With the 591-hp Audi RS6 Avant and A6 Allroad station wagons finally set to reintroduce midsize Audi wagon greatness to the U.S. market this summer, you may be thinking a return for the smaller A4 Avant can't be far behind. Though Audi hasn't ruled out bringing back the regular-grade A4 Avant here, it at least sends over that model's taller, pseudo-crossover sibling, the A4 Allroad. It's basically an A4 Avant with Subaru Outback-style plastic body cladding and a taller ride height. Oh, and like the A4 sedanand A5 lineup, it's been updated for 2020.
As is the case with the A4 sedan, the Allroad's drivetrain carries over from last year unchanged. You still get a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder producing 248 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque, a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and standard quattro all-wheel drive. The headlights are a different story—like the A4 sedan, the Allroad gains a set of full-LED headlights as standard. As before, the lifted wagon is set apart from its A4 and A5 mechanical siblings by matte-gray plastic body cladding on the fenders and bumpers, along with a unique "Q-design" hexagonal-mesh grille.
Allroad models additionally come standard with an adaptive suspension that offers just under 1.4 inches more ground clearance than the A4 sedan provides. There also is a standard panoramic sunroof. For 2020, Audi ups the Allroad's equipment game further, adding in the same new MMI touch infotainment system and its 10.1-inch screen that it gifted to the latest A4 and A5. The display is an instant focal point in the Allroad's updated interior, and Audi says the unit operates up to 10 times faster than the previous iteration (which was operated via several physical buttons and a control knob) and allows for higher-resolution graphics. Audi's second-generation Virtual Cockpit 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster is available, too, along with a full-color head-up display.
The 2020 Audi A4 Allroad Quattro starts at $45,595, an $1,100 drop from 2019 model-year pricing. It probably goes without saying that year-over-year price drops for improved vehicles these days is unusual in the best way possible. Step up to the '20 Allroad Premium Plus, and you'll pay $48,695; leap to the top-of-the-line Prestige trim, and Audi will request $54,645 from you. We'd pay more than that for Audi to send us the non-Allroad A4 Avant wagon. Whether that will happen remains to be seen, but if the enhanced Allroad is anything like the pre-refresh version, it's not a bad consolation prize.
