142 guy

If you want a station wagon that can be registered in North America, you can pick an Alroad or the Volvo V60 / 90 or an E class Mercedes for a lot more $. There is maybe a BMW M5 touring coming next year. None of them are really good at being a wagon to haul stuff like my old Volvo 745 turbo wagon was; but, none of them drive quite as badly as my 745T did which is a good thing, although the V60 seems like it is trying to hang on to its 745 / 945 / 850 roots. The MMI thing on the Volvo get a big thumbs down from me while I can tolerate the one on my 2021 Audi. The 2021 still had ***** and switches for the heating and AC, the absence of which axed a lot of vehicles from my shopping list.

It seems that most of your gripes would have been apparent if you had test sat in a sedan and looked at stuff. Cup holders, stupid storage spaces, strange leather and a sun roof that disappoints you should have been apparent if you had spent 20 or 30 minutes in the show room sedan. Your comments are not off-base; but, the alroad is a 'real nice drive' and I can tolerate the annoying cup holders and stupid storage compartments to get the nice drive.

It seems like you should have done a little more reading and research before signing on the dotted line. Maybe you would have been better off with a Subaru Outback if you want a factory towing option, useful cup holders and convenient storage.

mikeru

Many of the issues you complained about are also in the A4 sedan. You must not have noticed those at the time you test drove one I take it. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of driving a new car and overlook things. I always try to bring someone with me when I look at cars. It's more likely they'll notice things since they're not as caught up in the excitement.

I'm seriously considering moving from my A4 sedan to an A4 Allroad, even knowing the short-comings it has. I'd much rather move up to an A6 Allroad but availability is the issue with that. I'm used to the A4 interior now and have gotten used to using the inconvenient cup holders. My main complaint about my A4 is the seats. The S-line seats are not leather or fabric, but some kind of alcantara material. It's durable, but it also tends to hold heat in the summer. So my next car will have ventilated seats for sure. It wasn't summer when I bought the car so that issue wasn't something I considered at the time. Regretting that now though LOL.

STSinNYC

Echoing the other members that your concerns about the interior storage etc were known when you bought the car. I find the B&O sound system to be quite good with some minor tinkering, JSchmo's detailed adjustments are worth testing. High res music files that were well mastered sound great in my allroad.
Before I bought the allroad, I drove several Volvo V70s. Also has nice features but the allroad is a much better drive. The Outback is another kind of vehicle, a mid size SUV, far less interesting, very pedestrian as a drive. Nothing at all like the allroad. The MB wagons were out of my price range as is the A6 allroad.
I am fine with the tradeoffs on the cup holders, storage etc, the allroad is such a great drive.

Dan in St. Louis

I don't drink in my car so the cupholders are for gas receipts, parking passes, and grocery lists. The cubby below and left of the steering wheel is fine for my spare eyeglasses and a couple of documents. The bin between the seats holds charging and patch cables, country cabin keys, some eyeglass cleaner, clean rags to wipe my hands, and a mini-flashlight. What more do I need?

142 guy

I was thinking 'inside the car' or more accurately 'completely inside the car' . I have hauled long stuff 'on' my alroad, the longest being a tandem kayak that is about 18'. The roof rack has seen duty for 12' lengths of lumber and other stuff. On my Volvo 745T and later Honda Pilot we could throw our downhill ski bags 'inside the car' with the small rear seat folded flat. You can barely do that with the alroad if you fit the skis diagonally across the storage area with the wide portion of the rear seat down which makes loading other stuff less convenient. Even when my kayak paddles are split they barely fit in the back with the rear seats up.

That said, I have no desire to go back to the 745T or the Pilot.

142 guy

I agree that the Outback is a different vehicle with a different focus. However, cup holders and storage space seems to have become a determining factor in the acceptability of the vehicle for the thread originator. The Outback (or most other SUVs) definitely has more efficient storage space (so does a Honda Civic Hatchback) and probably more and better cup holders so might have done a better job of addressing those hot button issues for the threads originator. Having owned a mid sized SUV, I have no desire to go back to that top heavy driving experience.

I also am fine with the trade offs associated with the A4 alroad. If I had my choice, it would not have a sunroof. That square piece of black glass in the middle of an Ibis white roof does not look great and an extra 1.5" of headroom would have been nice. But, I knew about that when I purchased the car so I 'sucked it up' along with the less than ideal storage spaces.

mikeru

I actually see the cup holders in my 2021 A4 as an upgrade from what I had in the 2010 A4 Avant I traded in for it. How many here have experience with the cup holders in the B8? I never understood the purpose of the smaller rear one. They may be poorly placed in the B9, but at least they both can be used for something with a larger diameter than a Red Bull can.

JSchmo

Chipping in that I find the overall cabin design a huge plus of the A4 (including the allroad). It's ergonomics are about the best of any car I've owned. everything is just in its place. The only miss is deleting the jog wheel- I hate touch screens- but all the frequent use items still have physical controls in easy reach while driving so even that isn't so bad.

Virtual cockpit could have even more display options and data... seems like under leveraged asset to me. Mine is a 2022 P+ with Nav and B&O and the technology pack is very well sorted (except for the disappearing radio favorites bug that is common to the entire Audi lineup). Best radar cruise implementation I've driven.

Cupholders are ... adequate. But in the scheme of importance, their non awesomeness isn't a big deal. They are easy to reach, and if the item is small, they work well. Sunglasses fit perfectly on the little "stage" in front of them.

Keep perspective that this is not a large car...space is constrained in this class. But for a use case of daily driver for me, occasional long road trips with family or gear hauling trips, camping etc, its an outstanding premium vehicle and a great value for the money. (that sakd if I had another 25 grand to spend, I'd get the fully kitted A6 allroad in a heartbeat... although the A6 interior is NOT better design IMO, the size increase pays substantial dividends in hauling a family).

Oh yeah, and it's gorgeous...

I do feel the driving experience is extremely good BUT but the OEM tires can get a bit too floaty at highway speeds in comfort mode. Dynamic mode with transmission in D fixes that. I hear the car responds well to tire and wheel upgrades... there's more performance to be had. I will find out soon as I am reaching 30k miles.

STSinNYC

Agree with JSchmo that Audi could do more with rhe virtual cockpit. They left out features for future upgrades I suppose. I could also do without the full length sunroof. And the cladding and the increase in height. Love this car anyway!

I have ContiExtremeContacts on my AR, very good match for the car. Good handling and traction. No floating feeling at all.

Dan in St. Louis

AMEN to that. I bought my allroad instead of an Outback because I didn't care for the way SUVs looked or drove. True, it is not a large car.............