Tough, versatile pick-up a step up in quality
By Bill McCarthy
The Amarok has always been more than just your average pick-up truck, focussing on blending utility with style and premium comfort. The four-door double cab offers high end quality, necessary pick-up attributes of 4MOTION all-wheel drive, one-tonne plus carrying capacity, and 3.5 tonne towing capability that make it such a versatile vehicle.
Revamped for 2023, it is longer, with a longer wheelbase providing more interior room for rear passengers. It comes in four variants, Life, Style, PanAmericana and Aventura and with a choice of a two or three litre turbo diesel engine.
The power ranges from 170PS to 205PS for the two litre model, while the three litre offers 240PS.
The already-stylish exterior has been tweaked with a new bold horizontal upper radiator grille crossbars and VW’s “IQ.Light” LED matrix headlights for the first time. The rugged looks is completed by large wheel arches and a high off the ground stance, side step black with chrome insert and black rear bumper.
Inside there are new seats, extra storage bins and revisions to dashboard, while some controls utilise physical switches, a move designed to assist commercial use, VW says this is a practical measure to allow use when wearing gloves on a job.
A new innovation and something becoming more common is a tablet-style vertical central screen which controls the infotainment display, while the now familiar Digital Cockpit for driver information remains.
The touchscreen controls audio, telephone, navigation and phone connectivity via Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and also comes with VW Connect as standard.
Its load area means it can still accommodate a Euro pallet sideways and its payload ranges from 1,112 to 1,154 kg. For load stability there are four load lashing rings fitted in each corner of the cargo bed as standard.
So it can carry most loads of all shapes and sizes and the towing capability of 3,100kg braked and 750kg unbraked, means if there is an overflow of goods, you can stow and tow them in a heavy trailer.
On the road, it has a number of selectable driver control via ‘Drive Mode Control’ system. Depending on the model , there are up to six of these including: ‘ECO’, ‘Normal’, ‘Mud/track’, ‘Sand’, ‘Slippery’ and ‘Load/trailer’.
It is hugely capable offroad and in the past a tough, muddy, forest off-road route proved little problem as as the four-wheel drive hi-tech wizardry, descent control and hill hold dealt with tricky forest conditions with ease.
Power adjustable, heated and folding wing mirrors are also a boon in these challenging situations.
The cab is remarkably quiet with less wind noise than a premium SUV is was driving, however the large tyres means road noise is quite intrusive on certain roads.
The 170 PS unit comes with three driving modes (2H, 4H, 4L) and drives through a six-speed manual gearbox as standard, while this model’s 205 PS BiTurbo engine is equipped with a 10-speed automatic with a Shift by Wire system and comes with four selectable driving modes: 2H, 4H, 4L, 4A. In 4A mode, the drive force is intelligently distributed to all four wheels via a multi-plate clutch.
The Amarok is a safe vehicle comes with more than 20 new driver assistance systems that make driving easier and safer. These include ACC+ Adaptive Cruise Control with Intelligent Speed Assist, Park Assist and Area View.
Factfile
Volkswagen Amarok Style 2.0 4MOTION
Price: £ 50,931 (inc VAT)
Mechanical: 205PS two litre, four cylinder BiTurbo diesel engine driving all via wheels via a10-speed automatic gearbox
Max speed: 112mph
0-62mph: 10.5 sec
Combined mpg: 31.7
Insurance group: 42
CO2 emissions: 220-247g/km
Warranty: 3yrs/60,000 miles
Overall rating (out of 5): *****
On the road 