VM driving report VW Amarok: The ultimate workhorse

The pickups continue to grow: The VW Amarok, which VW now has built by Ford in South Africa on the basis of the Ranger mainly developed in Australia, now stretches to 5.35 meters in length (5.58 meters with the standard detachable tow hitch) and offers a 3.27-meter wheelbase. Since the latter increased by 17 cm, but the length only by ten centimeters, shorter overhangs resulted, leading to steeper ramp angles.

Up to 3.5 tons towing capacity - the biggest advantage of the Amarok

Welcome to the off-road world, where completely different values such as charging times and battery size count. Which is why we start right away with the most important values: Namely, 3.5 tons towing capacity! THE criterion for landscapers, construction companies, and horse lovers who can't hook up much to e-cars and EU7-restricted vans. "Not much more" means everything under 2.8 tons towing capacity. The Amarok easily tows that away. Additionally, it now offers a wading depth of 80 instead of 50 cm, allowing it to cross deeper fords in emergencies. Interesting: Ford trusts the Ranger with up to 850 mm in this regard. The longer wheelbase increases the ramp angle to 30 degrees at the front and 26 degrees at the rear but lowers the approach angle to 21 degrees. However, off-road capability is also helped by the ground clearance growing from 22 to 23 cm.

High payload and, if needed, two Euro pallets loaded crosswise on the bed

Other important values are the up to 1,116 kg payload and the bed width of 1,206 mm, allowing a Euro pallet to fit crosswise(!) between the wheel arches. This is Ford-VW unique and tailored to the EU market. Could you fit two back to back? Unfortunately not, because the double cab loading area measures up to 1,651 millimeters in depth. In some markets, there would also be a single cab that then offers a 2.3-meter load bed. By the way, the tailgate can be opened and closed so easily thanks to a torsion bar spring as if it were made of carbon fiber, only a real lifting effort is required for the naked base with black bumpers – and caution is advised if you let the gate slam downwards.

Let's stay right on the bed: It can be optionally lined with a plastic layer; a robust protective coating is always standard in Europe, which, of course, wears off over the years. That's why we recommend the black plastic. There are six lashing eyes on the floor, which can be loaded with up to 400 kg, a rail with easily adjustable stops at the top, each capable of handling 250 kg of pulling force. And if we were to climb onto the roof, it would offer a roof load of 350 kg – enough for a family of four to camp safely from lions in Africa.

The base model already comes with LED lights

But now it's time to start, and this time VW has all versions, from the bare-bones manual base model to the top versions Aventura (more for on-road) and Panamericana (more off-road). We start in the second-lowest "Style" trim, which actually comes with all the essentials, and plow our way through the terrain. Several driving modes can be selected for this purpose, but one can still think traditionally: Permanent all-wheel drive is only available "sequentially" as the drivetrain would otherwise bind in corners, which is why the Amarok automatically switches between 2H and 4H in the "4A" position. 4H "manual" is also available, but one should know when to use it.

Likewise 4L – the low gear to massively increase the power to the wheels. With this and the rear axle lock, we can get the truck through slippery and sometimes extremely steep ascents and descents. On the latter, the hill descent control also helps: Set a minimal speed briefly (preferably in low gear) before plunging into the descent, and the Amarok electronically adjusts as best as it can, given the tires have grip.

If they don't grip anymore, there are two heavy-duty tow hooks at the front, accessible without getting dirty, and can hold the total weight of the vehicle in the mud – which is something entirely different from a puny tow hook...

Ten gears are rather two too many - because each gear set weighs extra and complicates the electronics' choice of driving modes

So much for the hardcore off-road facts. It can do everything and drives noticeably firmer and more precise than its predecessor. Because the new Ford Ranger was once again designed to be more robust than its predecessor, which also holds 1:1 true for the VW. Since the engine-transmission combinations also come from the partner, the Amarok can be attested with a typically Ford bone-dry six-speed manual transmission. Which brings us to the big BUT of the Amarok: An automatic transmission is naturally more attractive here, especially in towing operations, but in the case of the Amarok, it has TEN driving modes.

And that, in our opinion, is two too many: It's not without reason that no one has picked up on these ten gears of the Ford-GM joint development, or the 9-G-Tronic from Mercedes-Benz: The major gearbox manufacturers Aisin or ZF stayed with eight gears. Which would also suffice for the Amarok, because especially with the rather thirsty V6, it mostly stays in eighth or ninth gear even when unloaded with a feather-light touch on the gas pedal, as if it always needs to be ready to suddenly accelerate with a fully loaded 3.5-ton trailer. Meanwhile, we also noticed: The powerful 240-HP V6 with 600 Nm doesn't load the pickup dramatically faster than the much more economical biturbo four-cylinder.

The six-cylinder drums wonderfully – and tends to guzzle

At the start of our tour (with a moderate highway portion) we reset the consumption and the Amarok obediently starts at 99.9 l/100 km. While most models dramatically count down after just a few hundred meters, the 99.9 stayed for a couple of kilometers! Only on the A 94 towards Passau did the diesel consumption fall to 70.x liters, but it took until just before Erding (almost 30 km) to reach 50.x... oops. On the following flat country road section back to the start point, the consumption slowly trickled lower, reporting 24.6 l/100 km upon return. Unloaded - driven quickly, but not dramatically. Well, it eventually hovered mostly between nine and twelve liters, but kickdowns or quick overtakes made the consumption jump back to 20l plus-minus x.

Those who can live with the admittedly more banal sound of the four-cylinder will be better served. And since we're already subtly recommending, we would take the 151-kW biturbo with 500 Nm in the "Style" trim, which you can enrich with a few extras and still come out cheaper than the somewhat "blingy" top models "Aventura" or Panamericana. By the way, the Style starts at 51,233 euros net... still too expensive? Then consider the manually shifted Life starting at 44,368 euros... which, unlike its name, has shed almost all lifestyle elements.

Inside, it can be operated with gloves if necessary

Inside, everyone will appreciate the simple operation (which is minimally more intuitive in detail than in the Ford) and a surprisingly precise steering: In fact, the new one feels much firmer than its predecessor, but also a bit more truck-like. Add to this 25 driving assistants now, discreetly and skillfully fine-tuned, as well as optionally a decent sound system with up to eight speakers plus subwoofer and 640 watts, which brings the Amarok somewhat closer to passenger cars. The same applies to the rear seat space, which is now okay for four 1.9-meter passengers, although you wonder time and again how little space such a pickup offers over a length with a good 3.2-meter wheelbase. One reason for this is also the gigantic crash box at the front - the drives almost visually tuck behind the strong cooler into a front-mid-engine position.