[Closed] Audi A4 Allroad Quattro (2010): thoughts?

Having proper winter tyres will more of an effect than 4wd generally but I can't help noticing how many Audi's you see in winter ski resorts.

I have an S4 estate of similar vintage and it's great. I had to have suspension arms changed so I would check those with that age/mileage. Rear shocks needed changing too. Manuals are pretty solid, that's what I have. Rust around the wheel arches can affect some.

All in all they're great cars. I came from a 530i M sport touring and much prefer the Audi. Less expensive to run as well.

in true STW form of recommending what you have, get a subaru outback/legacy. I much prefer it to the A3 quattro i had before.

Consider the other options like Subaru, Volvo XC70, etc

To add to the STW recommendations, I've had a legacy for the past ~7 years (and an older model before that) and it's been great. With winter tyres on it's very capable in the snow and flat boot entry is great for throwing bikes in. Servicing/parts a bit more expensive, but it's been pretty faultless as well so not much cost other than consumables really. Heated leather seats are a bonus too.

I have considered the Subaru Legacy/Outback, but I find that the petrol engine options are either a bit sluggish or very thirsty - please correct me if I'm wrong. In comparison, the A4's 2.0 TFSI seems to strike a nice balance.

As for the Volvos, I've never owned one, but I hear that they aren't very fun to drive.

I asked alomst the exact same question on ST about 3 years ago. The advice then was to buy a standard A4 estate quattro over the Allroad. Cheaper, and effectively the same car apart from the height. I bought one 3 years old, high mileage (80k) and its been faultless.

Check all the transmissions have had their maintenance done. Generally other than that they're pretty solid

I've just got a diesel legacy so not sure on the consumption compared to petrol. Then again, for it to make any real difference you probably need to be driving 50,000+ miles a year for any real financial impact. To be honest, none of the cars mentioned above are bad at all, maybe just see what you can get a good deal on and what you like from a test drive.

I would certainly consider the standard A4 Quattro as well, but from what's on the market in my neck of the woods, the Allroad is currently the most affordable.

Had a diesel one (2012) for a few years. liked it but wasn't that exciting. Preferred the Volvo V60 AWD I had before and the A6 allroad i had after. Brother had a Legacy for years when he was up in Courcheval - that was actually good fun and solid in a interior trim falling off but nothing else went wrong kind of way - but yeah the 2.0L NA petrol needed to worked hard.

It's a 10 year old complicated car - with luck you'll be fine...

My missus also had a Skoda Octavia Scout which was better than them all in a don't care about it way. Could get just as much in that as the A6.

I know a couple of people who moved from allroads to Skoda Octavia Scouts and were very happy. Both allroads had major hydraulic suspension issues that were going to cost about 9k irc so they sold them to the garages and lost a lot of money.

Pleased with the Skoda Octavia Scout I've had for the last couple of years. Handles muddy fields better than most of the cars around it, but that's about as far I've tested things.

Was gonna suggest the Scout as well as I had a 2016 model which went back to the lease company earlier this year and I really liked it. Unassuming, spacious, and very capable off-road. Had mine in and out of muddy fields and up snow covered roads on loads of occasions and it never felt like it would get stuck.

A point worth noting considering the above replies is that the A4 Allroad doesn’t have the height adjustable air suspension fitted to the A6 so it’s no more complicated than a standard A4 quattro. It just rides a bit higher.

A point worth noting considering the above replies is that the A4 Allroad doesn’t have the height adjustable air suspension fitted to the A6 so it’s no more complicated than a standard A4 quattro. It just rides a bit higher.

Thanks @Yetiman, that's really useful to know actually!

I still want the car to handle well on normal roads, so I’m not looking for a full-blown SUV

That really doesnt compute. An Audi A4 isnt a good handling car. There is very little difference between how SUV's and cars drive these days.

Do you need ground clearance, or do you think you need ground clearance, where exactly are you going to be driving off road ?

Does Swissland still insist you carry chains in winter, or is it just winter tyres now?

That really doesnt compute. An Audi A4 isnt a good handling car. There is very little difference between how SUV’s and cars drive these days.

It very much depends. Having driven a T-roc R and a Golf R, the golf was much better to drive at almost any point other than motorway cruising.

A 2010 A4 will be a B8 model, which was a much better drive than the previous B7 in terms of steering feel and ride/handling compromise provided they were on sensible sized wheels. I have owned two B7 Quattros, one saloon and one Avant, and a B8 Quattro Avant. The latter was a better vehicle than the BMW 330d touring that I had for a year.

Having proper winter tyres will more of an effect than 4wd generally but I can’t help noticing how many Audi’s you see in winter ski resorts.

Maybe they are 4wd WITH proper winter tyres?

air suspension is a massive issue

Audi Quattro Avant with winters, its the Swiss choice of car. Also what a drive (2013 model)

Do you need the added height of an allroad?

@andybrad – not on the A4 Allroad it isn’t.

My wife has a 2013 one (2.0 tdi 177bhp version). It's been fine over the last couple of years we've had it. No major bills so far although has a couple of niggles. Had to replace a CV joint / linkage arm (the garage we bought it from did this). The suspension still has a few odd noises which our mechanic can't identify (so we've left it alone).

The engine is not refined but pulls well. Feels speedy enough, especially for motorway overtaking. It's a nice place to sit, but it's not a sporty drive at all. The auto box is pretty slow to engage and it doesn't have paddles. In contrast to someone above, I find the Audi much less engaging to drive compared with my e91 BMW.

buy a standard A4 estate quattro over the Allroad. Cheaper, and effectively the same car apart from the height

I don't know how much you'd save but there may be some truth there - I don't think there's a huge difference between Allroad and other Quattro models. However, the Allroad has a more modern-looking grill so it will pass as a newer car if it's in good condition.

