Audi is offering a smaller engine in the allroad four-wheel drive estate. But can the 163bhp unit keep up with the pace..?
Competition in the sports utility vehicle market is hotting up and to make their allroad more affordable, Audi is offering a slightly less powerful version. The 163bhp model is the fourth to join the range and you can park one on your driveway for ¯¿½26,980. That's if you don't go for a whole series of tempting 'optional extras'.
Features like acoustic parking aid (¯¿½515), xenon headlights (¯¿½925), BOSE sound system (¯¿½450), removable tow gear (¯¿½745) and a few other 'must have' bits could soon push the bill up to well over ¯¿½30k.
So, while the basic 163 model is over three grand cheaper than the existing 180 V6 TDI, the 180 could work out a better deal in the long run.
The allroad is Audi's rather smart-looking alternative to the A6 Avant quattro - but with all the sort of designer trim that urban four-wheel drive addicts crave for. It was on the streets long before the Volvo XC90 and BMW X5 and has a certain kudos that only comes with the badge of a prestige German manufacturer.
On the down side, it's actually more expensive to buy and run that the sibling Avant and doesn't really get you much further off the tarmac on a winter's day in the middle of nowhere. Until now that is - with the arrival of this lower powered 163bhp TDI model that just undercuts the Avant by about the price of a six stack CD player.
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