Clarkson Audi A4 Allroad review

SomeDude

According to JC the Skoda Octavia is the better car...."And don’t worry about the Skoda badge, because this is a capitalistic world and Skoda belongs to Volkswagen these days. Just like Audi."

Anyone driven either car?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/jeremy_clarkson/article6935110.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1

.Longshanks.

I've never driven any of those cars but surely nobody would buy a car based on JC's opinion

Cookie_Monster

of course it is, we all know here the the octavia is the best car of all time, only needs a TDI

Bandara

It's not as fast as the passat

Vroom
vroom

teednab-el

Hammertime wrote: »

It's not as fast as the passat

Vroom
vroom

Passat is a heavier car though.

Matt Simis

A4 Allroad - No Air Suspension (?) = no point.
Its the A6 Allroad for poor people.

Mr.Boots

He may be right...But most people will buy the Audi because of the badge...not because its a better car.
Easy for JC to say as he has a Lambo.

copacetic

the A6 allroad has something going for it with the fantastic air suspension system, allowing you to let it adjust itself to give you the correct clearance/comfort for your speed, but without it the A4 allroad is just the A4 slightly raised up. If you need 4x4 sometimes it's an ok option and the 3.0TDI is a great engine, but don't see the point over the avant with 4x4. The scout is a nice car, but again, just raising them up for no real reason is a bit silly.

kindalen

very few octavia estates here,but the octavia's are very well put together. you cant ignore jd power survey. a4 estates only look nice in the rs guise.
someone told me the other day that the kia c'eed is the biggest selling estate in ireland? can this be true?

245

Hammertime wrote: »

It's not as fast as the passat

Vroom
vroom

but the octavia has a bigger boot

racso1975

for once can we leave the old and tired octavia joke's out of this tread. Jez how many times does the boot joke need to be done or in any vag thread the hilarious tdi red i red di red blah blah blah jokes

245

racso1975 wrote: »

for once can we leave the old and tired octavia joke's out of this tread. Jez how many times does the boot joke need to be done or in any vag thread the hilarious tdi red i red di red blah blah blah jokes

Those jokes are no more ridiculous than Jeremy Clarkson - it all ties up quite neatly

pburns

The A4 All-Road is one of the few Audis I want to like. Air suspension is all and good for the A6 but the complexity/weight/cost are downsides.

I love Clarkson's unapolegetic anti-PC views and I've been reading him since I was a nipper - long before he ever appeared on TV. I wouldn't pay any attention to his car reviews though. I don't think even he means them to be taken seriously at this stage tbh...

CJhaughey

copacetic wrote: »

the A6 allroad has something going for it with the fantastic air suspension system, allowing you to let it adjust itself to give you the correct clearance/comfort for your speed, but without it the A4 allroad is just the A4 slightly raised up. If you need 4x4 sometimes it's an ok option and the 3.0TDI is a great engine, but don't see the point over the avant with 4x4. The scout is a nice car, but again, just raising them up for no real reason is a bit silly.

Sometimes a little more ground clearance is a handy thing, Especially if you live in the sticks and drive down bumpy backroads a lot.
If you don't need a proper 4x4 but still want increased clearance what do you do apart from sticking raised suspension on yourself.
I think it's a great idea and looking at the sales for the scout in the UK so do the public.

Matt Simis

CJhaughey wrote: »

Sometimes a little more ground clearance is a handy thing, Especially if you live in the sticks and drive down bumpy backroads a lot.
If you don't need a proper 4x4 but still want increased clearance what do you do apart from sticking raised suspension on yourself.
I think it's a great idea and looking at the sales for the scout in the UK so do the public.

What the "public" think is irrelevant is it not? The Scout is comparatively cheap as chips, therefore it will always have a market, its not a testament to its offroad prowess IMO. The Air Suspension on the AR/A6 AR isnt just for making it higher, it makes it lower at motorway speeds and can be lowered for increased stability on twisty but fast backroads too. Without Air Suspension but with high static springs you have a car that suffers aerodynamically, performance and comfort are compromised.

