The people's pick-up

Driving report: VW Amarok 2.0 TDI - The people's pick-up

Volkswagen and its pickup. Taken literally, this seems to be a contradiction. After all, the total annual volume of pickups in Germany is around 20,000 to 25,000 vehicles. Top dog Ford alone supplies almost 10,000 of these with its Ranger. However, a quarter of the cake - 5,000 to 6,000 vehicles - will now be taken by Wolfsburg with its Amarok. Even if this is an entirely realistic figure, it is a crumb in relation to the overall car market. So there can be no question of being close to the people. Even if you take a global perspective and include Australia, South Africa and the Arabian Peninsula as the Amarok's top markets, VW's platform truck is not exactly what you would call a bestseller.

Of course, a pickup is first and foremost a commercial vehicle. This applies more than ever to the Amarok, as it is homologated as such and is not sold by the smart VW dealer, but via the commercial vehicle centers. But this is actually a paradox, because the Wolfsburg-based company sees its Amarok as a lifestyle alternative in the segment. And somehow the calculation seems to work out, because the 240 hp V6 top version is particularly popular. Although many cars are bought with powerful engines, in the commercial vehicle segment the overall costs are usually the decisive purchase criterion. And this is where the 205 hp four-cylinder diesel is clearly ahead - also because it is hardly inferior to the V6 in terms of performance and is significantly more agile.

Opting for the 205 hp version is definitely a good choice. But not a cheap one either. VW charges 47,121 euros for the admittedly lame 170 hp option alone and 52,798 for the 205 hp model. However, this is a whopping 20,000 euros less than the V6. Of course, the V6 versions are more opulent both inside and out, but drivers of the 205 hp model also get the upmarket Life equipment line. A few more extras, such as automatic transmission and automatic air conditioning instead of manual control, and you can be happy. For comparison: the technically identical Ford Ranger costs 53,776 euros with the same engine and also equipped with a crew cab. However, the ten-speed automatic transmission and a few other extras come as standard. The only other alternative, the Toyota Hilux with crew cab and 204 hp, is priced at 48,669 euros.

This is where the Amarok plays its premium trump card. The look and feel of the interior alone puts it in a class of its own. Although the entire interior is made of plastic, it is very elaborately made and precisely finished. Not least with the iPad-like central display, the Amarok looks as if you are sitting in a state-of-the-art family SUV. The usual commercial vehicle ambience of pickups is completely absent here. And just as the Volkswagen feels, it also drives: mannerly instead of rough, comfortable instead of lumbering and brisk instead of lame. The four-cylinder engine pushes powerfully and runs wildly on the highway. It not only reaches the top speed of 180 km/h specified by the factory with ease, but above all quickly. Opting for the cheaper manual gearbox is sometimes annoying in city traffic, especially as the ten-speed automatic makes optimum use of the power of the two-liter engine - a phenomenon not experienced with the automatic V6. Assistance systems, some standard, some at extra cost, make maneuvering in urban areas much easier. It is worth remembering that the Amarok is 5.35 meters long and has a wheelbase of 3.27 meters. A pickup is never agile and easy to handle.

Of course, the Amarok's true vocation is where the tarmac ends and where we no longer talk about luggage, but about cargo. It can carry a payload of one ton - a figure that not even all pickups can offer. The fact that the loading area is open may be ideal for construction site or forestry operations. Private individuals, however, will invest the money in an electric load compartment cover or the now available hardtop. If the road is covered in gravel and mud or buried in snow, the Amarok is in its element. This is where the 205 hp model benefits from having the automatic all-wheel drive system on board. This means that between the option of driving only the rear wheels and the possibility of transmitting the power rigidly to all four wheels, there is variable power distribution, which is popular in everyday life. This saves fuel, increases agility and, above all, is easier on the mechanics compared to rigid power transmission.

This makes the 205 hp Amarok something of a jack-of-all-trades: it copes really well off-road, has bite on the asphalt, can carry a decent load and drives like a car overall. The latter in particular is a point that clearly sets it apart from its other pickup colleagues.