The Audi A4 Avant is about to head for the hills with the launch of the new A4 allroad quattro.

The car makes its world public debut at the 2009 Palexpo Motor Show in Geneva on March 5.

The harder edged A4 opens for UK order this week priced from £29,285 on-the-road and will reach its first customers in May.

Covering similar ground to the popular A6 allroad quattro, the new rough terrain A4 adopts its tougher stance through a 20mm-wider track front and rear, a 37mm increase in ride height to 180mm and allroad-specific body styling, including a unique design for the grille and bumpers, wheel-arch extensions and additional under-body protection.

Three state-of-the-art directly injected and EU5 emission limit-compliant engines will initially provide the backbone for the new A4 allroad quattro. The petrol range is represented by the latest 2.0-litre TFSI with Audi valvelift technology, delivering 211PS and a torque peak of 350Nm, and from the diesel camp come the 2.0-litre TDI with 170PS and 350Nm and the 3.0-litre V6 TDI with 240PS and 500Nm, both featuring the latest common rail piezo injection technology. Acceleration to 62mph from rest can be completed in 6.9 seconds in the 2.0 TFSI, 8.9 seconds in the 2.0 TDI and 6.4 seconds in the 3.0 TDI. Best case fuel economy ranges from 34.8mpg in the 2.0 TFSI, through 39.8mpg in the 3.0 TDI to a maximum of 44.1mpg in the 2.0 TDI.

The latest six-speed manual gearbox will initially be reserved for the 2.0 TDI, while 2.0 TFSI and 3.0 TDI versions will come equipped with the new S tronic twin clutch automatic transmission which has been newly reconfigured to bring its ultra-rapid 0.2-second gear shifts to Audi models with longitudinal ‘north-south’ engine installations. Further engine and transmission combinations will be available later in 2009.