Amarok or not to Amarok, that is the question

[Sumodog68]

Very little to add other than I'm up to 6,500km in mine and absolutely love it. I never used to be a ute guy but this thing is bloody awesome and there's nothing better than spotting a HiLux on the road and then carving it up like Chum.

First of all thank you Sam for opportunity to drive your Amarok - it is a great vehicle - nice interior , ride ,quality . If anyone is looking to buy a VW you could do much worse then talk to Sam
My better half was very impressed with the ute. Visited motor show and checked out new Ranger - it might be worth a wait - test drive will reveal how good it is.

Now about Hilux carving bussiness
My impression of Amarok engine performance (i drive d4d Hilux manual) is that is decent enough for a ute but it is not quicker or more flexible than Lux. My seat of the pants impression only. Then i found some performance testing numbers...
VW AMAROK vs TOYOTA HILUX - News
Dont know how reliable this numbers are but i pretty much felt Hilux to be a quicker unit

[Seano]

I'm certainly not a fan of the Hilux but it is very well screwed together. Of all the dual cab utes we see out here in the fleets only the Hiluxes remain generally in one piece after 80,000km. They still handle much like they did when they arrived, most of the bits remain in the right place and they perform much like new. This has rarely been the case with the other marquees - especially in the suspension & handling department. And having driven a new 4x4 dual cab Triton the other day.....by golly they've changed little in twenty years - they still have rotten suspension & handling from the get go (but they do have power windows!).

So until I see the Amarok perform in either the public service or mining fleet market I'd hesitate to pull the trigger on one.

[Sumodog68]

In the meantime i ve test driven Navara ST-X 550 - this is what Amarok should have as an option - auto 3.0 tdi from Touareg - 550 is much different to drive to both Hilux and Amarok. They are pricy though ...

[Transporter]

Yep, I saw it too at the Nissan dealer, even took the photos of the interior and the engine bay (can upload if someone interested). The interior can't compete aginst the Amarok, way too much of the cheap plastic. But, if you're serious about that Navara and you want use it for off road a lot, better check some reviews as well, because I don't think that it scored that well.

[sh|tbmxrider]

Having sat in many a Navara, and also the Amarok at the motorshow, those in glass houses shouldn't throw 'cheap plastics' rocks.....