Volkswagen Amarok Review

Repairs

The Volkswagen Amarok is a tough and refined pickup, but repair costs can be higher than some rivals.

Common issues include:

• Suspension and leaf spring wear from heavy loads

• Uneven tyre wear caused by alignment or hard use

• Underbody damage from off-road or site work

• Automatic gearbox hesitation if servicing has been missed

• Differential or transfer case wear if oil changes have been neglected

• Diesel particulate filter issues on trucks used mainly for short trips

• EGR faults on diesel models used for short trips

• Interior and load bay wear on hard-used examples

The V6 diesel models are strong and well suited to towing, but they still need proper servicing. Check for smooth power delivery, no warning lights, and no drivetrain knocks or whining on a test drive.

Maintenance

Most Amarok models need servicing every 12 months or around 10,000 miles, depending on engine, age and usage.

Key maintenance to keep on top of includes:

• Oil and filter changes using the correct Volkswagen-approved oil

• Brake fluid replacement every 2 years

• Air, cabin and fuel filter replacement when due

• Differential and transfer case oil changes at the correct interval

• Gearbox servicing where required

• Regular longer drives for diesel models to help keep the diesel particulate filter clear

• Tyre, brake and suspension checks

• Underside inspections if the vehicle has been used off-road

Running costs can be higher than a normal car. Fuel, tyres, brakes, insurance and 4-wheel-drive maintenance all need budgeting for, especially if the truck is used for towing or carrying heavy loads.

Is the Volkswagen Amarok a reliable car?

The Volkswagen Amarok is a capable, comfortable and hard-wearing pickup with a more premium feel than many rivals.

A well-maintained Amarok can be a strong used buy. Avoid neglected examples with poor history, rough gearbox changes, drivetrain noise or signs of heavy abuse.

How much does it cost?

Prices for the new Amarok start from £57,670 for a car in entry ‘Life’ trim which gets features such as a 12-inch infotainment system and LED headlights. Go up to mid-spec PanAmericana grade and prices rise to £60,550, and top-spec Aventura specification commands £61,570.

Head to the used market and there’s plenty of variety, though Amaroks do tend to hold on to their value quite well due to their known build quality and high level of equipment. On AA Cars, you can find a top-spec Aventura model with just 100 miles on the clock for £57,594, while a Style model with 11,000 miles on the clock is priced from around £47,994.

Engine and performance

Overview

At present, the Amarok is available with just a single engine option. Fortunately, it’s a very strong one; a 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 with 237bhp and 600Nm of torque, which is driven to all four wheels via a 10-speed automatic gearbox. The Amarok actually shares many components with the Ford Ranger, which is why you might notice some similarities between the two.

On a practical front, this torquey engine gives the Amarok a total braked trailer towing capacity of 3,500kg, while its load bed is rated to carry 1.1 tonnes, making it a very handy option for drivers who need to tow or bring along a lot of goods. Earlier models of the Amarok were available with a 2.0-litre diesel engine, too, though this is no longer available on the new market and the vast majority of those available used will be the 3.0-litre versions.

Out on the road

It’s out on the road where the Volkswagen Amarok feels noticeably different to its rivals within the pick-up class. It’s a trend set by the first-generation Amarok which, when it first arrived, drove more like a large SUV than a typical truck. The same goes for this latest model, as with its easy-going handling and decent ride, it really does feel more like a big SUV than a pick-up.

You’ve got a tall, commanding view of the road ahead and though the Amarok’s rear visibility isn’t the best, things up front are good in comparison. The thing you really need to bear in mind is this truck’s size; ordinary-sized parking spaces feel a little too small for the Amarok and with that huge load bed, you need to be conscious about where you’re reversing this Volkswagen into. That said, a decent number of sensors and cameras come equipped as standard, so it’s not too tricky to move about. The 3.0-litre diesel engine remains a great fit for the Amarok, too, as its smoothness and refinement make the whole driving experience feel far more car-like than in other pick-ups. It actually helps to make the Amarok quite quick, too, with 0-60mph coming in just under nine seconds. It must be said that the Ford-sourced 10-speed gearbox feels like it simply has too many gears and, for much of the time, the ‘box feels like it’s searching around for the right gear and struggles to settle on one.

Ride and handling

The Amarok does feel quite at home on tarmac, in contrast to some other pick-up trucks. The suspension does a good job of soaking up lumps and bumps, though there’s the occasional shimmy through the whole car when you hit a bigger pothole. Wind noise and road noise are both quite pronounced at speed, but it’s not too bad.

