I'm from the upper midwest and currently drive a 2015 Audi Allroad. It's my first wagon, and I really love it. I can cram all kinds of stuff into it which is great for long trips. The best thing is that it still drives like a proper German car should, and not a tall tippy feeling SUV. An added plus, is that with the long low roof, I can easily get my sea kayak on top. My kayak hangs from the garage ceiling, and my wagon can park right underneath with no issue. That's not possible with almost any SUV on the market Wagons aren't that common in my family. There's been family members over the years who have had a diesel Jetta wagon, Pinto wagon, and that 70's Oldsmobile wagon that was the size of a land yacht which had the motorized tailgate that dropped down below the floor and bumper when it opened.
I used to have a fifteen year older A6 turbo-Diesel with the heavy V-6 engine. There should be no doubt that yours handles much better, because of improved weight distribution and all-wheel drive. I suppose, both our wagons could be compared with the difference between a Smallblock and Bigblock Corvette. The Smallblock version was preferred by those who knew their way around Corvettes enough to appreciate the better handling of the Smallblocks and almost comparable engine performance of both. I was glad to get rid of my Audi, because of circumstantial reasons of which aren't that dramatic for those having their own garage. The only things I missed on it are the leather seats and the engine
I had a 2006 A4 before my Allroad. I loved that it was a stick, but wished it had more room. Before the A4 I had a 2000 GLX Jetta. I do love my Audi's and VW's, but they do tend to be a bit "needy" when it comes to needing to be serviced.
welcome to the forum My current car is an Audi A5 convert, it's our 5th Audi going all the way back to a 1975 Audi 100 sedan, had 2 Audi a6 wagons a 1997 & 2002 - they were terrific cars. my wife borrowed an Allroad for the weekend and she said no, its not a A6 too small, personally I liked it and would probably trade my convert in for 1, if my locally AUDI dealer was decent - but they're not. in fact they are awful. the next dealer is over 100 miles away. Its a shame because I really like Audi's.
I totally love my 2015. If you are possibly looking for an Allroad, I'd look for a 2016 or older, unless you don't really care about quattro. The new 2017's and new no longer have the full time rear biased awd. The crown gear center diff was replaced by a clutch pack to save a few drops of gas. The car now runs in front drive unless it thinks it needs the rear wheels engaged. Some people might not care or notice, but it's a deal breaker with me. Without a center diff, you'll get axle binding when cornering unless the clutch pack is slipped, effective making the car front drive bias. Also, the fun rear drive bias in my 2015 isn't possible in the new ones. In mine, you can actually spin the rear wheels without spinning the front. Something that can happen in slippery conditions when starting from a stop. In the new system "quattro ultra" that's impossible. to power the rear axel, the clutch closes and locks both front and rear axles together, not unlike a archaic part time pickup set up. You can't spin only the rear axle without also spinning the front, changing the driving characteristics. This new quattro ultra is also on the 2018 and newer Q5's. It's going to eventually be on any 4 cylinder longitudinal engine Audi. The new system can't handle the power of the V6 engines. Another issue is that cars that have that that quattro and the dual clutch transmission, now require a $350 to $400 fluid change every 35,000 to 40,000 miles. Audi states to prolong the life of the driveline. There must be some truth to it as I've seen articles that Audi is trying to develop a dual clutch that doesn't need fluid changes, as Americans hate spending anything on car maintenance.
Quattrowagon thanks, great information and advice, unfortunately because my "Local" (60 miles away) Audi dealer is sooo bad, I won't be getting another. Other consideration is Amex just announced that they are eliminating their free roadside service, and Audi does not offer after the warranty - yet Mercedes if you have your car service by them you get free roadside. My wife drives a 2010 Mercedes ML350 with 67,000 miles and I drive the Audi A5. the Mercedes and Audi dealers are next to each other, Here is the difference between the 2. I call to get my 80,000 mile & water pump recall service done, and I need a loaner - call the dealer, not answered at the dealer but a call center - can get a loaner and appt in 2.5 weeks, or an appointment in 10 days and wait the 5 hours. Voice my objections to the time, sorry nothing we can do. aske that the service manager call me, never happens. My wife call the Mercedes dealer speaks to someone direct and she asks my wife if they need to bring her a loaner or will she be bring the car to them. Wife says bring me the loaner. Time frame 1 week. I pick my car up - not washed or vacuumed, service guy apologizes asks if Service Mng ever called - said no, and told him not surprised. MY Wife - service manager drives my wife's car back to her and discusses options as the car is almost 10 years old and repairs vrs the worth of the car, perhaps time to trade in - she is selling. We have been going to both dealers now for well over 8 years, and the difference on how you are treated is just amazing.
What's amazing is how Mercedes sends their best salespeople over with the customer car on return. Seems to me, when you need a loaner for to get your Audi done, your wife should bring it to you from the Mercedes dealer. What else are good neighbors for?
Makes me feel good about my Audi dealership. When I had my Jetta which was purchased from a family member, the policy was loaners only went to people who bought from the dealer, which made servicing the car a pain. It has tons of problems and was in the shop a lot. Both my Audi's were purchased at the dealer, and for the most part getting a loaner wasn't a very big deal. You just talk to the service counter. One time I actually got a Q7 to temporarily replace my little A4. Couldn't fit in my garage due to the low hanging kayak, but it definitely turned eyes at work. I actually had to call my sister who owned one, because I couldn't figure out how to make certain things work. There was a repair took almost a week instead of the expected couple days, I was happy to hear that I could hang on to the loaner and didn't get any grief about messing up the next scheduled user. A couple times a repair didn't fix the issue, and the dealer pretty good about owning up to the issue and getting it corrected.
