The Big V Volkswagen Amarok
SA4x4|June 2017

South Africans love to tow boats, caravans and trailers, often at the same time, and it was these land trains that were the subject of some confusion among the German hosts at the 2009 launch of the Amarok in Argentina.

The Big V Volkswagen Amarok

How, asked the South African devil’s advocate, would this four cylinder 2.0-litre diesel be up to the task? What was needed was a V6, something with the required grunt. No amount of persuasion by the Germans along the lines of fuel efficiency, emissions or actual turbo-induced pulling power, would sway his opinion.

The big V6 is now here, but back in 2010 local reaction to the 2.0-litre turbo four was slightly mixed. Was this bakkie too sophisticated to be a real workhorse? Did VW in fact have the credentials to make a proper bakkie? Ill-informed for the most part, these rants were enough to get forums in a frenzy. The milk and coke bottle jokes followed, even as the Amarok proved itself to be a finely engineered, quality product, and a superb performer on and off the tar. It was class-leading then, perhaps way ahead of its time, and many of its innovative technologies, from chassis construction to safety and driver aids, were glossed over or not clearly understood by a buying public blinded by brand loyalties.

Yes, there were a few issues: the extra 100mm width (1954mm) compared to most other bakkies made for a spacious interior and wide track that helped stability at speed, but could be a problem on narrow 4x4 trails. Less so than a Land Cruiser 200 Series (1980mm wide), but who wanted facts to get in the way of a good gripe. Then it was said that the beefy sump guard rails lowered effective ground clearance by nearly 40mm. True enough, but protection was fore grounded by the German engineers. Finally, the twin turbo engine, though impressively frugal and potent when spooled up, had a relatively narrow torque table, which conspired with the slightly clunky gear change to make the manual Amarok easy to stall.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 2017-Ausgabe von SA4x4.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 2017-Ausgabe von SA4x4.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS SA4X4Alle anzeigen
SA4x4

Uganda The Pearl Of Africa

This trip, the very last in the series of stories from Dan Grec’s two-year Africa round trip, details a scary mishap and some extraordinary wildlife encounters

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
March 2020
Chewy, But Edible
SA4x4

Chewy, But Edible

Take another look at those garden pests

time-read
4 Minuten  |
March 2020
Auto Perfection?
SA4x4

Auto Perfection?

Adding a six-speed auto to Mahindra’s workhorse ups the game for this value proposition

time-read
3 Minuten  |
March 2020
SA4x4

Defenders On Tour

The second 2019 Defender Trophy event kicked off in Limpopo and was unique in that participants camped in three different countries…

time-read
9 Minuten  |
March 2020
SA4x4

Rad Rig The Dream Catcher

Motorhome world’s one-of-a-kind luxury globetrotter

time-read
4 Minuten  |
March 2020
The Difference Between An Overlander And An Offroader
SA4x4

The Difference Between An Overlander And An Offroader

A very important distinction needs to be made between the offroader and the overland traveller; often the two are thought to be the same.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
March 2020
Steelmate TP-S9
SA4x4

Steelmate TP-S9

Solar powered TPMS (External sensor)

time-read
3 Minuten  |
March 2020
SA4x4

Light on the dark side

VW AMAROK DARK LABEL

time-read
4 Minuten  |
March 2020
Monkey business!
SA4x4

Monkey business!

Vervet Monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) are the most widespread of the African monkeys; occurring from the Ethiopian Rift Valley, highlands east of the Rift, and southern Somalia, through the eastern lowlands of Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia (east of the Luangwa Valley), Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and all nine provinces in South Africa.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
March 2020
SA4x4

GREAT ZOOKS

There are a few mishaps as a bunch of Jimnys tackle one of Lesotho’s premier off-road challenges, Baboon’s Pass

time-read
10 Minuten  |
March 2020