How Jacked-up Estates Can Find Their Niche At Last

Last week a new Audi A6 Allroad showed up and I was into the silly pseudo-bucket seats almost before the delivery driver could get out.

I then had a brief fiddle with the air suspension before retreating to the pavement to gawp at the bulging RS6-style wheel arches, noting the incongruous Michelin Pilot Sport 5 tyres. Ridiculous fawning, given I'm not sure I'd buy one of these rare-groove Audis even after depreciation has gripped. I just can't get along with the latest generation of disjointed, unimaginative cabins. In any case, by the time prices drop to something starting with a three, diesel will cost more than olive oil.

But what a thing, and Audi deserves credit for continuing to offer the Allroad long after Mercedes pulled the plug on the E-Class All-Terrain in the UK (agonisingly it's still on sale in mainland Europe, mit petrol straight six). It's tempting to say BMW has never considered the rough-road estate, as a consequence of being the first of the German premium marques to tap into SUV riches with the X5, but this ignores the existence of the humpbacked, knobbly-tyred 530iX Enduro. This was a one-off take on the E34 Touring that German mag Auto Motor und Sport cajoled BMW's then new Individual department into crafting. Fair play. Alas, it came to nought.

The Enduro wasn't ground zero for this special category, of course. AMC's Eagle landed as far back as 1979, replete with 4.2-litre straight six making all of 110bhp. Quite how it hauled itself anywhere interesting is a mystery, but this transmogrified estate, seemingly from the mind of Mad Max creator George Miller, started something. It left such an impression on Car and Driver's David E Davis Jr that he bought 200 AMC shares as soon as he got home from reviewing it. Nearly half a century later, it seems unlikely that the A6 Allroad, no matter how many road test stars it achieves, will move the Volkswagen Group's share price. It probably should, mind. Our Vorsprung test car cost £90,335.

There have been others, notably the Volvo V90 Cross Country, Subaru Outback and more recently the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo. But despite offering utility that is more a mere suggestion, top-tier ride quality and material lavishness, and a kerbside deportment no SUV can match, the format remains niche. How to make it more popular, thus ensuring its continued existence? Give them to police traffic officers. Fast enough, spacious enough, a bit of intimidation factor... Just look what plod, storming down the outside lane in a forcefield of blue light, did for the cachet of the Volvo V70.

Or maybe prevailing market conditions will play nicely into the hands of the Allroad et al. Think about it: the i5 Touring, to pick one of many examples, always looks a bit awkward in profile because BMW has had to disguise the height of the battery. It would look more natural if it had hulking arch guards and a bit of chonk about it, to balance out the weirdly thick floor. Also, in the electric era, an estate is usefully more aerodynamic than an SUV (not to mention sweeter-handling). Lastly, if we're trying to reduce our carbon footprints, one car that does everything is a sensible approach.

It seems the rough-road estate is an idea whose time might finally have arrived. All of which is to say that I expect Audi to discontinue the Allroad within 18 months.