amorak towing experience

Submitted: Thursday, Jan 17, 2013 at 18:09

ThreadID: 100036 Views:3749 Replies:7 FollowUps:8

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Nigel 1

Not a new topic (how many are entirely new?) but as a non mechanically minded person I'd not considered the 2 l amarok as a candidate to carry a load (say 800 k's all up) and tow; say another 1500kg. I know within stated capacity, but 'old school thinking' is of course that ther is no substitute for cubic capacity.
I'm mindful of the expereince of many of the 2.8l Patrols, and the disco's, when used with significant loads.
Is this thinking valid for the new technologies? The reviews of the amarok tend to be very positive about it's engineering and its capacity- but is it to soon to tell in the durability stakes?

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Reply By: Tim - Thursday, Jan 17, 2013 at 21:12

Thursday, Jan 17, 2013 at 21:12

I'll be upfront and say it first, I am not a fan of VW at all. In saying that, a recent observation I made of an amarok driver who took my prado for a spin. When he went to take off he would rev it up to 1500-2000 rpm before even thinking about letting the clutch out. Long story short, his amarok stalls if you don't give it some before you go to take off, empty with no load. The wife drove the rok and found she was continually stalling it. With that in mind I def would not be too keen on towing with it. It could just be gear ratios but one would imagine the engineers would have got the ratio right. Could be wrong, just what I observed.
Tim

AnswerID: 502807

Follow Up By: Eric Experience - Thursday, Jan 17, 2013 at 21:24

Thursday, Jan 17, 2013 at 21:24

Tim
With the 6 speed box you will find third is where you would find first in a Toyota. Most people find the torque of the VW diesel very impressive. Eric.

FollowupID: 779342

Follow Up By: Tim - Thursday, Jan 17, 2013 at 21:33

Thursday, Jan 17, 2013 at 21:33

I don't understand, wouldn't that mean you need less revs to move off?

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Follow Up By: member - mazcan - Thursday, Jan 17, 2013 at 22:07

Thursday, Jan 17, 2013 at 22:07

hi tim
your comments are about the 2011 model
the 2012 model has a lot more power 132kw and an auto box and is powerful right through the rev range
cheers

FollowupID: 779350

Reply By: Nutta - Thursday, Jan 17, 2013 at 21:25

Thursday, Jan 17, 2013 at 21:25

I dont want to shove my opinion down your throat but i just went from a 3.0l patrol to a new 2.8l 6 speed auto colorado and couldnt be happier, tows two tonnes fairly easily the sweetest gearbox ive ever had in a car, price was 46k on road, ltz by the way, great rig!

AnswerID: 502808

Reply By: Norbar - Thursday, Jan 17, 2013 at 22:21

Thursday, Jan 17, 2013 at 22:21

Hi Nigel

I have an Amarok and take three kids, their stuff and I tow a Jayco Eagle. I have read a few posts on people stalling the Amarok and I just don't understand why this is happening. I also drive to work everyday in stop start traffic and take off without having to rev it up. Great info on Ausamarok forum. The Amarok has also won 4x4 Aust magazine best ute two years running. I could keep on but as you can read I love this ute.

Good luck

Alex

AnswerID: 502815

Follow Up By: Nigel 1 - Friday, Jan 18, 2013 at 08:34

Friday, Jan 18, 2013 at 08:34

Hi Alex, thanks for that, real world experience is precisely what I was asking for.
may I ask:
. How heavy is the Jayco
. How long have you been using the rig
. any maintenance/ wear issues
I guess in a general sense, does the motor feel like it's working hard? What sort of fuel usage do you get when using the laden rig?
Regards
nigel

FollowupID: 779381

Follow Up By: Norbar - Friday, Jan 18, 2013 at 19:09

Friday, Jan 18, 2013 at 19:09

How heavy is the Jayco
Probably little over 1 ton when fully loaded.

