The typical four-wheel drive is the auto equivalent of the cowboy. Tough. Rugged. Uncompromising. With the Allroad, Audi has created a vehicle that resembles the male lead from the romance novel: not only is it able and challenging, it's also refined and classy with a generous and gentle interior.

The very first question anybody asks of the four-wheel drive car such as the Audi Allroad is: "Can it go off road?" The Audi Allroad, although it might not hold the ground clearance of the militarystyle car as a Jeep//\">Jeep, definitely has adequate ground clearance to acquire over a bumpy paddock - back-country roads are a wind for the Germanbuilt Audi Allroad. And the Allroad has Audi's famed Quattro system of four-wheel drive.

The 3.0 litre diesel-engine is really capable of creating 171 kW of power at 4000 rpm plus an enormous 450 Nm of torque at quite a low 1400-3250 rpm. The power station within the Audi Allroad is effective at pushing lots of vehicle to 100 km/hr from a standstill in 7.8 seconds, and it has a high rate of 230 km/hr. The sixspeed tiptronic transmission with athletics program and DSP requires driving the Audi Allroad well beyond the normal experience of driving a four-wheel drive car.

You're in rather safe hands, when you're driving within the Audi Allroad. The Allroad has Audi's rear guard system set up, which shields travellers in a rear-end collision by keeping the torso set up and supporting the top. The brakes are as advanced and up-to-date as anybody could want.

Inside, the Audi Allroad has all the conveniences which you'd expect to see within an upmarket European auto. Leather upholstery with aluminium inlays makes the inside of the Audi Allroad tasteful and agreeable to consider (and the optional woodlook inlays are still better). The voluptuously cushioned seats include lumbar support within the front, in addition to an armrest - nearly as great as a lounge chair, perhaps better. And when you picked the optional heated seats? Mmm - quite nice really.