Feisty Veedub bakkie is coming

Bakkie lovers have

probably been asking for five years now why VW hasn’t shoe horned their 3.0 V6 TDI into the Amarok. Well, it looks like the wait’s over, because such a bakkie will be introduced locally round around June next year. According to the info at our disposal there will be two models on sale – an Extreme costing just under R800 000, and a Highline which will cost just over R700 000. Yes, that isn’t exactly cheap, but a quick glance at the new Amarok interior and you soon realise that it’s closer to the Touareg than the old Amarok. And when Merc’s new X-Class bakkie debuts here in 2018, you’ll have two bakkies on the market that will be able to compete with many SUVs in terms of interior luxuries. The Amarok’s V6 TDI will develop 165 kW and a juicy 550 Nm, and will be mated to the now well-known 8-speed automatic transmission. It is interesting to note that this engine is also used in the Porsche Macan as well as the Audi Q5 and Q7. According to VW it is designed for at least 300 000 km of trouble free engine life.