Volkswagen Amarok
Author: Ian Strachan
The crew-cab pickup has moved from builders’ transport to fashion accessory in a few short years. What used to be at home on a building site now graces the drives of the most fashion conscious cool dude.
And the new kid on the block among these double cab five seaters
is the Volkswagen Amarok. This is Volkswagen's first foray into the
pick-up market, although the company has been making four-wheel
drive commercials and off-roaders for some time.
As you'd expect from Volkswagen, the Amarok sets high standards
of refinement, quality and safety. This is not a builders' truck.
It is every bit as refined as Volkswagen's passenger cars.
In case you were wondering, the name Amarok is Inuit Indian for
"wolf." Appropriate for a company which has its headquarters in
Wolfsburg, although this pick-up is made in Argentina.
The Amarok is a commercial vehicle, and it there's no doubt it
can handle the rough stuff. Its high ground clearance, long
suspension travel, and torquey 163 bhp 2.0 diesel engine equip it
for any sort of terrain you might throw at it. Though smaller than
most pick-up engines, this unit delivers at least as much power,
while saving on fuel and emissions.
Inside you get comfortable seats, attractive trim, optional
satellite navigation, and lots of storage space, including large
bottle holders.
True, the diesel engine, linked to a six-speed manual
transmission, is a bit noisy compared with many of its 21st century
oil burning competitors, but the grunt underlines its powerful
capabilities and adds to the perception that this is a comfortable
car which also means business.
My Amarok test vehicle was fitted with a very stylish looking
fully-covered load space with hinged hard cover. It also had 18"
alloy wheels (£480), a chunky rear stainless steel rollbar
(£689) and polished stainless steel sidebars (£423) to
complete the purposeful look.
Handling is pretty good for a vehicle of this nature, though,
because of the long suspension travel, you do get body roll when
cornering. If you need off road performance you can switch from two
wheel drive to four wheel drive at the click of a switch.
Economy is good for the size of vehicle, at 35.8 mpg in mixed
driving. Emissions are 209 g/km and it has a 0-60 mph time of just
below 11 seconds. On the road price is £24,943.
This car is more Gucci than ToeTector but with the Volkswagen
logo on the grille it's a case of style AND substance.
Road test by Ian Strachan Communications
Ltd
Ian Strachan is a motoring and business writer and PR
consultant. He can be contacted on 01543 490932 or 07949
202596 or via email: ian@strachan13.freeserv