Europe has all the best cars. Being built around centuries-old markets has led to cities full of narrow roads and high pedestrian traffic. That’s kept trucks and SUVs from really getting a foothold in the market the way the sprawling grid of North America has.
It’s also meant that insecure and compensating men have had to look elsewhere to exert there masculinity. Like in tiny sports cars and the straight-up misogyny of more rigid gender constructs.
It’s also meant that hatchbacks and station wagons have been able to thrive, their low-riding platforms offering horizontal solutions to the need for extra storage. As they’ve remained in demand, manufacturers have offered performance-oriented variants to satisfy those niche markets. Think of the hot hatch. Something like the GTI would never come from a land that puts a premium on displacement over handling.
It’s the same too with wagons. There is all manner of trucks and SUVs to accommodate people looking to go off-roading, but unless you’re willing to put a lift kit on your car (please don’t), there are few non-high-riding options for you.
Fortunately, the folks at the German AF Audi are bringing the A6 AllRoad back to these shores for 2020. Based on the Avant version of the big sedan, the AllRoad is an all-terrain wagon with some serious capabilities, as well as a Teutonic sense of style.
The A6 AllRoad: For When You Need to Go Off-Road, But Still Have Dignity
The A6 features an air-suspension with six different settings, maxing out at 7.3-inches of ground clearance. The 3.0L turbo V6 creates 335hp and 369lb-ft of torque, sent through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission to all four corners. A 48-volt battery offers hybrid support to the engine, too, somehow, I guess. It’s in the spec sheet.
Anyway, it comes with a bunch of stuff that people expect from a modern luxury car, but in typical fashion, we don’t really touch on that kinda thing here. There’s interior ambient lighting and a 3-D Bang & Olufsen sound system, both of which sound exactly like the type of thing we just can’t care about.
But a German wagon? We can care about that.