SECTOR Estate  PRICE £43,145 – £49,445  FUEL 46.3 – 42.2mpg  CO2 159 – 176g/km

As a niche product, the A6 Allroad is a fantastically successful one, taking a standard Avant, adding some body cladding, trick suspension and a hefty price hike to create a very desirable, keenly targeted car.

Although Audi only sells around 500 a year, with half of those going to fleets, almost all are high-end versions and residual values are commensurately stratospheric – even the outgoing version, based on the old A6, outperforms equivalent new A6 Avants. Those who want Allroads, new and used, really want them it seems.

On sale now, the third generation car is offered with four engines: 200bhp and 240bhp versions of the 3.0 TDI, the new 307bhp BiTDI diesel and a 3.0-litre petrol, bound mainly for other markets. 

All models come with air suspension, which can be adjusted according to the mood of the driver and the speed of the car, and give an increased ground clearance of 45 millimetres for off-road driving over its already 60mm higher stance. But crucially, it can squat down at high speeds for a more slippery profile, making this a car for all roads. Hence the name.

Hill descent control and permanent quattro four-wheel drive, which uses a mechanically self-locking centre differential and distributes torque to whichever axle can use it best, should make this handy off road, while stainless steel guards on the underside protect it from damage. 

As a drive, it is typically Audi: comfortable, fast, easygoing but not especially involving. The air suspension means in Comfort, and set up high, it’s a horribly pendulous thing, but in Dynamic mode the body drops, hunkering down, and it will corner with more keenness than the standard A6.

Of the engine choices, the bi-turbo diesel is incredible, sounding like a performance petrol engine and fantastically quick. But it is nearly 50 grand. The perfectly adequate lesser V6 diesels are probably a more sensible choice.