Volkswagen Amarok Core Edition 2015 Review

With the 4x4 ute market the fourth biggest segment in Australia's new-vehicle market, it’s no wonder manufacturers want a slice of the action.

Volkswagen was one of the latecomers to the party in 2011 when it introduced its first-ever 4x4 one-tonne ute the Amarok, but it has proven a steady earner for Volkswagen and one of the better performers in the segment.

While it’s been around since early this year, this was the first time we've had a decent amount of wheel time in the new entry-level Core Edition. We drove the eight-speed auto version for 500km in one of Australia’s best 4WD playgrounds, Cape York.

The Amarok’s cabin is large for a dual-cab, offering acres of head, shoulder and leg room for four adults. Even the rear bench is not bad for three beefy blokes, with the flat bench not as supportive as more contoured seats but allowing the centre passenger to not feel as though they’re perched on a bucket.

Volkswagen has imbued the interior of its commercial ute with a whiff of passenger car refinement in terms of fit and finish too. It doesn’t shout luxury, but neither does it feel cheap.

The Amarok TDI 420 auto's 2.0-litre diesel is fitted with two turbochargers that work sequentially -- one for low revs, the other for higher revs.

Normally manufacturers supply their diesels with just one turbocharger, but Volkswagen’s take on turbocharging theoretically gives more consistent throttle response and peak torque should be available even lower in the rev range, reducing turbo lag.

And so it proves in practice; the engine is a cracker, pulling away from idle in higher gears with little hesitation. When you ask the engine to dig deep, the tacho needle quickly swings in its arc towards redline and the lack of bumps and dips in the torque delivery is very unlike any of the Amarok’s competitors. You expect turbo lag from a turbo-diesel engine, but the Amarok has very little.

The eight-speed auto slides through its ratios well, with decisive changes and none of the befuddlement that can mark the operation of some autos.
With all but a couple of one-tonne utes using leaf-sprung live axle rear suspensions, it is no wonder that utes are not lush-riding conveyances. A live axle suspended by leaf springs is a simple, reliable way to shoulder heavy loads but does little for ride comfort.

The Amarok is one of the few that appears to be a competent load carrier but also rides well with the tray empty. It is not as good as just about any car, but it is a lot better than it should be.

Driving on the corrugated, potholed fast dirt sections around Cape York, the Amarok blotted out the worst of it with ease. Only when faced with large potholes did the rear axle give up and do the sideways dance typical of a live axle, but it was all very predictable and benign.

The Amarok handles well, albeit with the ultimately dull-feeling steering typical of the class. Its cornering attitude is flat and it grips well, and while the steering does not convey much feedback, it feels direct.

Off-road, the Amarok has good approach and departure angles and a pretty good ramp-over angle. The auto’s low first gear and the Off-Road Mode --which alters the traction control, stability control, anti-lock brake system and transmission response and activates hill descent control -- does a surprisingly good job in the rough stuff in lieu of a low-range gear set.

In low-speed crawl situations the single-range transmission’s low first gear ratio is still not as good as a low-range first gear (nor is it as low as the manual version’s high-range first gear, at 4.714:1 versus 4.82:1), lacking the smooth control such a gear would allow.

However, the hill descent control’s ability to stay set at whatever speed you choose once pointing six degrees downhill is excellent. If you want 3km/h, for example, that’s what the HDC will hold.

The key problems off-road are the lack of front wheel travel, rear axle articulation and front ground clearance. The first two are mostly resolved by activating the standard rear diff lock (which then works in tandem with front-wheel traction control) and the latter requires a more careful choice of line on high-crowned roads and the reliance on the thick bash plate when you get it wrong.

We had aftermarket snorkels fitted to the vehicles on the Cape York trip (ordered by VGA from German aftermarket supplier Seikel) and the fact is any vehicle would need one for the water crossings up at the Cape.

While the Amarok’s 500mm wading depth is reasonable -- with air sourced from the protected area of the right inner guard -- it is not enough to ensure water doesn’t enter the engine when the bonnet begins to disappear under water.

The Amarok is still one of the best utes in the dual-cab class. Its off-road acumen is not as polished as some competitors, but it has the performance, ride, handling, interior space and comfort that most others simply don’t. The fact is there might be shinier toys in the box this year, but the Amarok is a firm favourite that still plays as well if not better than the rest of them.

2015 Volkswagen Amarok Core Edition auto pricing and specifications:
Price: $44,490 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel
Output: 132kW/420Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 219g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star ANCAP