VW Amarok In the Simpson

What's wrong with the Troopy Doug? Trading it in? :-)

I can't stand the thought of the puny little motor, imagine 2 - 3 tonne on the back.

G'day Doug.

Good fuel economy as expected but the statement,
"Each ute's fuel gauge optimistically shows about a quarter tank remaining; precise refilling reveals one has used all but 6.5L and the other nearly 13L" is a bit worrying.

1/4 of 80 litres is 20. One had 13L left and the other 6.5L but they read similarly?

The 13L is close to 1/8th of the tank and the 6.5L is well below a 1/8th. or under 3/16ths and the other a bit over 1/16th.

It would pay to get to know the fuel gauge.

Love the old lifted Beetle. It has almost as much clearance as the Amorac. Bob.

Just remember what the racers say, Doug - only milk comes in 2 litres! [;-)

I did a trip across the French line and then across the Madigan line earlier this year. In the group were a 150 series Prado, a current Masda BT50, a GU patrol and an Amarok.

All vehicles were heavily loaded. The Amarok did the trip just fine and used the least amount of fuel of all vehicles.

Before ordering our Ranger we test drove a Amarok, could not wait to get back to the car yard and give it back.

Interior reminded us of a 1970's-80's Volvo 240 series and the lack of power down low made hard work driving it..... hate to know how it would go loaded up towing.

$1000 for bluetooth for our phones was a big ask.

Lack of dealer support around Australia and availability of spare parts would be a concern.

And all the sales man could keep on saying was they used them in the Dakar..... but he couldn't answer how much they spent to keep them running and how much VW paid the organisers to use them.

BTW we are not aligned to one vehicle manufacture and we buy what best suits our needs at the time.

Any review like this has to be taken with a pinch of salt as it does not represent real driving.

The Amarok has been on sale since early 2011. That's 2 1/2 years to make a big dent in the huge light commercial market in Australia. This market is the biggest boom market behind SUV's at present.

Amarok roared onto the scene, talking about "Dakar winner", "proven in Sth Africa", "built with legendary German strength/quality/features", etc etc - but after more than 2 1/2 years, Amarok sales are running at less than 600 a month, and struggling to increase that monthly sales figure.
You have to ask why. If they are the ultimate light commercial, as VW would have us believe, wouldn't they now be selling 2000 units a month, and wouldn't there be a major wait list??

Hiluxes are still top of the wozza at around 3300 units a month (admittedly, Toyota chase the fleet and mining markets. However, VW can't seem to break into these markets. Could there be a reason for this? Would it be "total cost of ownership"?).

Navaras are selling at around 2000 units a month and the Triton is right up there with the Navara at around 1970 units a month.
Nissans are pushing 0.9% interest deals and Tritons have a major price advantage over all the commercials, so I guess these are factors in these two models sales figures.

Holden Colorado is running around 1700 units a month, a good figure for any light commercial, and this is probably because of Holdens backing, with service, warranty and parts availability.

The Isuzu D-Max is running at around 900 units a month, and this is still 50% better than the Amarok - however, the lack of Isuzu dealerships must play a part here. The "truckiness" of the Isuzu is what loses it sales, I don't think the vehicle is any less worthy than the top sellers.

The Amarok wins on ride and interior comfort, quietness (lots of insulation), looks, and a reputedly-better fuel economy from the smallest engine of any of the light commercials.

However, I come from the "no replacement for displacement" mob - and one thing I've found, with a small capacity diesel, is that they provide good fuel economy under light load - but push them hard, and fuel economy will be as bad as a engine twice its size.

In addition, VW customer service has been appalling - and parts and service costs, and overall robustness and reliability of the Amarok, long term, are still suspect. No-one has had an Amarok "in the field" for 5 yrs yet, doing "hard yakka".

One much-vaunted motoring report had a "long-term test" of an Amarok - they got it with 700kms on the clock, and returned it with 3000kms on the clock, after touring around the suburbs with the family on board. What a joke.

My experience with European vehicles is that their parts costs are substantially more than any other vehicle from other countries - that many European designs of their small, important components, are infuriatingly cheap and "plasticky" (remotes that fall apart, levers and switches that break regularly, plastic radiator tanks that have outlets break off, and way too many other annoying weaknesses) - and all these combine to make "total cost of ownership" over an extended period of time, considerably more than other brands.

