Volkswagen Amarok Style 2023 Review

Pricing for the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok Style starts at $66,990 plus on-road costs for the TDI500 and rises to $70,990 (+ORCs) for the TDI600, figures that have not yet moved since the second-generation ute’s launch in February.

Thanks to Ford’s regular price rises for Ranger, the Style models now sit neatly between the Sport ($64,990/$68,890 +ORCs for the four- and six-cylinder respectively) and Wildtrak ($68,490/$72,390 +ORCs) variants.

Within the VW range, the Style represents a sizeable $10,000 increase over the Life, while if you want to stretch to the next model up, the V6-only PanAmericana, you’ll need another $5000 over the Style TDI600.

There are plenty of competitors beyond its closely-related sibling, including similar twins the Isuzu D-MAX X-Terrain ($67,500 +ORCs) and Mazda BT-50 SP ($68,510 +ORCs), Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior ($68,265 +ORCs) and Toyota HiLux Rogue ($70,760 +ORCs).

It’s here that the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok Style puts its best foot, er, wheel forward. Included as standard are 18-inch alloy wheels, a stainless steel sports bar, Matrix LED headlights with adaptive high beam, LED tail-lights and keyless entry and start.

On the inside there are heated front seats (the driver’s being 10-way power-adjustable), microfibre upholstery (leather is optional), stitched leather-look dash and door inserts, and dual-zone climate control.

In standard guise it’s an offering certainly well beyond the Ranger Sport and possibly the Wildtrak, too, though the latter does have a couple of features of its own the Amarok lacks. Nevertheless, while there’s a degree of tit-for-tat the Volkswagen is very well specced for the money.

There’s also an extensive range of factory-backed accessories including canopies and drawers and lift kits and much, much more that can be added by the dealer.

A five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty is offered and servicing will set you back $1801 over the first five visits, with each required every 12 months or 15,000km.

You won’t find a safer dual-cab 4x4 ute. Along with the Ranger, the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok Style comes with a five-star ANCAP rating thanks to a comprehensive suite of safety equipment offered (mostly) right across the range.

Nine airbags, including front, side, centre and curtain, as well as active gizmos like autonomous-emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane assist and departure warning, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control with stop and go and predictive speed limiter and road sign recognition.

There are also front, rear and 360-degree cameras as well as park assist.

Once again, the strength of the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok Style’s equipment levels shine through, with the full-size 12.0-inch portrait infotainment display and 12.3-inch digital cockpit, the latter not even the Ranger Wildtrak can boast.

There’s wireless charging and smartphone mirroring, digital radio and in-built navigation but a six-speaker stereo is your only option, the Ranger offering a 10-speaker B&O system for extra cost.

VW has applied its own skin to the Ford infotainment system (it looks and feels like a VW system) and it’s relatively simple to navigate your way around, though as with most modern systems the sheer scale of features and functionality means it’ll take a while to figure out where everything is hiding.

As mentioned earlier, you have a choice of two engines in the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok Style, both of which are sourced from the Ranger. As the names suggest, the TDI500 has a 2.0-litre bi-turbo four-cylinder diesel with 154kW/500Nm and the TDI600 a 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel with 184kW/600Nm.

Both use a 10-speed automatic but the V6 also scores the option of full-time four-wheel drive, whereas the four-cylinder is limited to 2H for sealed surfaces, with 4H and 4L for unsealed.

According to the official claims the four-cylinder is the more frugal at 7.2L/100km combined compared to 8.4L/100km for the V6, though in our experience the real-world difference is much closer with both engines hovering around the 10L/100km mark in mixed driving.

Well, it’s just like a Ranger. The engine is the same, the gearbox is the same and the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok Style uses VW’s standard suspension rather than the Dynamic set-up fitted to the PanAmericana and Aventura models, so while the Amarok does have its own set-up, even a back-to-back drive reveals little difference.

Being just like a Ranger is definitely no bad thing, however. It means that in terms of ride, handling, performance and refinement the Amarok sits at the top of the dual-cab class.

The Amarok does feel to have nicer steering but that’s a function of its fabcier steering wheel rather than any real mechanical advantage. That might sound strange, but it’s something apparently VW spent a lot of time on and it’s paid off as it’s a lovely thing to hold.

The final thing to mention is the Style deserves the V6 engine. VW has put quite a bit of effort into differentiating the Amarok with a more premium interior and the smoother, quieter and more powerful six-cylinder is the cherry the cake deserves.

Once again, the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok Style is as good off-road as the Ranger, which is to say very good indeed. There are some very slight variations; the Amarok has a slightly better departure angle (25.6 versus 23 degrees) and an extra degree of breakover angle (22 v 21 degrees) as well as an extra 1mm of ground clearance (235 v 234mm).

Nevertheless, the limiting factor with any Amarok’s off-road prowess will be the standard highway-spec tyres, but thanks to various drive modes, which automatically set the car up for certain terrain, a standard rear diff lock and very effective traction control it’ll be able to get you most places.

A 70kg bump in Gross Vehicle Mass for the V6 means that although it’s heavier (2319kg v 2271kg) it has a higher maximum payload (1031kg v 1009kg).

Gross Combined Mass is closer (6400kg for the V6, 6350kg for the four) but both are rated to tow a maximum of 3500kg, though obviously be aware that doing so will have an effect on your payload.

The tray is 1544mm long, an increase of almost 100mm over the Ranger, partially thanks to the rear wall being hollowed out slightly, and while width is claimed to be 1224mm, that’s the width between the wheel-arches, with actual width a tick over 1500mm.

This is the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok Style’s true trump card. It simply has a much nicer interior than any other dual-cab and that’s including the Ranger on which it’s based.

The stitched dash and door inserts, the plump steering wheel, excellent figure-hugging seats and large standard screens all give it a premium feel that only perhaps a Ranger Platinum approaches in the mid-size (ie: not full-size American truck) segment.

It’s a nicer place to spend time and the rear bench is more comfortable, too, though it’s not all a home run.

VW’s interior design choices have impacted negatively on ergonomics. Not to a great extent, but it’s worth mentioning. The plastic gearshift surround shifts the cup holders rearward so they’re not as easy to access and shrinks the centre storage bin.

The shape of the dash also forces the integrated trailer brake controller (if fitted) into an awkward spot alongside the wireless charging pad and VW has eradicated the Ranger’s physical HVAC controls. There’s a degree of form over function here. Again, none of it’s a deal-breaker, but it could be better.

If you’re in the market for a dual-cab 4x4 ute at this price point you’d be silly not to at least investigate the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok Style.

It builds on the excellence of the base vehicle – that easily won our 2022 Best Dual Cab 4x4 Ute award – and improves it with a better equipment offering and nicer interior.

Simply put, in V6 TDI600 guise, the Amarok Style is about as good as utes get.

2023 Volkswagen Amarok Style at a glance:
Price: $66,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 154kW/500Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.2L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 189g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2022)