Volkswagon Amarok

Mikm

Somewhere on the forum, and in the last 2 months, a post was put in about what dirty fuel, or water did to everyhting.
I think the vehicle was written off, but that seems to be an "old wive's tale"

Cheers
Bucky

Not sure if it is relevant to you but aftermarket accessories I believe are much more limited than other makes,likewise also the suspension design is such that it is not easy to do an aftermarket suspension lift.

If I was after a 4x4 ute it would be a toss up between the Amarok and Hilux.... the only thing that would not be a plus for the Amarok is the smaller engine BUT the rest would place it lust above the Hilux.

One other downside to the Amarok is spare parts, support and dealer network in regional and remote areas.

Like anything new time will tell how good it is once in the real world.

As for aftermarket gear there is just as much now for Amarok as any other brand including suspension lifts and long range tanks..... I would say as a guess the range of aftermarket gear may be better then the others in the near future due to it's European heritage (heaps of quality Innovative serious 4x4 tuners in Europe)

Volkswagen does have a good name and own many leading marques under "Volkswagen AG" like Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Porsche, Audi, Skoda and Seat with controlling interest in Scania and MAN heavy vehicles.

They are also major shareholders of Suzuki.

I think from memory they are the 2nd or 3rd largest automotive manufacture in the world with Toyota 1st and GM 2nd or 3rd.

hi onemore
the vw range are going to show the way of the future in 4wd's and the current amarok engine is going to be updated here in about first quater of this year with a 2ltr 132kw tdi and an 8speed auto trans inthe dualcab ute they have just taken out first place in the 2011 4wd ute of the year awards amaroks 2ltr twin turbo system and suspension has proved itself as official vehicles 2 years running prior to its release last year in the dakar rallysthey are also proving to be very frugal on fuel from all reports the twin turbo gives the motor even pulling power right through the rev range with no noticable lag gaps according to reports

bucky's comments re dirty fuel etc can be applied to any brand of modern day tech vehicle and you will have major problems no matter what the brand is and even with old tech motors as wellso i take his comments as scare mungering lol

as for after market gear there is already a large range for the amarok from arb etc
and the standard suspension is streets ahead of all the other ruff ridering competitors that need a suspension upgrade from day 1 and it has a very comfortable and roomy cab including rear seat in particular
have a look at these sites for imfo

www.goauto.com.au ( 0ne of these sights has a story about the amarok that was tested on the powerline track in the perth hills area and it went through without a tow much to the disapointment of its knockers who were waiting nearby with snatch straps at the ready but weren't needed)

www.carsadvice.com.au
www.drive.com.au
also caravan world mag did a tow test with the current vw amarok just recently and were impressed so i have no doubt that the upgraded new amarok will be another 4wd ute of the year winning contender

i currently have done nearly 100.000km's in a vw golf hatchback 1.9ltr diesel tdi with dsg 6spd auto and quiet a bit of towing of a 450kg camper trailer they are amazingly frugal vehicle on fuel and yet powerfull even when towing
7.3l/100km towing and 5.2 l/100km's normal driving
i have no connections with vw sales etc just like their technology as it is imho a world leader in vehicle manufacturing and are making the competitors sit up and take noticewith the introduction of the amarok 4wd utes
cheers barry

ARB seem to have a bulbar and canopy, The Veewee already has a rear diff lock, I swa that Longranger were looking for vehicles to borrow so that they can design a long range tank/tanks And I also saw somewhere that Kaymar are well on the way to a rear bar. Most other things are generic and can b fitted to many vehicles. As for the big v small debate I think it relates to the Ausican/ amertralian thing that its only good if its big. There are chips out there that can give you more power/torque for small modern diesels. And the twin turbos seem to add another 100cc's anyway.

M

Mik.
The Amarok is very impressive. The weakness in the jap utes is the electronics. Getting electronics made in China is costing there reputation. The Amarok Electronics has got " Bosch made in Germany " on most components, those of us old enough to remember Lucas / Bosch will be nodding. Eric.

VW's biggest problem is that they can't keep up with the demand for many of their models. They are the flavour of the month. The quality of finish of our Tiguan, and the many neat driving features are way better than the Japanese equivalents, and the Tig is a beautiful drive. i expect this is a similar comparison to the Amarok and Hilux.

Our VW Tiguan has a very similar 2 litre TD motor. Upsides are that its very smooth and it produces big torque at low RPM - unusual for a small capacity TD. The TD has been very reliable in the Tig - only problem that owners report have been a $70 exhaust pressure sensor playing up, and because it is euro 5 compliant, it has the dreaded diesel particulate filter. They can block up, necessitating the engine to do a "regen" to burn off the carbon.

Not sure about taking a VW diesel in the far remote outback because of the electronics. There's a fair chance one of those engine warning lights might go off in the middle of nowhere saying take it to the nearest dealer!

VW have also had teething problems with their smaller DSG "auto" transmissions, but expect they are sorting this out. As above, the auto and a single cab is expected this year.

As as aside, my wife told me yesterday that the Tig's tyre pressure warning light had come on so I told her to reset it, thinking it was just another electronic glitch......checked the pressures today and one of the rear tyres is down to 11 psi... I'm starting to believe some of these stamdard gadgets are pretty good!