The 2013 Audi allroad won the Ninth Annual Active Lifestyle Vehicle of the Year award against five other finalists in the Luxury On-Road Vehicle category.

The Active Lifestyle of the Year Award (Twitter: #ALVfinals) is organized by Carspondent.com and stands as the only competition of its kind in the U.S. to combine the opinions of automotive journalists and elite athletes. This year’s allroad win follows a successful result in 2011 when the Audi A7 also won the ALV Luxury On-Road Vehicle category and the Audi Q7 TDI topped all rivals in the Family Vehicle classification. The allroad was the only model Audi entered in this year’s competition.

 

Overall, 28 finalist vehicles were vying for recognition in the awards program. The competition, held on the campus of Local Motors in Chandler, Ariz., involved seven categories with each grouping of finalists assessed by juries made up of journalists, and 70 athletes who participate in sports including cycling, triathlon, kayaking, softball, running. The juries assessed the cars in each category on overall design, engine power, fuel efficiency and cargo capability. The goal of the jurors is to reward cars best suited for the needs of a sports lifestyle, such as stowing bicycles, kayaks or golf clubs.

“While most Car of the Year competitions focus on various aspects of vehicle performance, we are more concerned with how well the vehicle helps to enhance our performance as athletes,” explained Nina Russin, co-founder of the ALV awards. “We evaluate how easy it is to load bicycles into the cargo area, or to clean the upholstery after an especially muddy trail run. We want to know if a sport-utility vehicle designed to go off-road can ford water, and if it can maintain directional control when one or more wheels is off the ground.

”Additionally, this program provides a good way for automakers to have constructive feedback from consumers living an active lifestyle.”

The iconic Audi allroad combines unmatched all-weather capabilities with the driving dynamics and style that are unique to Audi. Following a seven-year hiatus in the U.S. market, the allroad made its long-awaited return earlier this year in a package that improves on the original allroad in very significant ways. It is faster and more fuel efficient than its predecessor and benefits from all of the advantages of being part of the ever-refined Audi product family. It combines what premium buyers are looking for in a capacious and rugged crossover with the refinement of an executive sedan.

 

[Source: Audi USA]