The VW Amarok Thread

DRIVEN: Volkswagen Amarok V6 is lovely, but the 2.0 BiTDI hits a sweet spot

The original Volkswagen Amarok was a good looking and refined bakkie that stood the test of time through its 12 year life cycle that ended last year.

Trouble is, it was never a big seller on the global scale, and so Volkswagen had a hard time trying to justify the development of an all-new model to its bean counters.

Thankfully for them, a reciprocal relationship developed with Ford and from that arose the possibility of a new Amarok sharing a platform with the Ranger.

And while some dyed-in-the-wool Amarok fans might not have appreciated a new model with Blue Oval genes, it was a case of either that or no Amarok.

While the resulting second-gen Amarok is built at Ford SA’s Silverton plant, also sharing its basic architecture and engines with the Ranger, it’s more than just a feeble rebadge. While on the outside it shares its door and roof panels with the Ford, it has unique front and rear styling and the cabin has also been differentiated in the way it looks and feels.

 
SA-built bakkies split 2024 International Pick-up Award

For the first time in its 14-year history, the International Pick-up Award (for 2024) has been split between 2 bakkies – and they’re both built in South Africa…

And the 2024 International Pick-up Award (IPUA) goes to … 2 bakkies! Yes, the 20-member international jury said it found it “impossible to separate” the Ford Ranger and Volkswagen Amarok during the judging process, opting to instead split the honours between these closely related and South African-built bakkies.

It’s the first time the trophy has been shared since the establishment of the International Pick-up Award back in 2010. Interestingly, the 2 nameplates now each have a trio of wins under their respective belts, with the Ranger having triumphed in 2013 and 2020, and the original Amarok having succeeded in 2011 and 2018.

As a reminder, Ford builds the Ranger and its VW twin at the Silverton facility (for both local consumption and export, the latter with a focus on Europe) in South Africa, which is also the only factory in the world producing this 2nd-gen Amarok. In late 2024, this plant will furthermore become the sole production facility for the upcoming Ranger PHEV.

“Following the IPUA 2023 Group Tests, held in Greece last month, it was impossible to separate the 2 models from each other, as both the new Ranger and Amarok were co-developed and are made at the Ford factory in South Africa. Although a collaboration project, each manufacturer has managed to maintain their unique styling and driving traits, [to] which customers will testify,” said Jarlath Sweeney, chairman of the IPUA jury.

The latest-generation Ranger launched in Mzansi in double-cab form at the end of 2022, with the single- and extended-cab body styles coming online early in 2023 (and the high-performance Raptor – which is imported from Thailand – arriving in February of this year). Local sales of the 2nd-gen Amarok, meanwhile, started in March 2023.

 
Petrol-powered Volkswagen Amarok, with 222kW, under consideration for SA

When it comes to one-tonne bakkies, South Africa is very much a diesel-powered country. It’s just one of those things, like our superior braais made on real fires rather than gas burners.

Petrol engine options in this segment are few and far between, with much of the volume concentrated in the single cab workhorse market where their lower purchase price supersedes all other considerations.

However there has been an increase in the number of petrol options at the upper end of the double cab market with the introduction of models like the Jeep Gladiator, and Ford’s latest Ranger Raptor in particular has shown there is an appetite for high performance petrol-powered bakkies.

Now it seems that Volkswagen wants to carve itself a little niche in the space below Raptor. At a media event on Monday, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWCV) product marketing specialist Ryan Gillingham revealed that a turbo petrol-powered Amarok was currently under consideration for South Africa.

Of course, the latest Silverton-built Amarok is based on the Ford Ranger, and the petrol option that VWCV wants to introduce is the Blue Oval’s 2.3-litre, four-cylinder turbo engine offered in the Ranger and Amarok in certain overseas markets. And in the Mustang for that matter.

The 2.3-litre single-turbo petrol engine produces 222kW and 452Nm and it is paired with the familiar 10-speed automatic gearbox and 4Motion four-wheel drive with 4A mode.

 
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