Flawless Amarok returns home
THIS VEHICLE MAKES A LOT OF SENSE IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT Still the most carlike interior and drive of all the new bakkies on the SA market.
It is an old cliché, but time does really fly when you are having fun, and so it is that I report my long term VW Amarok Ultimate has gone home to VWSA, and the fun has ended. The Amarok Ultimate arrived as my first ever long term bakkie, and South Africa is bakkie country, so I was looking forward to my time with this full house top of the range offering from VW. And it did not disappoint.
Sure it is pricey at R645 900 and R30 150 for the optional RNS 510 Radio/Navigation system, but you do get Bi-xenon headlights with LED daytime running lights, polished 19-inch ‘Cantera’ alloy wheels, silver under body guard, styling bar and sidebars in chrome, as well as Park Distance Control with Rear Assist reversing camera, electric folding, heated wing mirrors, heated front seats in Alcantara leather, rain sensor with intermittent wipers, auto dimming rear view mirror and special velour floor mats.
Despite a glut of new bakkies hitting the market in recent months, what you still get is the most car-like interior on the market and the most car-like drive too. And don’t think the 2.0-litre bi-turbo diesel powerplant running via an eight-speed auto transmission is there to be bullied by the bigger capacity offerings. Making the most use of its 132kW and 420Nm the Amarok Ultimate is only edged by the 3.2-litre five-cylinder Ford Ranger on the road, the rest fall in just behind the VW.
And the Amarok Ultimate does this without killing you at the fuel pumps. As you can see from the log book, I did close on 14 000km and the average for this mileage was a respectable 10.73 litres/100km. It is nowhere near the claimed 8.3 litres that VW say the Amarok should get, but I have yet to test a turbocharged petrol or diesel vehicle that has in fact hit their claimed number. So these claimed numbers are quite useless in the real world.
The Amarok Ultimate is no softy off-road either. The bakkie has a very simple approach to off-roading, and uses switches for rear diff lock and an “Off-road” mode that enables hill descent control and less sensitive ABS braking.
The all-wheel drive system detects wheel slip and by means of a viscous coupling and diverts torque flow to the axle where it is needed most, from a normal 40:60 front:rear split to as much as 65:35.
And if you want more space inside than a premium sedan, and more loading space than any sedan or SUV can offer, then a double cab bakkie makes plenty sense. Going away at the end of last year was an absolute pleasure. We could pack whatever we wanted for the trip and then some, and I never had to worry that we were overloaded because the Amarok Ultimate is rated to be able to load a ton and tow three-tons should you so require.
Talking of family, I had a serious problem trying to get my wife out the Amarok Ultimate on
Odo reading start: Odo reading now: Distance covered: Fuel consumed: Total fuel cost: Ave consumption:
/100 km ........ 1 153 km ....... 15 073 km ...... 13 920 km ...1 493.08 litres ............ R18 340.12 ..... 10.73 litres
Average cost / km:
.............. R1.32 weekends. She loved the comfortable and smooth drive, as she did the South African thing of feeling safer thanks to the raised ride height and seating position.
So if you can afford the luxury and drive offered by the VW Amarok Ultimate, then you will be driving a very competent vehicle that is far more practical than a sedan or a SUV.