Bring back the lifted wagon! Audi A5 Allroad Avant 2026 imagined as SUV alternative

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The lifted wagon market is shrinking into extinction. The nameplate that popularised them in Australia, the Subaru Outback, is becoming a high-riding SUV in its next-gen form, which would leave only the six-figure Taycan Cross Turismo left on sale.

But what about Audi, known for its A4 and A6 Allroad wagons? Isn’t this the time the brand with four rings might want to double down on its niche?

We asked Audi Australia executives about the likelihood of the Allroads return in the current A5 — replacing the old ‘B9’ A4 — and A6 line ups for Australia.

With relatively positive answers (essentially ‘watch this space’), we also commissioned digital artist Theottle to bring the idea to life.

Taking previous Allroads as inspiration, the new ‘B10’ A5 Allroad features gloss black cladding around the wheelarches and side skirts to protect the ruby red paint when on dirt.

At the front, the lower bumper garnish has been smoothed out to improve approach angle, while the car has been subtly lifted

Being an A5, it would ride on steel springs and adaptive dampers. The larger and dearer A6 Allroad would probably get active air suspension for even greater capability and comfort.

Keeping things classy, the A5 Allroad retains silver trim around the windows matched with silver roof rails.

A logical case could be made for a 200kW 2.0TFSI petrol entry point and possibly a 270kW 2.0-litre PHEV as a high-grade trim option. Any entry price point slipping below $100K would be ideal.

However, raising the stakes, our imagination shown here is based on the punchy V6-powered S5 Avant.

Could a new A5 Allroad really happen?

Speaking at the launch of the new A5, Audi was typically guarded in its answers, yet didn’t rule a new lifted wagon out entirely.

In fact, head of product Audi Australia Matt Dale made a fair business case for bringing back the Allroad.

“What we’ve seen throughout the generations of Allroad, whether it be A4 or A6, is that customers will purchase an Allroad and be an Allroad customer, almost for life.

“So you’ll see repurchases if there’s a new generation, or potentially a facelift. People stepping out of their current Allroad and purchasing a new one. And that might be because of new technologies, new drivetrains, changeover periods for cars, but also all-new generations of cars, too.”

Dale says that Australian customers are fans of Allroads with a greater share here than you would see in other markets, as a unique all-wheel-drive proposition with much of the talent (often more) than today’s SUVs.

Not that a new Allroad would be a big volume play for Audi. The just-released Q5 and coming Q3 are what Audi’s betting success on in Australia.

“Never say never,” says Dale, explaining in Australia the brand has “a very strong, stoic database of customers that live and breathe Allroad vehicles.”

Would it be a mistake not to bring back the Allroad badge, then?

“If we have customers that are currently in our database for Allroad and putting their hand up, obviously we would look at that, have a business case behind it, and push that to the factory as well to hopefully gain a product”, said Dale.

“We look at every segment in totality. With B10 [A5], if there was an opportunity for something like [Allroad] or there was an opportunity in, say, an A6, we would definitely stick our hand up for that.”