(Posting this here as the "allroad" section seems to be exclusively about the older A6-based version.)

My dealer finally got in their initial allotment of 2013 A4 allroads, including one to be used as a demo. I had already placed my order for one, but it was nice to be able to see and drive one in person. My qualms about buying (sort-of) sight-unseen were alleviated - this is a great car! The demo is in Monsoon Gray (same color I ordered) with Premium Plus (I got Prestige) and the MMI Navigation Plus package. The one bit I had never seen, and which is absent in all the photos I have seen of the car so far, is the panoramic moonroof, so I was a bit anxious to see what that looked like.

In person, the car looks spectacular, with the gray wheel arch protectors blending in to the paint color. The stainless steel bits look nice, though the one over the hatch lid looks a bit thin. The 1.5" height difference wasn't obvious. I'm not really a fan of the Audi "gulping fish" grille, but this was an ok variation of it with the chromed vertical bars.

The moonroof is interesting. It consists of a fixed glass panel and a sliding glass panel in front of it. A motorized fabric shade pulls over the whole length - when closed, it is sort of like a light-filtering window shade. It lets in some light but not a lot of heat. When open, a fabric mesh wind deflector pops up. This car also had the power hatch which was fun to use.

It drove pretty much the same as the A4 sedan I had tried earlier. I had read someone else's opinion that the added ride height caused it to "wallow" and be sloppy in turns, but I did not find that to be the case at all. The engine and transmission were smooth and powerful (the allroad has the 8-speed auto - I would have liked a manual, but...) Very quiet, even on bumpy roads. Lots of nice touches throughout the cabin. The seats were very comfortable, though I have ordered the sport interior for the added seat adjustments. I picked up my wife and we went for a ride - she likes it too, though she noted that the rear headrests block her vision out the mirror. I'm going to see if these can be removed and stored until I need them.

I was pleased to see that the rear wiper had a powered washer nozzle right on the arm. This is so often a weak point on cars with rear wipers. The tonneau cover in the back adjusts to two positions for easy loading. I would have liked the rear seat to have a "pass through", but the 60/40 split will do. Too bad the seats don't fold flat.

I tried the nav on the trip back to the dealer. Overall it worked well, but if I hadn't known how to get to the dealer the nav would have gotten me lost, as it kept trying to get me to turn on streets where no turns were allowed. I wonder how you can report map errors to Audi...

My car isn't expected to show up until late July or early August, so I'll have time to read the owners manual online. (Audi USA doesn't have any allroad details yet, but I assume the 2012 A4 manual will be close enough.)

 

I ordered it and got one of the first shipments over here.Not much to not like about it. I am going for a Eurodyne ECU mod and am likely to upgrade exhaust from the down pipe on. Great wagon.Don't really need to do a thing to it but I probably will.