Volkswagen Amarok 2013 Long-term review - 3

Last month it was Kurri Kurri for the NSW dirt track titles and this month Team Pettendy headed to Taree and Raymond Terrace for young Zak to contest his first race meeting on an oil track (Old Bar) and the Australian junior long track championships at Barleigh Ranch respectively.

With confidence at an all-time low after his massive high-speed get-off at Kurri Kurri the previous month, Zak failed to make the podium at both events, ending a dream run in his first year of state and national title competition on his 50cc Division 2 bike.

Likewise, after two punishing months and 7700 near trouble-free kilometres, the first real chinks have appeared our long-term Amarok’s armour.

The first was a sticking right-rear window, which failed to open after its fourth consecutive weekend of sitting around in the crushed granite dust of a typical dirt track meeting, then mysteriously came good at the conclusion of yet another full day’s drive home.

The second was a loose bolt in the hinge mechanism of the front left door, quickly followed by the same problem on the driver’s side. In the absence of a special tool to fit the star-headed torque fitting, a large flat-bladed screw driver did the trick and both door hinges have been fault-free ever since.

With more than 10,000km under its belt in three months then, the only blot remaining on the Amarok’s copy book is a slightly warped tray liner due to oil and fuel leaks from poorly maintained bikes.

Indeed, vault-like design and build quality – evident in doors so solid you can hang off them without any bending or even creaking – remains a hallmark of Volkswagen’s first contemporary dual-cab.

But it’s just one of many facets of the multi-talented German load-lugger, which offers five-star safety, class-leading refinement, better ride comfort than all competitors bar the Ford Ranger and outstanding fuel consumption.

Yes, the latter has been helped by eight 700km-plus highway trips to title meetings and numerous freeway runs to local dirt track club meets in Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Despite being hindered by daily school, work and shopping runs and a couple of camping and off-roading trips (which we’ll cover in a future update), however, average fuel consumption continues to hover around 10.0L/100km.

We think that’s outstanding for a tough dual-cab ute with a lusty 420Nm twin-turbo 2.0-litre turbo-diesel, smooth eight-speed auto and a hefty GVM of 3040kg on standard heavy-duty rear leaf springs, which together allow it to effortlessly haul a family of five, a 960kg payload or a trailer weighing up to 3500kg.

2014 Volkswagen Amarok pricing and specifications:
Price: $53,990 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder twin-turbo-diesel
Output: 132kW/420Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.3L/100km (combined)
CO2: 219g/km (combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP

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