Tough workhorse is cut out for the job at hand
Not long after our Volkswagen Amarok V6 TDI was tasked with lugging and carting 10 foldable tables, than a friend rang up to ask for assistance with moving house.
Fortunately, it was only a stone’s throw between houses, effectively in the same complex, which still required moving those cumbersome pieces of furniture. The fridge, for instance, is arguably one of the most awkward items to transport, but it was no match for the Amarok, which simply lapped it up together with other odds and ends packed into boxes.
A queen-sized bed and two single beds were also loaded with ease. It took just over two hours to move houses. A task, as many would attest, can easily take an entire weekend.
As we have proven previously, the model managed to lug everything without breaking a sweat and, to be frank, it felt as though the vehicle wasn’t fully utilised such was the doddle of this task. Perhaps we need to hitch a trailer next time around, load that and the load bins to the hilt and nose the vehicle up an incline to see how it fares. What with a 3,500kg towing capacity, I have little doubt the vehicle will manage that task with ease.
Outside of the commercial aspect, the Amarok still doubles up as a comfortable high riding vehicle that will put a few SUVs to shame with its smooth, shimmy-free ride quality that remains one of the best in the segment. I am also enjoying the Apple CarPlay that syncs iPhones and mirrors its functions with the infotainment screen. Of course, it does require that you connect via USB cable and while it all works quite efficiently, it would be great if the USB port location was illuminated as trying to look for it at night is frustrating.
Our fuel average is hovering around 11.0l/100km, which is a notable improvement from last month’s 12.2l/100km, in spite of mostly urban driving we have been subjecting the vehicle to. I still sing the praises of this 3.0l V6 turbodiesel engine that is refined and has huge reserves of power and torque, enough to slingshot you past slow moving traffic with relative ease.
After mentioning it before in previous reports, Motor News will next month travel to Oman, UAE to finally sample the 190kW Amarok V6 TDI, which will firmly take the fight to the Mercedes-Benz X-Class X350d, which will launch in the fourth quarter of 2018. We will relay our impressions of the updated model once we have sampled it to see if there is any significant bump in performance.
The bakkie wars are becoming more interesting, particularly at the upper echelons of the segment where the Amarok and many of its rivals currently play.
As it stands, the Amarok V6 TDI continues to rule the roost and it will be interesting to see if it will retain this crown when the X-Class finally unveils its X350d later in 2018.