Niche Volkswagen Amarok V6 is already finding customers

Standing out from the crowd can be a tough ask in a market as crowded as the dual-cab 4x4 pickup segment, but Volkswagen’s strategy of pursuing on-road handling at the expense of off-road talent could very well be a huge winner among Aussie ute buyers.

At the recent preview drive for its upcoming Amarok V6 W600, Volkswagen’s commercial vehicle division outlined precisely why a 4x4 ute that’s been stripped of its off-road tyres and suspension is expected to be a hit with punters: they don’t really drive off-road anyway.

According to VW’s research, ute drivers are 10-15 times more likely to use their vehicles on sealed roads than off-road, and even when they’re away from the blacktop, they’re three times more likely to be just driving on well-graded dirt or gravel roads than gnarly off-road trails.

Ergo, equipping the W600 with a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV tyres makes sense. Same again for the Koni suspension, which has been tuned by Walkinshaw to tighten up pitch and roll when attacking a curvy road.

More importantly, the strategy puts plenty of separation between the road-biased W600 and other factory-tuned, off-road-centric dual-cabs like the Toyota HiLux Rugged X, Ford Ranger Tremor, Isuzu D-MAX Blade and the just-launched Mitsubishi Triton Raider.

There is, however, one ingredient in the W600 recipe that’s still a closely-guarded secret, and it could be one that seals its fate: price.

Even so, VW is already holding deposits from an unspecified number of prospective owners who are ready to pay more than what the company has in mind for its new halo truck.

“Some customers are even putting down deposits up to values which would exceed our price point, so it’s good to know that there’s confidence in the product and that people are waiting for it,” Volkswagen Amarok product manager Michael Cenci said.

With diesel prices still elevated from the fuel supply crisis in the Persian Gulf, sales of diesel-powered utes have retreated somewhat.

However, with the W600 to be pitched at a premium price point – it’ll be well above the $82,990 Amarok TDI600 Aventura, but below the $100K mark – Cenci said W600 owners will be less sensitive to the elevated cost of fuel.

“There’s definitely less price sensitivity, that’s a reasonable thing to assume, and that’s what we’ve seen so far with people putting big money down to secure one of the first orders,” he said.

“There’s definitely less direct competitors as well, so we would see ourselves in that halo layer of utes which sits above the premium [Aventura] layer, but just below the RAMs and Silverados and Tundras who are in that $100K-plus aerial.”

Nothing in that price bracket has the same on-road focus as the W600, though its stiffest opposition will arguably come from dirt-eating Ford Ranger Raptor, which is still a fan favourite in the ute segment and priced at $90,690 before on-roads.

The Volkswagen Amarok V6 W600 will officially launch in August this year, with full pricing and specifications to be announced then.

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