How long have you been using the rig
I have had the car for about 10 months

Any maintenance/ wear issues
First service is due a 15000 km no issues to report. I am at 13 000.

does the motor feel like it's working hard?
No, I have to keep an eye on the speedo to stay below 110, some hills I need 5th.

What sort of fuel usage do you get when using the laden rig?
Worst fuel economy was 14.2 l per 100 km into a head wind.

I would get the 8 speed auto next time but is wasn't available at the time.

Drive them back to back with the other utes, it will be obvious after that.

Good luck

Alex

FollowupID: 779442

Follow Up By: Nutta - Sunday, Jan 20, 2013 at 00:24

Sunday, Jan 20, 2013 at 00:24

I think the 8 speed autos have lost low range, i could be wrong, just something i heard.

Cheers

FollowupID: 779597

Follow Up By: Kumunara (NT) - Sunday, Jan 20, 2013 at 21:22

Sunday, Jan 20, 2013 at 21:22

I am about to purchase an 8 speed auto Amarok. You are correct in that they have no low range.

1st gear in high range is very low. The vehicle normally takes off in 2nd gear. The 1st gear acts as a low range. Bear in mind that 3rd gear low range is equivalent to 1st gear high range. So with a transfer case you only get in reality 2 extra gears.

I had one to test drive for a couple of hours and although it didn't have the power of the V6 Navara, it still had more than adequate power. It is a very nice vehicle to drive.

I am doing Cape York and the Savannah Way in July / August and towing a camper and I will post my impression of the vehicles performance then.

Before deciding to get an Amarok I did a lot of research and drove a number of dual cabs. It was not an easy choice as there are a lot of good vehicles out there. Not like years ago when the choice was to buy Nissan or Toyota.

Life's great and it just keeps getting better

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Reply By: Cyberess - Friday, Jan 18, 2013 at 00:16

Friday, Jan 18, 2013 at 00:16

Check out Caravan World VW Amarok test.

http://www.caravanworld.com.au/latest-reviews/article/articleid/75899.aspx

AnswerID: 502823

Reply By: olcoolone - Saturday, Jan 19, 2013 at 20:34

Saturday, Jan 19, 2013 at 20:34

We test drove an Amarok before we got our Ranger, it got plenty of go but you have to drive it hard and the narrow power band was annoying.

As for towing..... people have different ideas of power and ease of towing, some might be happy to go up a hill at 40Kph and others at 70Kph flat out..... does it mean at 40 it's slow and gutless and at 70 it's to fast...... I know what I would sooner have.

Reviews are very misleading.

I'm sure Amarok owners love them but until you have owned one for a while and changed to another make it's very hard to make a truthful answer of how good or bad they are.

Interior reminded me of a 1980's Volvo 240.

And with capacity.... there is no substitute for cubes, I saw it in the 90's when truck engines went smaller capacity and bigger horsepower..... it was touted as the next best thing in heavy truck engines..... over the years all the heavy truck manufactures have now gone back to bigger capacity.

AnswerID: 502981

Reply By: Nigel 1 - Monday, Jan 21, 2013 at 08:47

Monday, Jan 21, 2013 at 08:47

Thanks everyone for the comments. I test one (unloaded and no tow unit, of course) on the weekend and I thought it drove better than the BT50, and the Navara. Tried the HDC also, and it worked well, combined wioth the low gearing.
Seemed to have plenty of power in reserve too; but I still have a nagging worry about putting the sort of load I mentioned on such a small motor!
nigel

AnswerID: 503057

Follow Up By: garrycol - Monday, Jan 21, 2013 at 10:57

Monday, Jan 21, 2013 at 10:57

Your fears are unfounded - these "small" engines are designed from scratch to pull these loads - the size of the cranks, conrods, bearings are all up to the task. Gone are the good old days when some manufacturers took a larger petrol engine and converted it to a diesel with the lighter petrol internals still fitted.

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