Volkswagen Amarok 2.0 TDi Trendline
Just to be clear, the Amarok is a bakkie with the personality of a car. Robust and well thought out, it is a triumph for VW. Launched in Double Cab format, it has won many hearts. As far removed from the diminutive Caddy of old as Golf Mk1 to the latest Scirocco. It glistens with clever packaging and features. Until the launch of this Single Cab variant, I had no idea that little South Africa was the world's largest single market for single cabs. We are indeed a bakkie loving nation with the pick up having to double as a car for many of us. That is all well and good, and if you seldom need to carry more than one other person, it is a versatile means of transport. The utility of the bakkie is unsurpassed.
The trouble is that most bakkies have a truck-like ride and wooden handling to boot. Do you really want to do the daily commute like that? There are of course some engineering factors at play here. The bakkie part really wants a leaf spring suspension for durability and load carrying, a tried and tested system that served the Romans well. Cars, on the other hand, delight in independent suspension making them agile, responsive and nimble. The modern answer in the bakkie is the compromise, the Roman Chariot for the back and modern efficiency out front.
The Amarok is a pleasant place to sit. Rather than high end car materials, the touchy feely stuff is more durable of nature and looks like it will stand up to the hazards of daily abuse quite well. The space feels high rent for a bakkie. While mentioning space, the interior is cavernous. No Stetson needs to come off in this well built-in-Argentina workhorse.
As for the drivetrain, I had the 4 wheel drive variant, with the 90kW TDi engine, fed to the wheels, as they all are, by a capable six speed box. In town the car is a fuel efficient delight. On the freeway cruising at legal speeds, it is similarly satisfying. It is overall almost as good a place as any to endure the rush hour traffic. A longish trip from Cape Town to Knysna exposed it as a capable long distance option. It also exposed its one real weakness. At legal speeds all is well. Cruise a little faster and the Achilles heel becomes apparent. It runs out of steam at 160. The result is high speed passing needs to be planned, and if you are a little casual in your relationship with the national speed limit, it goes from a frugal sipper of diesel into a typically conventionally thirsty bakkie. Try average 140 as a cruising speed and expect the combined claimed consumption of 7.6 l/ 100km to look more like 11. Other than that it feels sprightly, the sprint achieved in 13.4 seconds, but with torque of 340Nm it should get close to that with load. There is of course a bigger and more expensive biturbo on offer.
While on that topic, besides the generous seating space and the plentiful room behind the front seats, the bak will fit two complete Euro Pallets. 10% better than its nearest competitor, with 100 more mm between the wheel arches, achieved through clever mounting of the springs. It also will tow 30% more than its competitors, with a combined allowed of 5 500kg for braked trailer and combined load. As a bonus, the high mounted third brake light has a floodlight for the bak built in.
The only other niggle in my opinion was a Bluetooth factory radio with a mic that no-one could hear me on. Other than that you really do get a bakkie that serves as a two seater car.