On the alleged complexity of Air Suspension, our old Allroad with first gen air suspension lasted 120k miles before suspension parts had to be changed (Air Springs are like 200 - 300 each, not that expensive). The Touareg has 2nd gen Air Suspension (optional) which is better again (ie shielding around the air springs to stop dirt damaging the bag). I would assume VAG are onto 3rd gen now on the A6 AR and 2010 Touareg, A6 Allroad, Q7 etc.

CJhaughey

Matt Simis wrote: »

What the "public" think is irrelevant is it not?

Not in the context of vehicle sales, it is highly relevant.
If the public wanted normal height octavias they would buy them, the fact that they buy raised versions means that they prefer higher vehicles.
It may be that they don't need the ground clearance but are families and the kids are easier to put in higher vehicles.
I don't know why they buy them but they do.

Matt Simis

CJhaughey wrote: »

Not in the context of vehicle sales, it is highly relevant.
If the public wanted normal height octavias they would buy them, the fact that they buy raised versions means that they prefer higher vehicles.

But we arent talking about sales, you said you thought the idea itself was great and used sales figures in UK to back that up. Im just saying because something sells, especically something cheap, doesnt make it "great".

CJhaughey

Matt Simis wrote: »

But we arent talking about sales, you said you thought the idea itself was great and used sales figures in UK to back that up. Im just saying because something sells, especically something cheap, doesnt make it "great".

I was responding to Copacetics post that the raised suspension was "silly".
I still think it is a great idea. Most Irish roads suit raised ground clearance, Obviously not motorways (except flooded one) but most rural backroads are very uneven and the extra 30mm of clearance can make the difference between scraping the chassis off the road or not.
The UK while enjoying a largely better quality road network still seems to like the Scout.

cadaliac

Matt Simis wrote: »

What the "public" think is irrelevant is it not? The Scout is comparatively cheap as chips, therefore it will always have a market, its not a testament to its offroad prowess IMO. The Air Suspension on the AR/A6 AR isnt just for making it higher, it makes it lower at motorway speeds and can be lowered for increased stability on twisty but fast backroads too. Without Air Suspension but with high static springs you have a car that suffers aerodynamically, performance and comfort are compromised.

On the alleged complexity of Air Suspension, our old Allroad with first gen air suspension lasted 120k miles before suspension parts had to be changed (Air Springs are like 200 - 300 each, not that expensive). The Touareg has 2nd gen Air Suspension (optional) which is better again (ie shielding around the air springs to stop dirt damaging the bag). I would assume VAG are onto 3rd gen now on the A6 AR and 2010 Touareg, A6 Allroad, Q7 etc.

Air Springs are like 200 - 300 each, not that expensive - really, ah well, I'll take four then!
@ 120k major suspension components "shouldn't" break or go. I know that most cars they do, but still, a tasty bill for someone.

Matt Simis

cadaliac wrote: »

Air Springs are like 200 - 300 each, not that expensive - really, ah well, I'll take four then!
@ 120k major suspension components "shouldn't" break or go. I know that most cars they do, but still, a tasty bill for someone.

Hold on a sec, lets get some context. We arent talking about "some car". the Allroad was premium model with a EUR70-90k tag here. It was where the Q7 is at the moment and in some countries the new model (the proper one, not the A4 Costco version) remains the most expensive Audi. Therefore the cost of EUR300 ish for a major component, one that people have this perception is a "deal breaker" is not that high.

Furthermore:
-Good "normal" suspension springs can be that price.
-In my car the previous owner replaced them, not me, just the rear 2, so not 4.
-The Previous owner was a Vet and used to drive across fields, through farmyards and bad roads nearly daily and tow a horse box and carry heavy loads.
-The original Allroad was 1.9tons, heavy cars are harder on any type of suspension.


You last comment is contradictory, you proclaim that after 120,000 miles suspension shouldnt (?) need work on a car, then state you agree that cars with less demands placed on them with metal springs also frequently need some suspension work at this point. How is that a mark against Air Suspension at all?