The good news is that the Amarok is still incredibly competent off-road despite being so capable on it. You’ve got four-wheel-drive, of course, and there are a variety of driver modes dedicated to different surfaces and driving conditions. All cars get an electronic locking differential as standard, though higher-spec trucks feature a fully mechanical rear differential which can be even more useful when you’re trying to haul this pick-up out of a sticky bit of off-road work. However, whichever Amarok you opt for, you’re sure to get something that’ll handle whatever you can throw at it. There’s also a good range of accessories that can help tailor the Amarok to whatever job you’ve got in mind, such as racking options for the load bed or extra lights.

Interior and features

Interiors

The inside of the Amarok feels the most car-like of any truck you’ll find available today. The material quality is good across the board, with a good combination of both hard-wearing but pleasant-feeling finishes throughout. The forward part of the cabin is focused around the huge central screen, and there are plenty of brighter elements to help lift the feel of the cabin further. There’s a good number of charging ports to help keep devices topped-up, too.

Annoyingly, there are very few physical controls, with the settings for the heating and ventilation instead equipped within the main screen. It means that it’s more fiddly to adjust certain heating and air conditioning settings than it should be and also requires you to look at the screen for far too long in order to change simple features.

Boot space and practicality

Space inside the Amarok’s cabin isn’t too bad. This truck is only available in double-cab specification - meaning that there are two rows of seats - but that’ll be handy for drivers who need to take a few more passengers around with them. The good news is that rear-seat space isn’t bad at all, with a decent amount of legroom provided back there. Headroom is more than adequate, too. The central rear seat, mind you, is quite tight and is best seen as ‘occasional’ rather than one to rely on all of the time.

There’s no boot space to speak of in the Amarok in a sense, but you do, of course, have that huge load bed, which is easy to access thanks to the flip-down tailgate. If covered boot space is what you need, then the Amarok is available with a wide range of covers for the load bed to help keep things secure and dry.

Features

There’s a lot of equipment included on all Amarok models. Highlights include that large 12-inch infotainment system, which incorporates all key media functions as well as both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring systems. There are 10-way adjustable front seats included as standard, too, and these help to make getting into a comfortable driving position a lot easier.

Since this is quite a large vehicle, it’s good to see that both front and rear parking cameras are equipped as standard, as well as two side cameras. Forward and rear parking sensors are also equipped on all models.

Trim and colour options

Three trim levels are currently available for the Amarok, with Style, PanAmericana and Aventura all bringing something slightly different without changing much about the Amarok’s fundamentals. All models get that large central screen, while PanAmericana models build on this with 18-inch alloy wheels, full leather upholstery and the mechanical differential lock mentioned earlier. Top-spec Aventura cars get huge 21-inch alloys instead, as well as an upgraded Harman Kardon sound system and a heated leather-wrapped steering wheel.

There’s a good range of bright exterior colours to choose from, too, with reds and blues being particularly stand-out choices.

Safety and reliability

As a large pick-up truck, the Amarok certainly has physical size on its side safety-wise, but it’s also equipped with a wide range of assistance features to help things further. All models get Autonomous Emergency Braking with pedestrian detection technology, as well as a full electronic stability control system and a series of airbags. The Amarok also gets Volkswagen’s eCall system, which can immediately notify the emergency services if the vehicle detects an incident or collision.

Given Volkswagen’s sharing of Ford parts - itself a well-known builder of reliable trucks and vans - there shouldn’t be too many issues with the Amarok overall. As always, regular servicing and inspections will help with this.

MPG, emissions and tax

Since there’s just one engine option available with the Amarok, things are kept pretty simple choice-wise. There’s no real electrified option, which is odd since the Amarok’s sister truck - Ford’s Ranger - can be specified with a plug-in hybrid setup. The 3.0-litre turbocharged diesel engine in the Amarok fits the character of this pick-up, mind you, but though it gives this model a good degree of towing ability and plenty of shove, it comes at the expense of efficiency with Volkswagen claiming just 29mpg combined.

Emissions are also quite high at up to 265g/km CO2. From April 2025, a re-classification of vehicles like the Amarok now means that it’s seen in tax terms as a passenger vehicle rather than a commercial vehicle - so previously favourable rates are no longer available. Plus, models over £40,000 will be hit with the Expensive Car Supplement for the first five years after registration, so the Amarok could prove quite hefty to tax.