New Volkswagen Amarok officially detailed

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has revealed first official details of the all-new 2023 Volkswagen Amarok ahead of its global debut in July and its Australian release early next year, and it comes as no surprise the German car-maker’s second-generation ute shares many of its tasty specs with the new Ford Ranger on which it’s based.

Indeed, the biggest news to emerge from a global press release issued this morning – alongside fresh photos and a video of camouflaged vehicles undergoing testing – is the fact Australia will be the world’s biggest market for the new Volkswagen Amarok.

Australia was the second-largest market for the original Amarok, which has found more than 830,000 customers in Europe, South America, South Africa and Oceania (including Australia) since 2010, but Volkswagen says our market will leapfrog Argentina this time around.

That’s in part because Volkswagen expects more sales of its high-tech new model in a booming ute market Down Under, and because an updated version of the current model will continue to be built in South America, while South Africa becomes the sole source of the new Amarok.

Meantime, Ford’s global mid-size pick-up, the Ranger, is produced in Thailand, South Africa, South America, Vietnam and the US.

Production of the new Amarok – in both four-door ‘DoubleCab’ and two-door ‘SingleCab’ body styles, as per the original Amarok – commences late this year and Volkswagen Australia will again focus on the booming dual-cab 4x4 sector Down Under, where the single-cab Amarok was discontinued long ago.

A handful of new Amaroks are expected to arrive here late this year, but first customer deliveries won't take place until January or February. Until then, the Walkinshaw-developed W580S and W580X tough-trucks will continue top the current Amarok 4x4 dual-cab range, priced either side of $80,000.

It’s unclear whether the new Amarok will follow Ford Australia’s lead with unexpectedly sharp pricing for its new Ranger, but there won’t be a ‘Raptor’ version of the next Amarok, nor a Volkswagen version of the new Ranger-based Everest.

Instead, Volkswagen has revealed the 2023 Amarok line-up will be produced in five trim levels: base ‘Amarok’ followed by the ‘Life’ and ‘Style’ mid-range grades and two new flagship variants to be called ‘PanAmericana’ and ‘Aventura’, aimed at on-road and off-road buyers respectively.

Ahead of its world debut within three months, Volkswagen has confirmed the MkII Amarok was “designed and conceived in Germany and Australia” and promises it will be more capable than before, both on-road and off.

Based on the second-generation T6 ladder frame developed by Ford in Australia, the new Volkswagen Amarok rides on the same 3270mm wheelbase as the new Ranger – 50mm longer than the old Ranger’s and a full 175mm longer than the outgoing Amarok’s.

Volkswagen says the new Amarok dual-cab’s body measures 5350mm long overall, making it at least 100mm longer than its predecessor and meaning the wheelbase grows more than its total length.

As a result, shorter overhangs both front and rear should improve off-road ability, although Volkswagen so far claims improvements only to the approach angle, as well as a “much greater fording depth” that should match the class-leading 800mm figure of the Ranger, as well as its broader 1610mm wheel tracks.

Also like the Ranger, suspension will be via double wishbones up front and a beam-axle leaf-sprung rear-end, while the Ford will join the current Amarok in moving its rear dampers outboard of the chassis rails to improve stability, ride comfort and carrying capacity.

Volkswagen says the new Amarok’s payload will increase to up to 1200kg but doesn’t specify for which variants, and claims its 3500kg towing capacity will extend to a wider range of engine/gearbox variants.

As expected, Volkswagen’s MkII Amarok will share its V6 and four-cylinder turbo-diesel engines with the new Ranger this time round, although full details are yet to be announced.

Indeed, the company remains cryptic when it comes to Amarok powertrains, confirming only a “new V6 diesel and four further engine specifications” and “one petrol and up to four different diesels with four to six cylinders and cubic capacity of 2.0 to 3.0 litres – optionally with rear-wheel drive, or on-demand or permanent all-wheel drive”, depending on the market.

Either way, it’s clear the 2023 Amarok will echo the 2022 Ranger with a single- and/or twin-turbo 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel at base level (replacing the current model’s similar VW engine) and a range-topping Ford F-150-sourced 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel to replace the Amarok V6’s similar engine, which accounted for 85 per cent of current Amarok sales in Australia.

As per Ranger, a 2.3-litre turbocharged Ecotec engine may be the sole petrol engine available for the new Amarok in some other markets, and all engines will be matched to an overhauled 10R80 10-speed automatic, a 6R80 six-speed auto (for the single-turbo 2.0 diesel) and five- or six-speed manuals.

Also as per Ranger, the latest Borg-Warner-sourced electronic 4x4 system joins the 4x2 and part-time 4x4 drivetrains, offering a 4Auto mode as well as the usual 2H, 4H and 4L modes, and the new Amarok should also inherit the Ford’s multi-mode Terrain Management System.

The new Ford Ranger – and therefore the new Volkswagen Amarok – is 'package-protected' for mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrid and even full-electric powertrains, so we'll almost certainly see electrified versions of both new-generation utes before they're replaced post-2030.

Volkswagen says the next-gen Amarok will set new pick-up standards with more than 30 driver-assist systems, over 20 of which will be completely new to the VW ute.

They will be mirrored by the new Ranger, full safety specs for which are yet to be outlined, although flagship versions will likely extend on the outgoing model’s high level of safety equipment by adding a centre front airbag to staples like autonomous emergency braking (AEB), adaptive cruise control and lane keeping systems.

While the dual-cab prototypes pictured here testing in Europe remain camouflaged, it’s clear the new Amarok will wear all-new sheetmetal that gives it a distinctively different look to the new Ranger.

“For the new generation we have significantly modified the Amarok’s archetypal design. It is now unambiguously more expressive and once again appreciably more impressive,” said Albert Kirzinger, head of design at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

Up front there’s a big, flat bonnet and a bold new grille with “unambiguous VW DNA” punctuated by horizontal upper bars above an X-shaped motif and AMAROK embossing on top-spec variants, flanked by “succinctly integrated” narrow LED headlights as standard on all versions.

IQ.Light LED matrix headlights will be optional on premium variants.

The side profile is distinguished by half-round wheel-arches – as seen on the original Amarok – wrapped around alloy wheels measuring up to 21-inch and available for the first time as standard with all-terrain tyres, while the C-pillar “integrates harmoniously” with the rear tray.

“The aerodynamic styling bar – a hoop that straddles the cargo box, serves as an optical elongation of the double cab into the box – emphasising the dynamic and solid proportions of the new Amarok bodywork,” said Kirzinger.

At the rear there’s a broad tailgate with full-width AMAROK lettering, flanked by standard LED tail-lights, and once again the cargo bed will stow a Euro pallet between the wheel-arches.

Here once again the new Amarok is expected to borrow heavily from the new Ranger interior, which will offer 10.1- and 12.0-inch vertical infotainment touch-screens depending on the variant, alongside a digital instrument cluster.

“With its intuitive controls, digital cockpit and tablet-style infotainment display, the Amarok’s interior has a functional, high-quality appearance,” said Volkswagen, adding that a more premium character will be presented by options including an exclusive sound system and leather-look surfaces with distinctive decorative stitching for the instrument binnacle and door panels.

Also claimed to push the new Amarok further upmarket are wider and more comfortable front seats available with 10-way power adjustment and – in dual-cab models – a broader rear seat that’s said to accommodate three adult passengers in comfort.

Watch this space for more 2023 Volkswagen Amarok details in the lead-up to its global debut in July.

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