Volkswagen Amarok 2013 Long-term review - 2

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory & delivery charges): $53,990
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): N/A
Crash rating: Five-star (ANCAP)
Fuel: Diesel
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 8.3
CO2 emissions (g/km): 219

Another month, another fault-free 4000km. We’ve now put 7706km under the belt of our long-term test Amarok without any problems, despite subjecting it to a burly bloke-size belting in its first two months.

When Volkswagen offered us an extended six-month stay with the top-shelf Amarok TDI420 Highline, it did so on the proviso we treat it as our own and leave no holds barred, so that’s exactly what we did.

As you might recall, our first month saw Team Pettendy travel from its base near the Gold Coast to the Australian junior dirt track titles in Wyalong, where young Zak easily qualified for the final but failed to start when the clutch on his KTM 50 died on the line.

The Amarok fared much better, effortlessly hauling four people, two bikes and a swag of racing and camping equipment while consuming an average of just 8.5L/100km on the 2400km round trip -- and remaining trouble-free apart from an engine warning light due to over-full engine oil.

We haven’t quite driven it like we stole it since then, but in between numerous other dirt track practice and race meetings, including the NSW junior titles at Kurri Kurri (where Zak finished second), the TDI420 also lugged tray-loads of firewood, gravel, garbage and, inevitably, furniture for a mate moving house.

Its class-leading tray capacity has also swallowed up to four full-size pushbikes (without removing the front wheels) and three adult-size motorcycles, both road and dirt, although the rear tyre of anything bigger than 65cc will have to rest on the tailgate.

Of course the tail-lights remain visible with the tray down, but the reversing sensors go nuts.

It’s also copped another month of family duties, including three young kids doing their best to sully the hard-wearing grey seat trim, and plenty of offroad work including countless treks on our long, under-maintained gravel driveway.

Despite all that and plenty of daily suburban and hilly country driving, the Amarok’s total fuel consumption remains under 9.0L/100km (8.8), and so far there’s only the type of wear and tear you’d expect from a life like this, including a couple of tailgate paint chips.

One cause for concern -- and we’re keen to hear if owners of other utes have experienced the same -- is the warped plastic tray liner due to oil and/or fuel leaking from bikes. Even after a thorough clean, with the tailgate left open for a while in the sun it now lifts up at the centre, making it hard to close the tailgate.

Yes, we’d prefer another couple of tie-down points in the tray (there’s one in each corner, but none in the middle) and a larger fuel filler neck would prevent splash-back from the high-flow nozzle at the truck stop’s filthy diesel bowser. But at least it fits most of the way in, which isn’t the case with some other diesel cars and commercials.

Besides, these are minor quibbles in a twin-cab ute that sets a new benchmark for ride/handling and cabin refinement, not to mention a high-tech twin-turbo 2.0-litre engine that delivers a fulsome 420Nm of torque.

Matched with a silky-smooth eight-speed auto, it’s enough to accelerate the 1985kg TDI420 to 100km/h in about 11.5 seconds, making it the quickest in its class bar Nissan’s turbo-diesel V6-powered Navara ST-X 550.

Well-presented yet hard-wearing plastic surfaces, durable fabric trim, plenty of 12-volt outlets, numerous cup- and bottle-holders, cavernous (and carpeted) door bins, seamless Bluetooth connectivity with audio streaming, drawers under the front seats, a flip-up rear seat and a decent-size glovebox and centre console make for a practical work space.

At the same time, there’s ride quality to match some passenger cars and enough room for five adults, each with an adjustable head restraint and five-point seatbelt, plus five-star safety including twin front and front side/thorax airbags (but no rear side airbags) and electronic traction/stability control make it the perfect family truck.

At almost $54,000, the TD420 Highline isn’t cheap, but adds niceties like a chromed steel rear bumper with step, side steps, a stainless steel sports bar, 17-inch alloys, front and rear foglights, a chromed grille and mirrors, a large colour touch-screen and rear parking sensors (which only the Ford Ranger offers at this price).

Forego some of those luxuries and the same mechanical package can be had from $45,990 (plus on-roads), which we think is a bargain for a vehicle with a capability envelope as wide as this.

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