JuxBellorum

So iam fully aware of how unpopular Audi is, especially here in the states. Everyone is obsessed with Japanese cars and especially the Subaru. Everyone says that Subaru has the superior awd system vs the audi quattro. They go on and on about how great Subaru abd all other Japanese cars are. Honestly that's one of the biggest reason I won't ever buy one. To much boosting. Bragging. The cocky "I have a Subaru so I'm better than you" attitude turns me off. The level of bias.

And as a Labd Rover enthusiast, i do get alot of hate. Rude remarks. Apparently people feel the duty to remind me how unreliable Labd Rovets are and how superb Toyota is.

But I gotta confess that reliability is not the primary or secondary factor for ne when I buy a car. Rather the passion. The styling. The performance abd the capabilities. But also the exclusivity. I rarely see Rovers or Audi's on the road. 90% Japanese. Where I live, we gave a generous parking lot abd all my neighbors have a Subaru. I moved in with 2 labd rovers and kinda broke their little groupie.

With that said i do care about reliability to an extent. Or more than that i care about weather or not the car is diy friendly. I've read about the 2007 Era Rs4 4.2 V8's. How everything is backwards. All the chains are in the back of the engine and consequently you have to pull the engine out just to service the chains. The plastic guides that break and cause the engine explode or whatever etc. 🤔 but I've also heard that the successor V6 is one of the best engines ever fitted in a audi.

JuxBellorum

So your saying that if im interested in a morr offroad friebdly Audi, then im definitely gonns wanna fet an allroad? Do any of the allroafs sold in the us come with a diff lock and or a low range gearbox? I ask because Wikipedia mentioned something about 2013 onwards the Audi A6 Allroad had air suspension and a low range mode:

"The allroad comes standard with an adjustable air suspension system can lift the car high enough to provide 208 mm (8 in) of ground clearance; a low-range mode (an option with manual transmission), absent from other quattro-equipped vehicles, can be selected with the touch of a button. When used together, the two systems made it possible for the allroad to complete an official Land Rover test-course, thus far it is the only car-based SUV that has been proven capable of doing so in testing.".

But it confuses me because are all those options on all allroafs from 2013 on ot Judy on the a6 allroad? I've seen plenty of allroafs for sale in the US but o assumed they are all based on the a4. The newest a6 allroad I've ever seen for sale a 2008. Then they seemed to be non existing until the comeback of the a6 Avant in 2021? So I'm totally confused.

FrenchToast

The naming conventions are very confusing. I'm not quite clear myself on how each market named the car (i.e. allroad vs. A# allroad). Allroads have been built on the A6 platform starting in 2001 and A4 platform starting in 2010 (?). The North American 'allroad' was built from model year 2001-2005 (A6 platform), then for model year 2013-2016 (A4 platform). Now North America has both the A4 allroad (2017-present, B9 A4 platform) and A6 allroad (2019-present, C8 A6 platform). Early B9 platform allroads may have just been named allroad, but the name was changed to A4 allroad pretty quickly.

No Audi from this millenium has had a user-selectable lockable differential. All allroads have mechanically open front and rear differentials with Electronic Differential Lock (EDL) managed by the ABS system. B9 and C8 platform cars use a center differential that is an electronically-operated clutch pack. Earlier cars used a center differential that is a mechanical, automatic locking TorSen unit. On paper, the clutch pack differential is superior in power transmission, however, the cooling capacity isn't designed for prolonged performance driving on loose surfaces.

The first generation allroad (until 2005) did have an optional low-range selector for the gearbox, but only for the manual and not for North America. I don't know if the C6 platform also had this option. Most or all allroads do have a lower final drive to compensate for the larger tire diameter.

Only the allroads based on the A6 platform have had height-adjustable suspension. The A6 platform allroad was available in other markets on the C6 and C7 platform, but I don't know much about those. I do know that the C6 platform allroad was the last to offer a manual transmission.

I would reckon the most offroad-capable allroads are those based on the A6 platform. The most offroad capable Audi from this millenium is probably the first generation Q7 (4L platform).

mikeru

Subaru's are very popular where I live. Actually, anything with AWD is popular here. But there is a suprisingly high number of Audi's here as well. Subaru's are generally more reliable over the long term, and a lot less to repair. But unless it's a WRX (STi) or BRZ, Audi's are more fun to drive. I excluded the WRX and BRZ because those can be very fun cars, especially when equipped with a manual transmission. I've owned two WRX's and they were great cars, but Audi gives you a better overall driving experience.

AudiAllTheWay

Simply FYI the Conflict Diamond account is part of a collection of Troll accounts spewing nonsense all over the Audiworld forums.

Carry on 👍

KevinGary

True

AlainaPorter

From what I've seen, the Audi Allroad has gotten better with each new version, getting more reliable and packed with cooler tech. If you're eyeing the C7 and C8 versions you mentioned, picking one from the last part of their production years (like 2015-2018 for the C7 and 2020 or newer for the C8) should give you a nice mix of up-to-date features and dependability.

alanyc

I have a 2022 C8 A6 Allroad -- it is the BEST auto I have ever owned. Responsive, fun to drive, stunning beauty, practcal and so unlike all the other vehicles you see on the road. I've gotten alot of compliments, inquiries and requests to borrow - lol.

John's MTM Allroad

Over the last 19 years I gradually spent a lot of money on this car but in the process, I gradually improved it to the point where it is now the best car that I have ever owned. I bought it on eBay from the first owner in Summit, NJ in 2005 and it had just under 40k. After some minor adjustments, I decided in 2008 at 80k miles to go with the MTM chip and got rid of the air suspension, replacing it with 2Bennett coilovers, bigger brakes, 19" wheels, an upgraded engine, hoses and turbos, an MTM stainless exhaust system, a stronger clutch and a few other improvements. Over the next 4 years I drove it back and forth between Vancouver, Canada and New Orleans, LA. In 2012 at 112K miles I had the engine out again and had 2.8 litre heads installed with special MTM head gaskets. Since then, the engine does not burn oil at all and I use Redline 5-40 synthetic. The timing belt/water pump has been replaced 3 times, the last at 165k miles and just recently I replaced the 2Bennett coilovers and brakes since I still drive the car pretty hard. The interior has remained stock and has held up really well. This photo was taken a few years ago but the car still looks the same with 19" MTM wheels and summer tires.


My 2002 Allroad with 170k in late 2019.


MTM Stainless exhaust and logo

AudiAllTheWay

Excellent choices with the updates and well done 👍