I'll start by saying that my 98.5 Avant QMS is the second wagon I've owned. I had a 95 Passat GLX wagon. I've also owned a 00 S4, so I think I can acurately gauge a this cars potential.

When you get in the car the first thing you notice is the instument dials. They've moved away from the flat dials like the A4/A6 and they are now beveled like the RS4. Very cool. Everything is exactly where it is in the A6, with the addition of the height control features, which are very easy to use.

The stearing is VERY light in the allroad. I'd say half of what it is in the S4, which I didn't like. I drove a Tip, and they have moved the stearing wheel shifters closer to the outside of the wheel. At first I thought the buttons were too light and in a bad place, but then I realized they were placed there and made that light for a reason. With the new position, you don't have to move your hand at all to shift, and the buttons are so light that you can shift without moving your thumbs, you can just press you hand in different ways and get the car to shift. However, if you have small hands you'd be SOL.

When driving, the engine seems even smoother then in the S4. My guess is that it's because of the extra weight of the allroad, but it's butter smooth. On the back roads you can really haul, but you need to set up for corners. The suspension is soft enough that you encounter body-roll induced understeer. If you just throw the car into a corner, the body rolls and then pulls the car out and creates understeer. You can counter this with more braking prior to the corner, setting up the suspension entering the corner, and then using the quattro system to pull you through. My Passat wagon used to do this, but I didn't have all wheel drive to help.

Once you get the hang of it you can drive it really hard. It's just a big rally car! The suspension is pretty cool and you can change it while driving. It's barely noticable when sitting still and completely un-noticable when moving.

The S4 Avant is the car for me, but for those looking for a bigger wagon with lots of power, then the allroad would be a great choice. That is until we get a A6 Avant with the 2.7T ( not from what I've heard ) or the S6 Avant ( possibly sometime next summer/fall ).

Just thought I'd pass this along....

 

I am planning on purchasing an S4 Avant. But if an S6 Avant were available.....hmmm. Would make my wife happy at least she's still buggin for the V70.

 

Just rumors at this point...but rumors point to sometime next summer/fall from what I've heard....

 

S6 Avant is a great tourer, and the practicality of the huge storage space and V8 are great

 

I thought Audi had confirmed that in a press release or at a show.

 

You guys need to get around a bit more ....

 

nt

 

Dude, look at the date that Snick posted that message....11/3/00....it was a rumor back then