Volkswagen Amarok V6 W600 2026 Review

Pricing will be announced closer to the W600’s official launch in August, but it’ll land somewhere north of the $82,990 Aventura.

That pushes it toward Ford’s properly spicy $90,690 Ranger Raptor, but while Ford’s Raptor is designed to tame trails, VW’s W600 is intended to rip along roads. Strange strategy?

In a stereotypically German way, VW looked to data to inform its strategy, and the numbers say that the overwhelming majority of ute buyers rarely stray from the blacktop.

Accordingly, its directive to its engineering partner, Walkinshaw, was to pursue on-road grip and driver engagement without compromising the Amarok’s 3500kg braked towing capacity and circa-1000kg payload capacity.

The result: a new suspension package centred around a quartet of Koni dampers and a bespoke rear sway bar installation (the Amarok’s Ranger-derived platform doesn’t have a sway bar on the rear axle), as well as four massive flow-formed 20x10-inch alloy wheels shod with 285/50R20 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV rubber.

As is the norm for a factory-fettled ute, the W600 offers no change to its engine outputs: the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 continues with 184kW/600Nm. The driveline is the standard Ford 10-speed automatic transmission and permanent 4x4 system.

Aesthetic enhancement for the W600 comes in the form of a Walkinshaw-designed front fascia (with integrated full-width LED daytime running lamp), pumped-up wheelarches that add 51mm of width to each side, the Aventura’s slick sailplane behind the cabin, and a dual-exit exhaust.

Along each side, a set of retractable steps flick out when a door is opened, but tuck away neatly when retracted to not only present a tidier exterior, but reduce the chances of getting hung up on your steps when off-roading.

On the inside, it’s purely a branding exercise with a bevy of Walkinshaw badging and embroidery across what is largely a standard high-spec Amarok interior.

That’s not a bad thing; the Amarok’s 12-inch portrait-format infotainment screen and 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster look good, and the Savona leather upholstery feels premium.

It’s full of nice-to-haves as well, with a wireless charging pad, eight-speaker Harman Kardon audio, dual-zone climate control, and 230V power outlets all standard. The tub also has LED lighting and an additional 230V outlet built in, while VW has put an electric roller tonneau cover on the options list.

On the off-camber sweepers, lumpy sine-wave surfaces, diagonal railway crossings and high-speed straights of the Lang Lang proving ground, the 2026 Volkswagen Amarok W600 V6 feels resolutely at home.

We didn’t touch a single molecule of dirt on this parkour, but that was the whole point: the Amarok W600 is all about tarmac competency.

On a 0-100km/h-zero exercise, the grip advantage of the Michelin PS4s is obvious, though acceleration is about the same as a standard V6 Amarok.

Braking power is magnified by the increased contact patch of those tyres, even in the persistently wet weather we had on the day, however though heat accumulation in the standard front brakes looks like it might be the next problem to solve.

A slalom test also demonstrated the W600’s much higher grip threshold, as well as a more direct steering feel that is probably a result of the big wheels and lower-profile tyres delivering less sidewall squish.

Compared to the standard Amarok V6, body roll is dramatically cleaved by that 22mm rear sway bar. The much tighter damper valving also does its bit to contain big body movements and add to that roll stiffness, with the direction changes in the slalom feeling much crisper and immediate.

It all meshes together pretty well on the road circuit. The suspension is taut when it needs to be, but compliant over the sharp stuff, and while the W600 still feels very much like a 2.4-tonne behemoth, it’s certainly easier to control and contain.

Those big Michelins work hard to give it a level of grip that pretty much any other dual-cab ute can’t equal when hustling along a winding road at triple-digit speeds – even in the rain – and the dampers add their own magic to the package.

For a car that’s billed as ‘driver’s ute’, we came away from the 2026 Volkswagen Amarok V6 W600 preview feeling that the addition of huge grip has perhaps resulted in something that’s actually a little less engaging to drive.

It’s unquestionably quicker and safer to drive at speed, and feels keyed in on a tarmac road, but the marketing spin had us thinking it might be like a Toyota 86 in ute form. The reality is that it feels much less playful than that.

But that has more to do with a misalignment of our expectations than any fault of the W600. The chassis tuning is, regardless, hugely impressive for a ladder-framed ute that was never designed with dynamic aspirations.

Remember, the Ranger Raptor might feel more engaging, but its suspension is unique to that model and compromised from a utility point-of-view.

Other disappointments? The exhaust note is indeed modified by that dual-system set of pipes, with a deeper rumble at idle and a more obvious roar under load, but that’s about it in terms of additional powertrain sparkle for the W600.

The power and torque numbers are indeed good, but the delivery of them is lethargic in comparison to the sharpness of the chassis.

The instrument cluster also represents a missed opportunity to add some Walkinshaw-specific graphics, perhaps some performance pages with a G-meter or other electronic trinkets to make the W600 look and feel more special.

That hardware is probably heavily locked-down by Volkswagen, but nevertheless it could have been cool to have some electronic glitter on the W600 experience.

That’s a difficult call to make before we know the price tag, but if you’re looking for a ute that’ll grip the asphalt like no other, the 2026 Volkswagen Amarok V6 W600 will pretty much be the only thing that fits the bill.

We’ll learn more in August, at its national launch.

2026 Volkswagen Amarok V6 W600 at a glance:
Price: Unknown
Available: August, 2026
Engine: 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel
Output: 184kW/600Nm
Transmission:10-speed automatic
Fuel: unknown
CO2: unknown
Safety rating: 5-star (2023)

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