Audi's new A4 Allroad showcases smarter quattro all-wheel drive.
Audi is using the immiment release of its new A4 Allroad to be literal vehicle to showcase its newest developments in its quattro all-wheel drive system.
In addition to being more capable in off-road conditions, this new-generation of Audi’s all-wheel drive is 4kg lighter and is able to deliver greater fuel efficiency and carbon emissions by deactivating drive to the rear wheels when not needed, essentially operating as a front-wheel drive vehicle. And when more grip is required, Audi says the car activate all-wheel traction in a way that’s imperceptible to the driver.
The new A4 Allroad, a ruggedised Avant varaint of its new B9 generation A4 sedan, will come powered with a 2.0-litre TFSI 4-cylinder petrol engine with 188kW while three additional diesel engines will become available shortly after with a 2.0-litre TDI (142kW) or two flavours of 3.0-litre TDI engines (162kW or 203kW).
The Allroad naturally takes a lot of cues from the Audi (B9) A4 Avant (pictured in red below), but rides higher than its sibling (34mm higher, to be exact), and comes fitted with the requisite grey protective cladding around the car’s lower permiter and wheel arches.
To aid in the A4 Allroad’s go-anywhere ability, the German manufacturer has also equipped it with a self-locking centre differential that Audi says has been engineered to eliminate lag and offer true on-demand torque where its needed most. This is achieved by configuring it as a purely mechanical planetary gear.
In normal driving conditions, the power is split 60/40 with a rear axle bias, but under specific conditions the all-wheel drive system can send as much as 70 percent of drive to the front wheels and up to 85 percent to the rear wheels.
The all-wheel drive system is also intergrated into the car’s adaptive driving system, Audi Drive Select, and can be adjusted to suit the driver’s changing needs between modes such as Automatic, Dynamic, or Individual.
Audi is expected to begin European orders for the A4 Allroad in April, with first deliveries there slated for June. We’ll bring you more info as an when Audi makes a play for the Australian market with this new addition to the A4 line.
