Sport mode in the transmission pairs nicely with Dynamic in Audi’s Drive Select settings, and despite the extra 23 mm of ride height and extra 34 mm of ground clearance over the sedan, the Allroad can scoot along twisting roads with an alacrity that beats out most any other high-riding crossover, if not any of the sport sedans in the luxury segment. Drive Select also offers several other modes to cater to various driving moods or conditions, from Efficiency to Offroad as well as the aforementioned Sport. An Individual setting allows you to separately adjust the different components controlled by Drive Select, setting each system incorporated into the Drive Select mix, including steering, suspension and engine to suit your personal taste or mood. Taking advantage of the extra ground clearance of the Allroad, an Offroad setting in Drive Select focuses on low-traction terrain to tackle particularly tough trails to the cottage or chalet, locking the Quattro in all-wheel-drive mode and adjusting engine, transmission, suspension as well as ABS and traction control for ideal performance on light off-road terrain.

Another area where Audi’s early adoption has paid off is all-wheel drive. Audi’s Quattro AWD has been around for over 35 years now, launched to spectacular success in WRC with the Quattro Group B rally car in 1980 and as the first sport-oriented all-wheel drive system in a road car, also named Quattro. To complete the set of four, Audi eventually named its in-house tuning arm Quattro GmbH (or quattro GmbH if you want to respect Audi’s branding over the rules of grammar). Anyhow, being as the Allroad is officially the A4 Allroad Quattro (or again, A4 allroad quattro), Audi chose this model in which to debut the next evolution of its AWD system.

The latest Vorsprung durch Technik here is a multi-plate clutch at the transmission takeoff, which can decouple the drive shaft to the rear differential, while another clutch disengages the rear differential when the AWD controller determines that front-drive is sufficient for surface conditions. The main benefit is a distinct improvement in highway or cruising efficiency, where the Allroad can avoid drag losses of the rear differentials and gears without any disadvantage in terms of performance in low-traction situations. Control over the distribution of torque falls to the electronic brain of Quattro, which records and analyzes data from sensors for steering angle, lateral and longitudinal acceleration, engine torque and more, and can adjust torque distribution predictively (balancing torque evenly when accelerating in slippery conditions or in FWD mode when cruising on the highway) or reactively (i.e. when hitting a patch of ice or gravel unexpectedly).

All 100 percent of the torque can be sent to the front or rear wheels as conditions dictate, and it is seamless in operation whether shifting power or decoupling the clutches when coasting in FWD mode.

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