I can’t help noticing how many Audi’s you see in winter ski resorts

That's more to do with the clientele rather than capability though isn't it? 🙂

Pleased with the Skoda Octavia Scout

We actually set out trying to buy a Scout but they were all quite expensive locally. The Audi was similarly-priced and feels a tiny bit nicer inside compared to the 3rd gen Octavia*. I actually think I'd prefer the more understated optics of a Skoda but I couldn't bring myself to pay more for a Skoda than a similar Audi!

* The Scout trim on the 3rd gen Octavia is really pretty nice. Good materials, lots of toys etc. I also looked at the older 2nd gen Octavia Scout which was a very basic cabin by comparison.

I had an A6 quattro Avant and put CrossClimates on it - was quite impressive in the snow and ice.

Replaced it this Feb with a Q5, however due to lockdown and WFH I have only put 7000 miles on the OEM tyres, so can't justify replacing them with CrossClimates yet. Given that I'll be WFH through this winter and not likely to be going anywhere much I'll change then next Autumn.

I would agree that decent all season or winter tyres make a bigger difference that 4wd over 2wd on regular tyres.

Yetiman is correct my friends had A6’s

We had a standard 2011 A4 Quattro and the 2.0TFSI had a problem around that age with piston rings/bores in some cars.  Ours started using oil at a phenomenal rate and we got new set of pistons under warranty at about 20k.  All good.

Then with 8 years/110k on the clock it started using a lot of oil again (1litre/750miles).  Audi wouldn't help at all, their only suggestion was to tear into the engine to check the bores and hope it didn't need a whole replacement engine.  W<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">e got shot as the potential cost of a new engine was much higher than the value of the car.</span>

We may have been very unlucky, but I would personally check whether the car had the warranty work when new, and then stay clear if there had been a problem in the past.

Great car other than that.  A big comfortable, high speed cruiser.  It coped with snow pretty well even on the wide standard tyres so imagine swissland would be it's natural home.

'Nerd alert!' One thing to bare in mind when comparing A4/A6 quattro's to the Skoda Scout is that they use entirely different drivetrains. The Audis use the Torsen system that's permanent 4 wheel drive whereas the Skoda has Haldex which is normally front driven with AWD on demand and they are both quite different to drive.
I've had my 2009 A6 Allroad 3.0 tdi with 160k for 5 years now and it's been great. The air suspension for me makes the car - you can have either a low slung estate or a very capable off-roader with self leveling for load carrying and towing.

As for the Volvos, I’ve never owned one, but I hear that they aren’t very fun to drive.

I don’t think you’ll find them any less fun than the Audi. I spent a lot of time reading about the current cars of the time 10 years and one thing always commented on about the Audi was how the drive was dull compared to the competitors.

Most of important issues have been said, especially potential TFSI oil issues can be expensive to fix.

Having driven about dozen +800km days each year for last 14 years in various cars, including A4 Audis and a 3-series BMW there is no clear winner in my view. I love the stability (dullness?, with or without quattro) of Audis at the end of long winter drives. BMW is more lively and not bad on long drives either, especially with x-drive.

I still want the car to handle well on normal roads

NSL in Der Schweiz is 80kmh so I would imagine most cars operate under the sporty envelope.... as I'm sure you know if you live there.

Probably want the car to be a nice place to spend time...

When people say they want a good handling car do they really mean it? For me a good handling car is one that is well balanced and responsive at or beyond the limits of grip. When within the limits of grip handling is irrelevant as you just turn the wheel and the car goes around the corner as if on rails. In reality people never get to the point the cars handling is important.

What they really mean is they want a car that feels nice to drive - not too much sea-sick inducing rolling or wallowing around in corners, a nice balance of firm, but compliant suspension etc. This is not handling in the sportscar sense, but more about driving quality. An Audi feels fine to me...or the last A4 I drove did...no more dull than any other generic rep mobile I've ever driven, though the older I get Audi's do tend to have pretty firm suspension for my liking. Cars get a reputation and people spurt out the usual stuff parrot fashion so the dull steering reputation of an Audi is a nonsense these days. They are a bit nose heavy and if you're too eager on the throttle around a roundabout you'll quickly get some understeer or that front end scrabbly thing, but no different to most other FWD cars out there. And that has as much to do with the tyres fitted - low profile or not? and the type of diff. But a Quattro would be a different kettle of fish compared with a 2wd version. They just have so much grip.

I suspect an Allroad would be more wallowing and rolling around than a normal A4 avant Quattro if it doesn't have any clever electronic suspension, so unless you really think you need the additional ground clearance then may be just go for the normal Avant Quattro or similar.

@wobbliscott, I think you make a very good case.

Crikey, step out of the forum for a day and it appears I missed out on the free disco biscuits handout ^^

can’t justify replacing them with CrossClimates yet. Given that I’ll be WFH through this winter and not likely to be going anywhere much I’ll change then next Autumn.

err..... first day of snow today and realised this morning just how crap the OEM tyres actually are.... So Santa came early and it has 4 CrossClimates SUV tyres now on - bring on the snow .. 🙂

General Grabber AT3's on the Discovery - not specific winter tyres, but have the 3 peaks snowflake symbol. Should see me fine for getting around safely

Not fussed about changing the Michelin PS4's on the Audi - if it goes out in the snow, it will be for the purpose of drifting 😉

Not that I'm expecting much snow 🙁

You are all wrong. In the alps, all you need is a Fiat Panda with winter tyres, not even the 4wd version.