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The ice ballet began at the most inopportune time, evening rush hour. There were the usual collisions and slip-ups — a manic, slam-bang arrhythmia occasioned by the combination of glazed highways and dazed drivers, some of whom attempted to counter a loss of traction with a gain in speed.

It was dangerous. And though I was driving the 1999 Audi A4 1.8T Avant, the best of cars under the circumstances, I pulled off the road and parked. There are moments when discretion beats valor, and this was one of them.

Staying on that Northern Virginia road was courting disaster, and neither driving skills nor vehicle competence mattered. Crashing in that scenario was a random event, a matter of waiting for your number to come up.

Things were slightly better two hours later, when I resumed my trip. Ice was everywhere, but at least the roads were less crowded and the bridges were salted. I eased the Avant onto a slippery side road — and pondered the magic of Audi all-wheel drive.

This is an intelligent system that works quite well when used as designed. It assumes, for example, that the motorist is wise enough to avoid driving faster than conditions allow. With that condition met, the Audi all-wheel-drive system varies power distribution among all four wheels, transferring torque from the wheels that slip to the wheels that grip, giving the car reasonable balance and control on slippery thoroughfares.

It also helped that the test car was equipped with the standard five-speed manual transmission. Gently clutching and moving the lever through the lower gears kept the Avant in a mellow range — no disruptive speed gains or losses. That reduced the chances of spinning out. There was no need to move to a higher gear.

Audi offers an optional five-speed automatic transmission in its Avant mobiles, which are four-wheel-drive wagons, or “sport wagons,” as the company chooses to call them. The automatic transmission is the Tiptronic type, the Porsche-trademarked version of a two-in-one transmission, which can be used both automatically and manually.

The Tiptronic, and other transmissions like it, make no sense to me. Either you want an automatic or you don’t, a manual or not. Why pay for a transmission that is a combination of both without the integrity of either?

The i ce thickened by the time I reached my neighborhood, but the Avant maintained its composure, with the exception of a skitter and wobble on a downhill street. My fault.

Excited by proximity to hearth and home, I sped up and then attempted to brake on black ice. Dumb! The Avant’s anti-lock braking system came into play. The car slid and bump-thumped over some uneven road. But it recovered quickly, almost magically. I got home safely.

1999 Audi A4 1.8T Avant

Complaints: Back-seaters, including short adults, complained about the lack of legroom in the A4 1.8T Avant. The Avant is supposed to seat five people comfortably. Apparently, the designers were thinking about two adults up front and three small children in the rear.

Praise: This is a driver’s wagon. It is tightly constructed. No shakes, no rattles anywhere at any time. It goes exactly where you point it.

Head-turning quotient: Looks like what it is, a small station wagon — ahem, an expensive small station wagon.

Ride, acceleration and handling: Great ride for front passengers. Cramped ride for rear row. Excellent acceleration — zero to 60 mph in about 8.5 seconds. Brilliant handling under a variety of road conditions. Excellent braking. Brakes include power-assisted, ventilated front discs and solid rear discs with anti-lock backup.

Engine: The tested Avant was equipped with a 1.8-liter, turbocharged, intercooled, in-line four-cylinder engine designed to produce 150 horsepower at 5,700 rpm and 155 pound-feet of torque at 1,750 rpm. A 2.8-liter, 190-horsepower V-6 engine comes in the 1999 A4 2.8 Avant wagon.

Capacities: Cargo capacity with rear seats up (60-40 bench split) is 31 cubic feet; with rear seats down, it’s 63.7 cubic feet. Fuel tank holds 15.9 gallons of acceptable regular unleaded gasoline. Audi recommends use of premium unleaded for maximum performance. I ran the test car on regular unleaded with no problems.

Mileage: About 26 miles per gallon. Estimated range on usable volume of fuel was 400 miles in city-highway driving, including lots of engine idling.

Safety: Side air bags are standard, along with slower-deploying, front-mounted dual air bags.

Price: Base price on the tested Avant is $26,440. Dealer’s invoice price on that model is $23,462. Price as tested is $27,220, including $280 in options and a $500 destination charge.

Purse-strings note: This is a terrific little wagon for people who are more interested in driving than they are in car-pooling. But if you’re into carrying the troops, you are better off buying a minivan at this price.