VW Amarok Trendline test Review: Mark Bursa
Volkswagen Amarok Trendline 2.0 BiTDI 4Motion 6-speed manual
What is it?
UK-spec version of impressive new Volkswagen Amarok pick-up. Our test vehicle has the 163PS version of VW’s 2.0-litre diesel engine, plus a dealer-fit hard-top load cover that turns a pick-up into a useful off-road van.
What’s hot?
- Volkswagen has taken its entry to a hotly-contested market very seriously
- Build quality is excellent – feels better than most Thailand or South Africa-built rivals…
- Cab finish is well up to car standards, with many similarities to the Transporter
- We liked the soft-touch plastics and aluminium-effect detailing of the dashboard
- Up-market feel is completed with extremely smooth and quiet twin-turbo diesel engines
- It’s a handsome pick-up too, with bold treatment of VW family face
- Five-seat twin cab is roomy, with plenty of legroom for rear-seat passengers
- Split rear seat base folds up with simple hook, giving space for tools if needed
- Loadspace is class-leading for double-cabs, with 2.52sq m load area…
- …and 1.22m between the wheel arches, so you can load a EuroPallet sideways, a first for a mid-sized pick-up
- Payload tops the tonne, without the detachable hard top on our test car
- There’s a choice of three trim levels – Trendline version tested is the middle of the three
- You can specify permanent 4×4 or, as tested, VW’s own selectable 4Motion system…
- …permanent system is innovative – uses Torsen differential to give 40:60 drive distribution
- If you need to go off-road, the Amarok will “crawl” up and down slopes without any input from throttle or brakes
- New 2.0-litre turbodiesel engine has choice of power outputs – 122PS and 163PS…
- …163PS 4Motion version on test has CO2 of 209g/km
What’s not?
- 2.0-litre engines are lack a little grunt compared to 3.0-litre units on some rival pick-ups
- There’s no automatic gearbox option – VW assumes you’re going to head off-road…
- …The six-speed box is very slick, though
- Maximum braked towing capacity is 2.8 tonnes – a bit less than some rivals’ 3-tonne limit
- Hard top is excellent, with good fit and well-matched colour finish…
- …though it’s a bit pricey at £1,916 ex-VAT
- Still no sign of the single-cab version for the UK; it might not be coming at all.
What you need to Know
| P11D Value: | £18,995 |
| Monthly Rental: * | £n/a |
| What will it be worth: ** | £n/a |
| GVW: | 3,170kg |
| Payload: | 1,105kg (without removable hard top) |
| Loadspace Volume: | 2.52sq m |
| Basic Loadspace Dimensions: | 1,555mm long x 1,620mm wide |
| Engine: | 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel, 6spd gearbox |
| CO2 Emissions: | 209g/km (4Motion 4×4) |
| Power/torque: | 163PS/4000Nm @1,500-2,000rpm |
| Economy: | 29.1mpg (urban) 35.8mpg (combined) |
** Trade value of van if purchased after three years and 60,000 miles. (Powered by Deltapoint)
Business Van Manager Road Test Rating
Volkswagen Amarok goes straight to the top of the class – at least until new Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux and Isuzu Rodeo arrive in the coming months. Amarok offers a significant upgrade in cab finish and exterior styling over most of its rivals, and it’s a very quiet and refined performer on the road. As an off-roader too, it’s extremely competent.
We tested the Amarok over demanding terrain and it coped extremely well, with a highly impressive “crawl” feature that uses the ABS and ESP systems to negotiate steep inclines and declines with only steering input from the driver.
VW has chosen to make Amarok green and clean, perhaps at the expense of performance, so there’s no direct rival to the 3.0-litre top-range models in some competitors’ ranges. The double-cab is roomy without compromising the load bed – and that £1,916 hard top is an excellent add-on, especially with the load liner supplied.
