2023 Volkswagen Amarok Review | Is VW’s new dual-cab ute better than the Ford Ranger?
2023 Volkswagen Amarok Review | Is VW’s new dual-cab ute better than the Ford Ranger?
Volkswagen takes aim at Ford Ranger with the first new Amarok in 13 years 👉 Full Review: https://www.carsales.com.au/editorial…
Volkswagen isn’t hiding the fact there’s a Ford Ranger hiding underneath its all-new, second-generation 2023 Volkswagen Amarok, given the Blue Oval brand’s homegrown ute is the best 4x4 dual-cab available on the market today.
The question is, has Volkswagen improved on the popular recipe? We drive V6 turbo-diesel and four-cylinder turbo-petrol versions of the new Volkswagen Amarok Style, Aventura and PanAmericana variants on road, dirt and mud to try and find out.
Fast Forward
00:00 Intro
01:07 Pricing and specs
02:48 Interior review
04:47 Passenger space \u0026 payload
06:25 On the road
08:31 Offroad
10:27 Verdict
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Content
0.36 -> After years of fanfare and
publicity, the second-generation,
4.74 -> all-new Amarok has finally arrived
in Australia. It's the first new ute
9.84 -> from Volkswagen in 12 years and it shares key
hardware with the current segment benchmark,
16.38 -> the Ford Ranger. So it should be
pretty awesome, right? Let's find out.
39 -> This is brave new territory for Volkswagen.
After venturing into the dual-cab ute market
44.52 -> with its pioneering Amarok, first sold in
Australia in 2011, the second-gen ute is
50.4 -> based on Ford's Aussie developed platform that
underpins the new Ford Ranger and Everest.
56.28 -> Australia is the biggest and therefore most
important global market for the Amarok, which is
61.2 -> produced in the same South African factory as the
Ranger and was designed by a Melbourne-based team.
67.44 -> The result is a vehicle which boasts largely Ford
hardware but with a heavy Volkswagen bent when it
73.26 -> comes to design, equipment, and tuning. All told,
there are five model grades of the new Amarok as
78.54 -> well as four different engines in a model walk
which closely resembles the Ranger portfolio,
83.1 -> the exception being no headline grabbing Raptor
equivalent. It's generally more expensive than the
89.76 -> Ranger, but Volkswagen says the value equation
is solid given it's packing higher levels of
95.16 -> equipment and luxury. The headline engine is
what's under the bottom of this PanAmericana
100.08 -> model grade we're driving here. It's a three
liter turbo-diesel V6, and it makes a little
105.06 -> bit more torque but a little bit less power than
its predecessor. Ford's familiar 10-speed auto
110.64 -> sends power to all four wheels via a part-time
four-by-four system which now includes low-range
117.9 -> gearing, which is a first for the Amarok. Braked
towing capacity is 3,500 kilograms on all models
125.4 -> and the tub payload has risen by 76 kilos to 1,065
kilos for V6 models. Volkswagen put up a team of
134.58 -> international designers right here in Australia
for three years to get this design on point.
140.28 -> And it's fair to say, these optics are quite
unique to the vehicle. And I don't think you're
145.56 -> gonna mistake this for a Ranger anytime soon. The
PanAmericana variant certainly stands out from the
152.64 -> crowd with a unique front bumper design including
matrix LED headlights, black 18-inch alloy wheels
159.24 -> shod with all-terrain tires, black side steps,
and black powder coated rear sports bar.
173.1 -> The cabin makes a tremendous first impression.
This feels more like a luxury SUV than a
178.8 -> knockabout hay hauler. But unlike the exterior,
you do get a sense that some of that Ford DNA is
186.12 -> seeping through. Sure, the seats and the steering
wheel are new and look, these new buttons and
193.2 -> dials around the screen are pretty schmick, but
if you've sat in a Ranger, you're gonna get a
198.54 -> sense of deja vu. The overall layout, the gear
shifter, there's a lot of similarities. Overall
204.9 -> material quality is very good for a dual-cab ute
and the textured leather upholstery on the seats,
209.94 -> doors, and dash of this off-road model is
lovely, finished with contrast stitching that
214.8 -> mimics baseball glove seams. By and large, fit and
finish is pretty good, but on a few of the models,
220.74 -> we noticed some of the plastics aren't quite flush
fitting, and that takes a little bit away from
226.14 -> that idea that this is a proper Volkswagen. But I
do think, after a few months of coming through the
232.32 -> factory, they will iron out those little kinks.
The front seats are heated with 10-way power
237.96 -> adjustment, plus things like satellite navigation,
dual zone climate control, ambient lighting,
243.3 -> and a thumping eight speaker Harman Kardon audio
system sweetened the deal. The infotainment system
249.54 -> comprises a big 12-inch touchscreen here that
looks fantastic and you've got a 12.3-inch digital
256.26 -> driver's display as well. And with this one in
particular, Volkswagen has made it its own. It
262.44 -> looks very much like any other Volkswagen
digital driver's display. It feels good,
267.84 -> it operates well. The central screen, the menu
system is a little bit convoluted in some ways,
274.2 -> and to operate the climate controls, they're not
hard buttons, so you've gotta push a few buttons
280.62 -> to get in here, and it adds a little bit more
time. But look, overall, it does work quite well.
288 -> Because it's based on the Ford Ranger platform,
it's got a long wheel base, so you do get a bit
292.68 -> more room back here. Volkswagen says an extra
45 millimeters of leg room. But look, it's
298.08 -> comfortable enough back here but it's not what
I'd call super roomy. The seats are quite comfy.
