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16/07/2010
By EWAN KENNEDY in Port Elizabeth
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It has been a long time coming, but VW has finally entered the one-tonne ute/pickup market with its Amarok. It might reach Australia in 2010, but demand may push that out to 2011.
Volkswagen tends to concentrate on the European market, where half-tonne utes are popular, but pressure from overseas markets, including Australia, has finally convinced VW that a one-tonner will sell. Enter the Volkswagen Amarok, the newest vehicle from one of the world’s biggest and most aggressive vehicle makers. Volkswagen has taken advantage of its late entry into the ute market – technically it's a pickup and not a ute, but let's stick with the Aussie vernacular – by looking closely at its competition.
Toyota HiLux is big seller in many markets, including of course Australia. But VW has also closely examined Isuzu (most models sold here have been badged as Holdens, but these days Isuzu Ute Australia sells them), Nissan, Mazda/Ford and others. VW set out to beat the competitors in as many respects as possible and has benefitted from its clean-sheet approach to the new vehicle.
Naturally, Volkswagen also looked at its own Transporter range, a vehicle that has been a long time success in the Australian van market.
Though we haven’t been able to carry out our own technical verifications at this stage, it looks as though VW has built a vehicle that has a larger tray, great carrying capacity, better performance and lower fuel consumption than others in the class. Body strength looks to be another big tick in the favour of the German ute.
We were invited to test the new range of Volkswagen Amaroks in South Africa. That country has if anything an even bigger enthusiasm for utes than does Australia and has been pushing Volkswagen's head office to build one for decades now. South Africa is in many ways similar to Australia, with wide open spaces, rough and ready roads once you get away from the big cities and harsh weather conditions.
As in Australia, South African farmers, tradies and other users expect their vehicles to work hard in harsh conditions and remain reliable over long periods.
Amarok is a large vehicle, chiefly to maximise the load areas, but also because many buyers in this class are looking for a macho vehicle. The tray in the single-cab Amarok has been measured as being longer, wider and deeper than others in this class. It can carry standard Euro 1200x800 pallets sideways between the wheel arches, which will impress Australian users.
We found the Amarok's load tray to be pleasingly low, which makes for easier use. But felt the tailgate was rather heavy. OK, so VW has given us a tough ute that can take a lot of hard use, but a tailgate that may prove hard to handle by some smaller-framed operators won't be appreciated.
Power for all of the Amaroks we drove during our introduction of the model came from a twin-turbo, 2.0-litre diesel producing a very healthy 120 kilowatts of power and a big 400 Newton metres of torque. The latter is available from 1500 rpm and not tailing off until the engine reaches 2000 revs. During our test program we found the engine to be more than happy to hold high gears in the six-speed manual gearbox.
We found the engine to have little turbo lag and to have a smooth, refined feel. The gearbox shifts nicely and the forward six ratios worked neatly in the conditions where we tested. Conditions that are not unlike those we have in eastern Australia.
At this stage there is no automatic option in the Amarok, principally because the Europeans don’t think an auto is necessary in a working vehicle. However, VW Australia is well aware that our drivers often by this type of vehicle as a sports ute, so are pushing for a self-shifting transmission to be developed.
Amarok will be sold in both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive format, the latter using the 4Motion system that we have admired in other vehicles from the VW Group.
Single-cab and double-cab bodies are being built. All our test vehicles on this introductory drive program had the double cab. We are pleased to report it can carry five people in comfort due to the size of the Amarok.
Naturally Volkswagen Australia would like to bring the Amarok to this country as soon as possible and had hoped to get the first shipments here before the end of 2010. That date is looking doubtful due to the huge overseas demands for the vehicle. Nevertheless, considerable pressure is being put on VW's head office by the local people and we may still get Amarok this year.
Full specifications on models and mechanical makeup for Australian Amaroks won't be announced until closer to the launch, we will bring the information to you as soon as possible.
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