Imagine all the things you cherish—friends, financial security, love… Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Audi will give you none of those. Its name does promise to give you “all roads” and for that, at least, we’re going to see what it might be worth.
It used to be that Porsche traditionalists decried the move to water-cooled engines, as they considered air-cooling to be part and parcel an integral element of the brand’s heritage. Most of those sticklers for tradition have passed on. As such, we needn’t have much concern about those antiquated notions having affected the vote on yesterday’s 1998 Porsche Boxster—which, of course, is liquid-cooled. The rest of you seemed okay with the mid-engine car being little wet behind the ears. Most of you were even more okay with its $4,800 asking price, which earned the car a solid 81 percent Nice Price win.
If you’re a fan of garage monogamy, what car do you think might make a good match for yesterday’s Boxster? What would complement its attributes with others that play up strengths—like room and all-weather capability—that the Porsche may lack? More importantly, what car might exude the same impression of era and expectation as that Boxster.
I think we’ve found just the car. This 2005 Audi Allroad 2.7 Biturbo may be nearly a decade newer than yesterday’s Porsche, but it sure still looks like it could hold its own as far as class and unique capability are concerned. Let’s see just how classy and capable this 137,000-mile example might be.
The first production car to carry a two-turbo V6 engine was Maserati’s Biturbo, and while that was generally a terrible car the idea of giving each bank of a Vee-engine its own exhaust-driven power recapture device was quite brilliant.
Audi adopted this format for its B5 S4 and later doled out the powerpalnt to other models in their lineup. In the C5 A6, the 2.7-litre all-alloy mill gave it up to the tune of 247 horsepower in its later years. Owing to the complexity and tight packaging, it also became one of Audi’s less reliable and more challenging to repair motors.
Here the 2.7 is paired with an extremely rare for the U.S. six-speed stick. That’s all wrapped in the raised and plastic-clad Allroad Avant body. The added height of the Allroad is by way of air suspension—basically the A6’s standard multi-link setup with all the pivot points angled down a bit and the steel spring and strut elements replaced by airbag units.
The bodywork here appears to be in decent shape, with solid black paint and factory alloy wheels wrapped in newish-looking Kelly tires. There’s a bit of a carpet not matching the drapes issue here as while the rear bumper still has its matte grey insert, the front has been resprayed body-color losing the Allroad look up there. The headlamp covers could use a polishing too as they seem yellow and miasmic. On the plus side, there doesn’t seem to be any breaches in the paint, nor any rust.
The interior presents in two-tone leather and overall completely stock. There’s a sheen on the steering wheel and the driver’s seat shows some crazing, but there’s nothing egregious about either. The dash, carpet and door cards all look to be in fine shape, and there’s no staining or major fading in the load area either.
The engine compartment likewise is amazingly clean and shows no evidence of any mechanic monkey business. Audi engine bays are tighter than a college freshman girl’s frat party dress and this one is no exception. I have an Avant with the non-turbo 2.8 which isn’t quite so bad but still has its frustrations. You can see my adventures under its hood here.
Remarkably, the seller says that everything on the car works, including the finicky air suspension. He doesn’t say whether that extends to the multi-function display in the center of the IP, but that’s another part that frequently goes bad on these cars.
In fact, there’s not a lot of description in the ad, with the seller letting the pictures do the talking and an offer of providing a video of the car cold-starting for those interested in such things. That would be a very unique fetish and you could make a fortune on YouTube if you could find all the weirdos who are into such things.
Here that’s just to show that the car spins up and doesn’t fart out blue smoke or something.
The low miles, general nice appearance, and that desirable six-speed stick make this an Allroad that’s all right in my book. What we need to decide is whether its $6,480 asking is equally A-Okay.
What do you think, could that price be a fair deal for this clean-title car? Or, is that an asking that makes this Allroad a no-go?
You decide!
Boston, MA Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to RevUnlimiter for the hookup!
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