The Volkswagen Amarok is the VW Group’s competitor in the lucrative pick-up market. Described as ‘a rugged workhorse with a refined driving experience’, it’s sold as a five-seat, four-door double cab and costs from £20,720 excluding VAT (£24,864 with tax) while the more overtly styled Amarok Canyon special edition starts at £28,990 (£34,788).
The Canyon comes with the most desirable option boxes ticked (satnav, Bluetooth, 19in alloy wheels, parking sensors, heated leather seats) and the option of eye-catching Copper Orange paint.
Engine and performance
While many pick-up rivals such as the hugely popular Nissan Navara have engines of 2.5 litres or more – including V6s – the Amarok comes with the choice of two 2-litre four-cylinder diesel engines, a 138bhp TDI and 178bhp twin-turbo Bi-TDI, the latter your only option in the Canyon.
There are two gearbox options – a six-speed manual, standard on both engines, and an eight-speed automatic, optional on the more powerful unit – while selectable all-wheel-drive is standard across the range, with a permanent system optional with BiTDI models. All Amaroks boast low-range gearing.
All models get a rear diff lock and a host of off-road gubbins including hill descent control and – more impressively – off-road ABS, which allows foot-stamp emergency braking on ground you’d struggle to stay standing on.
It can tow up to 2.8 metric tonnes while its payload can top 1000kg, making it a useful tool if you’ve a trackday toy or racing car and associated accessories to lug from circuit to circuit., while its payload can handle a Euro pallet loaded sideways. There are also a variety of hard-top and tonneau cover options for the rear deck.
What’s it like to drive?
It’s the most car-like of the passenger pick-ups on sale. This is thanks in part to the familiarity of the VW parts bin dashboard, but is also attributable to the ride. Being a leaf-sprung commercial vehicle, it’s inevitably less settled than a typical SUV, but it’s notably better than the bulk of its rivals and it will take journeys of more than an hour for the Amarok to become uncomfortable.
The steering will seem a little slow to those only familiar with SUVs, but it’s still relatively incisive and on the whole, the Amarok handles very tidily and predictably with strong grip all-round. With an empty payload, it’s a fun thing to hustle along at surprising speed, especially with the punchy BiTDI engine, which has a mid-range punchy enough for the odd overtake. It bodes well for an Amarok full of heavy goods.
The gearing of our six-speed manual test vehicle takes acclimatisation, as the first three gears are very short (second gear in particular) and building speed becomes an exercise in surfing the BiTDI’s admittedly strong 295lb ft of torque with limited downchanges. For a lot of buyers the optional eight-speed auto may make most sense, and for the Canyon special edition pictured here, 300 of the 350-strong run will be self-shifters.
Off-road, the Amarok is perhaps at its most impressive; it can climb up impossibly steep and muddy banks and negotiate its way back down them with ease, and if a mud-plugging pick-up is your requirement, it’s unlikely to put a foot wrong.
Rivals
To the rest of the pick-up class, rather well. It offers a refreshingly European alternative to the Nissan Navara and Mitsubishi L200. If you want an SUV then it’ll likely do nothing to sway you; its open back is suited to commercial work and towing, not school runs.
Anything else I need to know?
A two-ton turbodiesel commercial vehicle may be as far away from the ethos of our favourite performance cars as it is possible to get, but this can be a gratifying thing to drive – perhaps it’s the adult-size Tonka Toy feel a big utility vehicle with a torque-rich engine imbues. If you’re in need of something sensible to tow a track car or regularly drive large loads around rugged terrain, this is a fine and surprisingly satisfying option.
Price and release date
The Volkswagen Amarok is available now starting at £24,864.
Specifications
| Engine | In-line four-cyl, 1968cc, twin-turbodiesel |
| Max power | 178bhp @ 4000rpm |
| Max torque | 295lb ft @ 1500-2000rpm |
| 0-60 | 11.0sec (claimed 0-62mph) |
| Top speed | 111mph (claimed) |
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