Added the same option with the all road prestige (V6, Air suspension, and acoustic glass) the Macan comes out way more money... and yet with far less space.

If you enjoy sporty driving, taking turns fast, and a nice V6 engine noise; then the Macan is the perfect option. the Allraod is quiet, smooth, and comfortable. it is a perfect highway cruiser. hope that helps

veedubmac

Glad to hear someone else coming over to the wagon crowd! We were in the same predicament- we needed something practical but also luxurious. We looked at many different options and the A6 allroad was the best jack of all trades. We are coming from a '21 S560 and I would argue the allroad is just as pillowy, if not more so.

The ordering process can be a bit tedious given the shortages, but after a wide search we felt it was worth waiting given how much we like the allroad. One piece of advice I would give is to call the largest dealer in your area and try to get an allocation there. Many of these deals can be done on the phone/email and you would only need to go there for delivery. Part of the frustration with ordering is not knowing when your local dealer will get an allocation. For us, we tried three different dealers before fining one which had an actual allocation.

Turboale

The A6 Allroad is by far the smoothest vehicle I have ever owned. This includes trucks with 35in tires and a foot of suspension travel. The only thing that does improve the ride further is to go down to 19" wheels. Which isn't for everyone but I cant say it enough that sidewall is king when it comes to impact.

If you are only keeping the car for three years why worry about maintenance costs? Do you drive enough to loose the warranty in 3 years? With 10k oil changes and a factory warranty with loaner cars... That aspect should be well covered.