Picture Key
1. Knob between seats makes four- wheel-drive easy to engage
2. Driver’s seat boasts 10-way electric adjustment
3. Gear shift for 10-speed auto box can be switched to manual
4. Touchscreen dominates the centre of dashboard
4
with normal that we felt delivered the best overall performance. Other modes assist driving in muddy, sandy or slippery conditions, or if you are towing a trailer. Press the ‘M’ button on the side of the gearshift and you can go up and down the gears manually using the plus and minus buttons. One suspects that most drivers will only choose the manual option if they venture off-road; and if they do so, they will discover that four- wheel-drive is easy to engage. All you need to do is twist a knob between the seats and select it with either a high (4H) or a low (4L) set of gears. You need the latter if you are about to engage in some serious mud-plugging.
The 4A setting that is also available confused us somewhat. What it does, however, is give you extra traction on ordinary roads if they happen to be
The Final Verdict Design
Cabin Ride Refinement Load area Handling/performance Engine/transmission Standard equipment Operating costs
3
1
2
hazardous due to ice and snow; a useful facility.
Grab-handles on the A and B pillars give the passengers sitting closest to them something to hang onto if the offroad going gets rough. They’re accompanied by grab-handles above all the door apertures.
With shorter overhangs than the old
model, Amarok’s performance off-road is commendable. Wading depth has gone up by 300mm to 800mm that gave us a bit more confidence when we crossed streams, although the warm, dry conditions we encountered when we
drove the truck meant that they were running at a trickle rather than a torrent. Steep rutted farm tracks with the occasional boulder were tackled with ease, with little need to resort to 4H. A week or two later and we would have been sloshing through thick mud and battered by heavy rain; but we’re confident Amarok would have coped.
Operating 8/10 Well-thought-out package that builds on the previous Amarok with improvements 8/10 Comfortable working environment with impressive space for rear passengers 6/10 Too choppy when truck is unladen; suspension needs retuning for on-highway work 7/10Too much interior noise, must be balanced with a sophisticated and high-quality interior 8/10 Sensibly-designed, with enough space for a metric pallet between the wheel boxes 8/10 No quarrels with either, and its off-road ability should tackle most conditions 9/10An exemplary combination, the 10-speed automatic gearbox delivers a smooth change 8/10 8/10 What Van? subjective rating 8/10 Lots of kit with plenty of stress on safety Warranty and servicing package is worthy of applause, even with restrictions
An upmarket double-cab 4x4 pick-up, rather than a pedestrian workhorse Overall Rating 78/100
Amarok is protected by a five-year/ 124,000-mile warranty with roadside assistance for the entire duration. The paintwork warranty lasts for five years – longer than is usual – as part of what VW refers to as the ‘5+ Promise’, which means the first five services and three MoT tests are included in the price. Service intervals are set at two years/12,500 miles – whichever is sooner. The body is warranted against corrosion for 12 years.
Fuel economy is 32.1mpg under the
WLTP (world harmonised light vehicle test procedure) combined cycle, but we achieved a little less at around 30mpg.
@whatvan September 2023 WhatVan? 27
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