ALL roads might sometimes lead to Rome, but when Australians shop for a new family car all roads somehow lead to the door of a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV). Or maybe an Audi A4 Allroad.

Audi’s fifth-generation, B9-series A4 has again spawned a wagon variant with raised ride height and unpainted body cladding on its sides called the Allroad, after the nameplate first debuted on the last model in 2009. It joined the larger A6 Allroad, which has now made it across three generations after first launching locally just before the turn of the millennium.

The previous A4 Allroad was a diesel-only affair, however, whereas this new model adds the option of turbo-petrol power as tested here.

Maybe its addition has something to do with a certain scandal that afflicted a certain company over the handling of a certain fuel type, but either way it broadens the range in an attempt to win more family car buyers back from an increasing SUV stronghold.

Given the general excellence of the new Audi A4, we have raised (ahem) expectations of this Allroad variant that only costs $1500 more than the equivalent Avant (nee traditional wagon). Without a direct rival from BMW or Mercedes-Benz, can it take buyers out of the X3 and GLC respectively?

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