In this week's issue:

• Allroads Leads to Quality
• Hummer and Jeep Sling Mud over Dirty Image

  Allroads Leads to Quality

The Audi allroad is one of those rare cars that possesses all the attributes needed to become a genuine star.

Not because it's an incredible car, it's just that it does everything it should do just right. It's an Audi, so it's got a great but understated image. It's a soft-roader, which is just about as fashionable as you can get. And it's expensive, so it feels solid and is built with quality.

What's more - and this is coming from someone who until now believed that any element of fun is surgically removed from an Audi before it is allowed to go on sale, it's a good car to drive. At least with this 4.2 V8 engine.

Whereas the BMW X5, Mercedes M-Class, Volvo XC90 and Lexus RX300 are true sport utility off-roaders, the A6 allroad is an estate with jumped up - or rather jacked up - ideas. In other words, it is still fundamentally an A6 Avant estate, but it sits at a higher ride height and there are a number of styling changes. The allroad has been around for some time now, since 2001 in fact. It has now been fitted with its best engine yet, the gutsy 4.2 V8.

New Engine

There is no doubting the ability of the engine, not with 300 horsepower on tap at any rate. The 60mph mark is hit within seven seconds, quite an achievement for such a large car, but the V8 isn't just about power. Its true ability lies in its smoothness, which makes the allroad a real pleasure to drive.

Smoothness in this price bracket is never deemed complete without an automatic gearbox. It is a pity then that the allroad doesn't yet use Audi's new DSG gearbox, which uses two clutches to pre-select gears to cut down on gearchange times. I feel the DSG is needed because as things stand, the current five-speed ?box is rather slow to change in automatic mode.

The Sport mode does remedy this somewhat, but the side-effect is that you can almost see the petrol gauge go down as you watch. However, it is a Tiptronic ?box and the ability to choose gears yourself comes in useful because the Tiptronic mode does work much better and is indeed superior to much of the competition.

The allroad is remarkably able on the road, very easy to drive and again very smooth. The quattro four-wheel drive system ensures high levels of grip at all times and progressive cornering. The steering does feel a little vague but it is responsive. And the view from the driver's seat is excellent with an array of attractively laid out displays and buttons. Audi does do cabins well.

The allroad also gets an adjustable ride height, with ground clearance that can be varied in four stages by up to 66mm. The electronically controlled air suspension keeps the height constantly at the selected setting, regardless of the weight the car is carrying. The highest 208mm ground clearance is useful for any off-roading, but otherwise this aspect of the car did feel a little gimmicky. After all, the interior is far too plush to risk getting muddy.

The Easy Life

No one could ever complain about the space provided by the allroad. The boot is simply enormous and could take all the luggage I could throw at it. There is more than enough rear room too for three adults. The only fault - and it's not insignificant - is with the way the rear seats fold away. They split 60/40, but you do have to fold the smaller portion down before you can flatten the larger section of the seating. They are also extremely heavy, which I guess may contribute in some way towards the government's drive against flabby Britain.

However, if ever there was a car to be flabby in, this is it. The leather seats are extremely comfortable and there is a lot of standard equipment on the car including climate control. Safety equipment includes side airbags and various stability control mechanisms, while the car scores extra brownie points for avoiding using a ladder-type chassis frame.

The allroad is styled more aggressively than the A6 Avant estate and so has flared wheelarches and a ribbed roof as well as different bumpers. But it is the quality of the cabin materials that stand out as they're nice to look at and nice to the touch.

Audi is very much taking on Mercedes and BMW these days, no longer content to be the poor relation of German luxury cars. It's not lacking in confidence either, unafraid to ask Mercedes prices when the occasion demands it. For that, you will get a great car to own and one which will hold onto its value. But don't fall for the myth that it must be reliable because it's German - Audi is one of the more unreliable makes. However, if you have read this far you probably like Audis anyway and this one is a good one.

Written by Ian Sumner

  Hummer, Jeep Sling Mud over Dirty Image

A long-simmering dispute between the beefy sport utility brands Hummer and Jeep has heated up with one-upmanship claims and accusations of copied designs.

The mud-slinging between the off-road SUV brands began nearly three years ago when DaimlerChrysler's Jeep claimed the about-to-be launched Hummer H2 from General Motors copied its grille.

That battle ended when a judge allowed the H2 to go into production, but now the war has moved from the courtroom to television commercials, the printed page and the auto show floor.

At stake is one of the fastest-growing and most profitable segments of the market. With sales of the Hummer H2 far above forecasts since it was launched 19 months ago, and GM making plans to expand the brand, Hummer is making a serious run at Jeep's claim to be the premier American off-road SUV.

The latest spat began when Jeep took a shot at Hummer with a recent TV ad that claims Jeeps are better in the mud.

The commercial shows several kids in Jeep pedal cars slogging through an obstacle course, while a yellow Hummer-like SUV, labelled "Imitator," gets stuck in the muck. A boy in the Hummer look-a-like can only shake his head when a girl says; "If it's not Trail-Rated, it's not a Jeep 4x4."

The ad recalls a Hummer spot, set to the song "Happy Jack" by rock group The Who, in which a boy wins a soapbox derby with a Hummer-like car by outsmarting his opponents and driving off-road.

Chrysler spokesman Jason Vines said the Jeep ad is "good-natured fun", and it's common for competitors to knock other products in commercials. He was more irritated with suggestions that Jeep has copied Hummer.

Earlier this month, Jeep took the wraps off a concept SUV, the large and boxy Jeep Rescue, that bears a strong resemblance to the Hummer H2. Like the H2, the Rescue has round headlights, a slotted grille and exposed hinges around its four doors. Both vehicles also sit high for easy ground clearance in rocky terrain.

"Who's Zooming Who?"

"You know how this business is, you show something and it's copied," Hummer General Manager Mike DiGiovanni, standing amid the Hummer exhibit at the Detroit auto show, told Reuters. "My reference point is this auto show with all the, as the media calls it, the Hummer wannabes."

"Who's zooming who here? Who's copying who?," Chrysler's Vines said, noting that Jeep has been around for 60 years. "I personally don't think it's a copy."

Indeed, the Rescue also shares similarities with its smaller cousin, the Jeep Wrangler. Both the Jeep and the Hummer trace their roots to military vehicles, where function dictates form, and to the same company. Jeep's former owner American Motors created AM General in 1971 to build military vehicles, and eventually the Humvee truck.

Looks aside, Chrysler group marketing chief Joe Eberhardt questioned the ruggedness of the Hummer H2 in January when he said in an interview with Automotive News that the SUV wouldn't be able to negotiate the Rubicon Trail, an off-road route in California that is the traditional test of every Jeep.

Hummer's DiGiovanni said he would send a letter and documentation to Automotive News challenging Eberhardt's assertion. This is quite a bit of bluster for two brands that don't directly compete against each other yet. Prices for the Hummer H2 start at about $50,000 (28,000 pounds), far above any Jeep.

But that will change next year when Hummer launches the smaller H3, which will be priced starting in the $30,000 range, competing directly with the new Jeep Grand Cherokee, which will debut at the New York Auto Show in April. Longer-term, Hummer officials are talking about adding an even smaller, less expensive model, while the Rescue hints at a larger, H2-size model in Jeep's future.

"Hummer is the relatively new kid on the block, making waves. The head-to-head competition is going to get extremely severe in the next couple of years," said Dennis Virag, president of The Automotive Consulting Group, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan."

Written by Michael Ellis