ALL roads are about to head towards the rough stuff with the arrival of Audi's toughest A6 model.

New generation versions of the rugged A6 allroad quattro hit the streets this spring with a trio of high powered engines and prices from £43,145.

The allroad, which sits six centimetres higher than stablemate the Avant estate, offers fuel economy improvements of up to 20 per cent compared with its predecessors

And like the saloon and ‘standard' Avant, it has been constructed using ultra lightweight materials, with aluminium components making up roughly 20 per cent of its body.

Distinguishing allroad quattro features include extended side sills, more widely flared wings and vertical slats within the single-frame grille, while stainless steel guards protect the underbody at the front and rear of the car, and the exhaust system ends in two large, flattened tailpipes.

The wheel arches, bumpers and sills are painted in a contrasting colour, but can be body-coloured if the optional aluminium exterior package is specified, and a Java Brown paint job is available exclusively.

Thanks to a long wheelbase the Audi A6 allroad offers plenty of interior space, and latches inside the luggage compartment make it easy to fold down the rear seats, increasing luggage capacity to a whopping 1,680 litres.

Options include a head-up display, ambient lighting, seats with a ventilation and massage function , 15-speaker sound system and a hard drive-based MMI Navigation plus set-up with touchpad operation and voice control.

Initially there will be a choice of three 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 engines - one TFSI petrol unit and two TDI diesels, all with start-stop.

The 3.0 TFSI, which is boosted by a mechanically driven supercharger, produces 310PS and can shift the car to 62mph in 5.9 seconds en route to an electronically limited top speed of 155mph. Its combined economy figure is 31.7mpg.

The two variants of the 3.0 TDI produce 204PS and 245PS, the entry-level version achieving a combined economy figure of 46.3mpg, corresponding to 159g/km of CO2, and all three engines are mated to a seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch transmission.

Audi's quattro permanent four-wheel drive system is paired with torque vectoring and adaptive air suspension comes as standard.

It lowers the body by 15mms at high speed and raises it by 35mms at the push of a button. The driver can also select a lift mode at low speeds - allowing the allroad quattro to handle more serious irregularities in the road.

There's also a hill descent assist function for steep downhill passages, which limits the speed to between 6mph and 12mph, depending on the surface.