What's New for 2002

Review

A luxury wagon that stands tall when it has to. That's one way to describe the height-adjustable allroad quattro from Audi. It has a gracefully appointed interior, plenty of guts under the hood and an all-wheel-drive system for occasional off-road adventures. And when you take into consideration the commodious rear cargo area and a variety of convenience packages, you can make this car whatever you want it to be.

The allroad's 250-horsepower 2.7-liter V6 engine is a proven winner in Audi's A6 2.7T. The engine has five valves per cylinder and uses twin turbochargers to generate 258 foot-pounds of torque over a broad rpm band. The powerplant is mated to a six-speed manual transmission or an optional five-speed Tiptronic automatic, which allows the driver either to leave it in automatic mode or change gears manually. Power is distributed to all wheels using traction-seeking sensors that detect slippage and automatically adjust to give sure-footed handling.

What really distinguishes the allroad is the four-position variable-height pneumatic suspension varying ground clearance up to 2.6 inches. This feature also provides load-leveling capabilities to adjust for the number of passengers or cargo weight. For example, the car parks itself in the second-highest setting for slide-in seating. At speeds over 50 mph the car lowers an inch; at 75 mph it lowers another inch. You can manually override these settings with a switch on the dash. Off-roading can be accomplished in the highest setting with an impressive ground clearance of 8.2 inches. This means the allroad is aerodynamic at high speeds and can still journey over rutted roads without fear of being disemboweled like your standard station wagon.

Safety features in the allroad include ABS and a variety of airbags. Besides front airbags, Audi has included drop-down curtain airbags called Sideguard. These airbags protect the head and neck area of passengers, particularly from striking the roof pillars. Additionally, the Sideguard airbags stay inflated for 5 seconds to offer protection against secondary impact and rollover. Furthermore, if any airbag is deployed, the fuel system is cut off, the doors unlock and the interior lights illuminate. When the rear-facing third-row bench seat is installed, it has its own three-point safety belts and head restraints.

The Audi allroad is offered with a choice of packages. The Premium package provides memory positions for the front seats, electronically folding exterior mirrors and auto-dimming rearview and outside mirrors. The Convenience package includes heated front and rear seats, a HomeLink transmitter and heated multifunction steering wheel. A Warm Weather package uses a solar sunroof to power interior cooling fans in hot weather and sunshades to screen the rear windows. The guidance package includes a GPS navigation system and a back-up warning system.

With the allroad, Audi has filled the SUV void in its model line while creating a versatile, luxurious people-mover.