modeseven

Hi Everyone,

I am interested to hear your guy's opinion on the A4 Allroad splitting it's time as a family hauler. I'm especially keen to hear those among us that have small children. Do you find leg room a problem with a baby or child seat?

I want the Allroad, wife likes the Q5 or equivalent SUV/Crossover.

Thanks!

Peppe1.8T

I'll let you know soon. I'm trading my A3 in for a new Allroad, just waiting for it to come from port. Like you it would be a part time family hauler. My wife drives a Volvo XC60 so that gets most of the family hauling duty. I have two boys 4 and 6 and have been squeezing them in the A3 for 27 months so I'm really excited about the Allroad!

modeseven

That would be amazing, thank you! I have a 2 and 5 yr old. I am coming from a 2nd gen Lexus IS, which is also a bit of a squeeze.

I have always admired the A4 Advant and by extension the Allroad from afar. I can understand why you are so excited... hell I'm excited for you.

mikec157

I have one kid in a rear facing car seat, and we hope to add a second kid soon.

In my current b7a4 the passenger seat is basically unusable when the kid seat is installed - which is actually a good thing cos I am under the takata recal and Audi suggest I simply don't use the passenger seat, which is somewhat unhelpful given there is no timeframe for a fix.

The allroad will allow for the rear facing seat to be in place and still get my wife in front seat (we tried the seat ina loaner a4 sedan). The wagon part should also give enough space to haul a bike or so.

My wife has a Tiguan, which has more rear seat room (I think) but the trunk is smaller and very shallow.

Overall I think the allroad is the best alternative to an SUV. However, the new q5 will have a similar interior, and will probably be cheaper, but I don't want to get the current q5. It is looking seriously dated inside when you put it alongside the new a4.

CoMeader

I've had a B7 Avant (so about 1 to 1.5 inches less than the new allroad in terms of rear seat leg/head/and shoulder space) with kiddos for the past 7 years.

I can't speak to the rear facing seats, but have had no problem with forward facing seats for two boys growing over the years from ages 2-11. That said they were both good about not kicking the seat backs. We didn't have any problems with two adults and two kids even doing long road trips. We did 2-3 8 hour plus trips each year. Even now we find we have enough room for two adults and two kiddos with a rear full of gymnastics or hockey gear. I love my Avant, and I'm hoping I love my allroad even more in a few days.

That said, my suggestion would depend a lot on who's going to drive the car and what their priorities are. I love the Avant's looks, handling, and gas mileage. However, our SUV (LR3) is a lot more practical for day to day use because there's more room for the boys to put stuff between them, it has a trailer hitch for bikes (one of my favorite Audi US product management rants), and we don't have to pack as carefully. In the winter we carry emergency gear everywhere so that eats a lot of space. One other factor would be pets - the way the back of the Avant is shaped there's not enough space for our 100# lab to be comfortable standing up.

BSW

Does anyone know *why* Audi won't supply a hitch? not worth the time? too much aftermarket? it really makes no sense to offer a sporty car and not have the option.

edit: by sporty I mean 'outdoors focused' not sports car like...

DaveSNJ

Since the B9 A4 and the 2018 Q5 are on the same platform is the rear seat room all that much different between the Allroad and the Q5? I assume you're talking about a 2018 Q5, and not the current version.

The two share a wheelbase at 111", so I can't imagine the interior packaging is vastly different. I think the Q5 seat slides fore/aft, so that might help a bit...enough to make a difference? I guess you'll have to compare them side by side.

modeseven

Thank you for everyone's input, we really appreciate the help.

Yes, we were comparing it to the 2018 Q5. Unfortunately the new Q5 is still a fair ways off (spring at the earliest?). I do favor the Allroad but I fear that it may not be much better off based on factory order lead time + dealer inventory allocation issues.

CoMeader

Probably the same reason they don't offer headlight washers, full-function preset buttons, park assist, multiple wheel options, etc in the US market (i.e. Garbis only knows).

sccooper

I have a 6yr old in a forward facing car seat in my B9 Allroad, he sits behind the passenger seat and it's always pretty far back; he says he has plenty of room. He's not fussy about these things.