I own a VW Trendline Auto and I love it.
I had a problem with the climate control and that has been rectified.
Have done over 25,000 kms since I got it in March and it has handled everything I have asked of it.
The 2litre motor is fantastic.
I went on a trip in July / August from Katherine to the tip of the cape and back again towing a camper trailer.
Nothing would stop it and it gave me an average consumption of 12.09 l/100km. My old patrol would have struggled towing in the same conditions and returned about 16L/100 kms.
Some people are put off by the small motor. I researched that before I purchased the vehicle. That motor has been used in the transporter for years and has been extremely reliable.
I also drove a number of vehicles before making my choice. At work I have driven Hi-lux and 70 series cruisers. Neither of those vehicles compare to the Amarok.
I am surprised at is the low sales of the Amarok. I am also surprised at the high sales of the Hi-lux. There is no comparison between the vehicles. The Amarok is a better vehicle in every aspect. I guess the reason is brand loyalty.

A good friend ,real fussy sod, assessed all the dual cabs before buying a Mazda. He
dismissed the Navara & Triton for poor ride & comfort. The hilux for being old school.
Didn't mind the Colorado/Isuzu. The Amorok was his choice for ride, finish,comfort,
power looks etc etc. He loved it..but didn't buy it. As a van owner he just couldn't get
his head around the little motor. Maybe he was wrong, & reports from owners on this
post are good. But there is a lot of negativity on other sites & the sales figures are poor. If I was in the market I still wouldn't buy one. I think the difference in work
& leisure use of dual cabs has a big effect on sales figures. The tradey will be happy
with a Triton/Navara or even a Great Wall. They only have to last the length of the lease or warranty. Miners buy Toyota. So do Cockies, but they also buy Colorado & use the Holden Dealer network for service. The leisure buyer usually wants to tow
something, wants comfort & space & economy too, & many want to tart it up with bolt
on stuff. So they buy the high spec models of their choice, many consider the Aust.
wide availability of parts & service very important in that decision.
Me ? Still trying to wear out a petrol Jack..so only an observer...:))))...oldbaz.

Has anyone checked out the maximum recommended "factory" fording (wading) depths of the various 4WD commercials?

Ford Ranger - 800mm (actually factory tested, and they're happy to show the test pictures)

Mazda BT-50 - 800mm

Hilux - 700mm

D-Max - 600mm

Colorado - 600mm

Amarok - 500mm

Navara - 450mm (Nissan are refusing to quote fording depths for Australian models, this is off a Sth African site)

This is quite an eye-opening variation in fording depths, and both the Amarok and Navara come out of this specification badly.
It indicates the manufacturers are not prepared to back up their vehicles in a situation where a number of electronic components could get even slightly wet.

The Euro 5 specification of the VW engine sees it equipped with a particularly complex "catalytic coated diesel particulate filter".
This CCDPF is fitted close to the lower part of the engine, after the turbos, and contains a number of electronic sensors and actuators - which are all tied in with proper engine operation, of course.
Fording a moderately deep creek and getting copious amounts of cold water onto these exceptionally hot electronic components, would appear to me, to spell the start of lots of trouble, with a capital T.

http://www.volkspage.net/technik/ssp/ssp/SSP_336.pdf

I'd hazard an educated guess that there's plenty of creek crossings in Northern Australia that would void your warranty on the spot, with an Amarok, or a Navara.

If VW can make their vehicles more reliable, then they would earn more sales. I speak as a VW Tiguan owner who follows the VW owner forums and would buy an Amarok if they could get it right.

Sales are down across the board because of world wide recalls - the latest was announced a few days ago and affects 16,000 Amarok vehicles in Australia: Link Here

The Amarok owners have been less than impressed by the serious teething problems that would see you retrieved on the back of a truck:
- fan belts that strip after 25-40k
- broken timing belts (and trashed motors) due to a timing cover problem that has since been fixed
- automatic trans torque converter failures
- clutch slave cylinder and master cylinder failures leaving you with no clutch (and needs gearbox removal to access the slave cylinder)
- leaking injector pipes (see recall)
- The manual vehicles stall easily on takeoff.

Add to this
- limited clearance, once you add the necessary sump guard
- small tyres for the size of the vehicle
- poor departure angle once towbar is fitted
- The presence of a $4000 DPF that eventually blocks with time
- VW electronics that need a VW specialist to interpret. You even need the electronic reset when you replace the rear disc pads.
- And the electronic handbrake - how does that work in an emergency situation? It is just a parking brake!

Having said all that, they are a nice vehicle - best looking ute around, great finish and well laid out inside.

The Amarok is pretty capable off road. Gees Arm South track near Kurrajong is no cakewalk but this one seemed to handle it ok....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clWLYWCDrHI&feature=youtube_gdata_player