303.84 -> The backrest are fairly upright, but that's
par of the course for utes. You do get air
308.82 -> vents back here but there's no USB ports. Do
get a 12-volt socket and a fold-down armrest
314.7 -> that pops out somewhat easily. There's also two
ISOFIX and two top tether child seat anchorages,
322.44 -> and the car comes with nine airbags and now has
a five star ANCAP safety rating, which is good
327.9 -> to see and something its predecessor did not have.
All right, let's check out the tub. Not soft damp,
334.02 -> but that's okay. You get the spray-in tub liner,
and it's slightly longer than previously, by 70
340.08 -> millimeters, a little bit wider, and you can still
get an Aussie or a Euro pallette between the wheel
344.88 -> arches, which is pretty important. Amenities,
not bad. In the tub, you get six tie-down hooks,
351.3 -> up from four in the previous model. And LED
lights, where are they? Under here on both sides.
356.46 -> There's also a plastic protection strip here to
keep the body work from getting ding, but there's
364.74 -> no step on the side here to help get in and out
of the tray, which the Ford Ranger gets. Gross
370.86 -> combined mass is up from 6,000 to 6,500 kilograms,
while gross vehicle mass is up from 6,000 to 6,400
378.66 -> kilograms, which are nice little improvements. All
right, anyway, cue the music. It's time to drive.
385.5 -> All right, first impressions
from the captain's chair are
389.1 -> very positive. No huge surprise there,
given it's donor car is very very good.
395.1 -> But look, there are differences I can feel
straight away and the biggest one is the steering.
400.5 -> It's a little heavier. And throw in the suspension
that keeps the body a little flatter through
407.34 -> corners, it's a bit more engaging to drive, I
reckon as well. And overall, there's a more,
414.18 -> slightly more sophisticated, more refined feel
to the vehicle. And when all of those elements
420.48 -> combine, the steering, the suspension, the brakes,
and that awesome V6 engine, it makes for a really,
427.74 -> really pleasant drive. I spent most of my drive
time in this silky smooth V6 diesel PanAmericana,
436.2 -> and it's a beauty, but I also got to test the
midrange style, which is also surprisingly good,
442.08 -> even though the suspension's not quite as fancy
as in this model. And then, the real surprise was
447.84 -> the top-spec urban warrior Aventura, which you
can get with the 2.3 liter turbo-petrol engine
454.56 -> ripped straight out of the Ford Mustang.
Now, the Ranger doesn't get this engine,
459.42 -> and it's interesting. It's actually really good.
And I think it might appeal to people who don't
464.4 -> wanna deal with diesel particulate filters anymore
and all the problems around those, and also it
471.24 -> feels more like a conventional SUV in the way it
accelerates and motivates. It's quite impressive.
478.56 -> The breadth of scope of modern-day utes is
truly astonishing. They can tow a heavy load,
485.04 -> you can throw anything in the tray, and they'll
even transport the family, no dramas. And this one
491.58 -> does it all with a level of luxury and refinement
that few of its rivals can't match. I mean, take
498.84 -> the cabin for instance. It's surprisingly quiet
even with the upright windscreen, the big mirrors.
504.36 -> The V6 diesel is very, very quiet, cruising on the
freeway. There's not a huge amount of wind noise.
510.78 -> But one of the major attractions of the
contemporary pickup truck is still their
514.68 -> off-road ability. And the big talking point with
the second-gen Amarok, among other features,
519.24 -> is the inclusion of low-range four-wheel
drive. You've also got a locking rear diff
524.7 -> if you need it, but you probably won't because
the Amarok is a confident off-roader. It's all
531.06 -> terrain tires and low-range gearing conspiring
to generate loads of grip in slippery conditions.
537.72 -> It's dealing with these challenging and somewhat
tricky conditions pretty easily. And that's partly
544.56 -> due to the fact the ground clearance is up to 237
millimeters now, and it also meant we only touched
551.82 -> the underbody armor once or twice on some really
big ruts and a particularly steep hill climb.
561.96 -> Approach and departure angles are slightly better
than the first Amarok, and its weighting depth has
566.28 -> been boosted from 500 millimeters to a whopping
800 millimeters. That said, ramp over is reduced
572.82 -> slightly. Low speed steering and throttle response
are both very good, and the hill descent control
578.28 -> worked well when we used it. The four-wheel
drive system is very, very good. I mean,
583.62 -> it's essentially Ford Ranger hardware, and it's
impressive the way it's constantly distributing
590.88 -> torque to wheels with grip. And having rear-wheel
drive, full-wheel drive auto, full wheel drive
598.62 -> high, which locks the center diff effectively,
and then full-wheel drive low ratio is very,
603.42 -> very useful. It's arguably one of the best
utes we've driven on the road and off-road,
610.8 -> it's got serious capability as well. And now I'm
cruising on some windy dirt roads and it's so
618.9 -> composed and predictable. That suspension
is really well sorted. Make no mistake,
624.06 -> this is a very well-rounded vehicle. Our
first taste of the new Amarok on local
629.46 -> roads and off-road trails has been almost
entirely positive. It's more controlled on
634.86 -> the road than the Ranger and has a slightly
more premium cabin feel. The addition of the
639.72 -> Aventura model with 21-inch wheels and a petrol
engine is an unexpectedly fun pairing as well.
646.92 -> So is the new Amarok better than the Ranger? Well,
each variant is a bit different in terms of design
653.34 -> and tuning and equipment. So until we line them
up side by side, it's a bit hard to say one way or
659.22 -> the other. But given the Ford Ranger is easily the
benchmark in the segment, one thing is for sure,
665.94 -> Amarok is now one of the classiest and
most engaging utes on the market today.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMtJ8ITk1rk