Almost identical specs, although I have a soft spot for Audis - but i have been driving old cars for ages... and now can’t decide between these 2 as the new family motor.
Both will be 2016 or newer.
Diesel
Largest engines possible (both do a roughly 300bhp version)
Anything to make one stand out more than the other?
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The audi will be 4wd and the bmw rwd. Lots to say about both, pros and cons, but if you are choosing the allroad over the a6 presumably there is a reason which maybe satisfied more by the better ground clearance and 4wd over the bmw?
If you don't need those two things I'd add an e class estate into the mix too.
Can’t compare the 2 as never owned a BMW however my previous car was the twin turbo all road and I loved it, missus hated it. I’d have another in a heartbeat but she wears the trousers.
Ok, so slightly different scenario but bear with me.........................
Current car Audi A6 Allroad 3.0tdi 272, previous car before this BMW 635d.
I bought the BMW back in the day because of the engine, if a 5 series or 3 series had been available with that engine before i found the 635 it would have been one of those.
The Audi is a swiss pocket knife, it does everything well, comfort of the air suspension, cavernous boot for the dogs, can tow a horse box + 1 large horse with no effort, well finished, love the Audi infotainment system, quattro and all season tyres make it nigh on unstoppable, and on it goes, it ticks a lot of boxes. However every single day i drive it i truly miss my right foot not having that sweet straight 6 BMW motor under it.
My next car, God willing, will be a BMW 535d Touring, I'd even be happy with poverty spec just to be back to the joy of the incisiveness of the BMW drive and that engine.
Horses for courses. If you do a lot of A and B road driving get the AUDI. If mostly fast motorway and trunk roads then its the BMW for me.
Does it have to be the 535d? You could go 530d (260ish bhp) with the X-drive option which gives you more of the 4wd Audi feel.
Does the 535d not have the xDrive option?
If so, I would have thought quite a few would have that option.... certainly many of the newer BMW tourings (3 & 5 series), I see out and about seem to have xDrive badges.
No experience of either of the options but don’t rule out a remap for any of these. My last car was an A5 3.0 TDi which I had remapped and the difference in driving, throttle pick up everything in fact was night and day. Went from~240BHP to ~280 and 500 torques to around 600 but it was like driving 2 different cars. (Had to remove the remap when I bought the current car and driving it back from the tuner was like driving a Morris marina)
Would be interesting to find out the reason why she hated the Allroad, I assume it could've been for its appearance?Originally Posted by Franky Four Fingers
Not had these particular cars but have had many BMW’s and a couple of Audis
For me the difference is you drive a BMW, but the Audi drives you
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Does the Allroad have air suspension? If so, any known issues? On a 4-5 year old car you might want to factor in the expense of fixing something.
I think the A6 Allroad might have air suspension all round, whereas I know the 5 series touring has it on the rear only. On the 5 series it's not a big issue if you get a leak etc. The compressor and gubbins are behind the rear bumper, so does get a bit exposed to road debris etc. but can be accessed relatively easily.
No, she hated the driving position and apparently the pedals were at the wrong angle. She disliked the gearbox despite it being a joy. She also was scared of the 300plus bhp and said she struggled to drive it smoothly. All of course rubbish and were excuses for the fact that it was something I always wanted and she didn’t....simple as that.
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Yes it does or at least mine did, 3 heights if i remember correctly
To be fair I avoid Audi as I find the pedals too high
Last car was a 2016 Audi A6 Allroad Sport with lots of options. Really was a very nice well made comfortable car with the air suspension, especially in sport mode. Relaxing car for touring across France. I have owned a number of BMWs before (328is coupe, 320i saloon, i3, 330d saloon) and the drive of the Audi is much softer and less involving. The steering has the well documented slightly numb Audi feel compared with a BMW. You soon get used to it though and its not a big issue. I replaced the Audi 9 months ago with a Tesla Model 3, a company car. As nice as the Audi is I drove it after a few weeks of driving just the Tesla and it was shocking. Like stepping back in time into something from the olden days. However, if you aren’t going to be comparing with a Tesla completely disregard this comment!
Cheers all. I had considered a remap too, as it happens. The air suspension doesn’t concern me. Some reports of failures on the Beemer, but very few. None on the Audi. (Honest John reviews for both)
Neither have any mechanical concerns of note and have been about long enough for them to appear if they had.
I had a 2015 A4 avant as a company car briefly, got it with less than 1000miles on the clock - was nicely put together but the auto boot failed on me within weeks!
Also had an old 528 saloon and hooned it round a corner on the snow, overcooked it and hit the curb with the face of the rear wheel, buckled axle. Totally my doing though, was 3rd time around the corner in 5 mins, getting braver on the drift...
Was a 2001 I think, and was one of the nicest put together cabins ever
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Last edited by notenoughwrists; 22nd January 2021 at 18:23.
Good luck - I doubt you will be disappointed with either choice.
Just on that point: The standard A6 Avant of that era didn't get air suspension, only the Allroad, whereas the standard 5 series estate did (rear only) in the UK. There are very few Audi A6 Allroads on the road, compared to 5 series estates of that generation. So any (failure) stats need to be viewed in that light.
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