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Road test review: Volkswagen Amarok V6 Darkside

Friday, 7 August 2020

Exactly what are you getting for your money with the $90k Amarok Aventura pickup truck?
The Amarok has always been quite a good-looking ute, with those hefty wheel arches and chunky front end.
The Amarok has always been quite a good-looking ute, with those hefty wheel arches and chunky front end.
You can think of the Amarok V6 as the benchmark on-road ute, almost a muscle truck (if you exclude the American imports, that is).
You can think of the Amarok V6 as the benchmark on-road ute, almost a muscle truck (if you exclude the American imports, that is).

With the demise of the Mercedes-Benz X-Class, the Amarok is the last stand of the V6-powered ute. It might be getting on a bit but is it still a viable choice?

Dated or refreshingly simple?
Dated or refreshingly simple?

I’m coming from a Navara/Colorado/Ranger/Hilux. Is this a worthwhile upgrade for me?

That depends on how your list of needs and wants is aligned. If you want a humongous amount of torque and don’t mind an interior from about ten years ago, then absolutely this is.

We drove the Darkside version, which slots in below the Aventura in terms of price but keeps the specification level high. Think custom Carbon Steel metallic paintwork, 20-inch alloy wheels and a blackout accessory kit that ranges from the grille to the mirror housings and the styling bar over the tray. There’s also a lockable metal tray cover that can be opened independently of the tailgate.

The 3.0-litre turbo diesel V6 in the Amarok produces 190kW (and as much as 200kW on temporary overboost) and 580Nm, enough to hit 100kmh in 7.8 seconds and, if you’re coming from a base or low-end model with two-wheel drive, moving to the 4Motion four-wheel drive system will give you plenty of off-road capability. It’ll pull 3500kg on a braked trailer as well.

And man, does it pull – despite weighing somewhere in the vicinity of 2.2 tonnes, you really feel all of those newton metres twisting the axles. The Amarok’s V6 is, at the moment, the last of its kind and it’s quite a special thing, if not that aurally satisfying.

One interesting thing about the Amarok is the ride. It’s very comfortable but the reason is related to the 700-odd kilo payload. See, Volkswagen actually has two suspension options for buyers. One offers a more comfortable ride at the expense of the maximum load while the other boosts payload capacity via heavy-duty springs in the rear, which ultimately hurts the ride. VW defaults to the comfy ride option but will put the heavy-duty springs in at no cost.

It sounds more like a lifestyle ute than a workhorse then?

Yes but it’s not quite that cut and dried. There will be those who sneer at the $80k price tag and scoff at the lower payload but the Amarok is plenty capable on the tradie circuit.

It is, however, largely better suited to those wanting a capable ute to take the family camping every summer and cruise up Mt Ruapehu in the winter. It’s comfy inside, as you might expect from VW, and while the interior feels quite old now, particularly when compared to the likes of the current Ranger and Hilux lineups, it functions just fine. Legroom for rear occupants is limited too.

Any other cars I should consider?

For the price, you’re looking at the Ranger Wildtrak ($72,990 for the 2.0-litre biturbo, $1k less for the 3.2) or the Ranger Raptor ($84,990). If you don’t mind the end-of-life status and endless “nice Navara” jokes, Trade Me is also showing several V6-powered Mercedes-Benz X-Class X350ds sitting at around $75k. Speaking of the Navara, the top-rung N-Trek Warrior is here now and will set you back an identical $75k.