Amarok or not to Amarok, that is the question

[ben_from_watson]

Yeah the hilux is good. But it handles like a jelly donut. But you're right about the new ford/Mazda. They'll have a 3.2l 5 cyl engine. I don't need that much fat, as mine will be doing light work.

Reliability is the question I have about vw. Not having owned one all I know about them is hearsay.

I'll prob put a post in the Amarok thread shortly. Tks to all who took the time to welcome me.

[anthony]

I have 3 words for you...

AMORAK,AMORAK,AMORAK...lol.

[phaeton]

Amarok will be more proven than a new product from Ford/Mazda as its been on the market longer than the not even released Ford/Mazda twins.

IMO after seeing Ford/Mazda twins in Sydney last year they'e half a class to big for the segment - sure they'll be bigger, better and perhaps cheaper, the Amarok is the GTI of its segment in that it can do all things to well, no half this and other half that.

[ben_from_watson]

Interesting on price....the leaks (from the ranger challenge fine print) say an xlt (one spec below Wildtrak) will be ~54k. Similar to rep for highline

[flyingfridge]

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.

[ben_from_watson]

First question in my quest for a new ute: for those who have a Rok, how well is it screwed together? I see that vw Argentina produces the following kit: Suran, Fox, Amarok. And in their Cordoba plant the MQ200, SQ200, MQ250. So people's views on the quality of the Suran and Fox (I confess, never heard of them, but then again I'd never heard of amarok until 3 weeks ago)

The biggest mitigator of risk in buying a vehicle is the dealer. I'm in Canberra so I can purchase anywhere in the area Sydney-south coast-wagga-young-orange-Sydney and still not have a bad drive if I need to go back. So probably the number one thing I'd like from forum members is their experiences with dealers. If people don't want to give them a public cheer or curse, you could message me. I want a dealer who'll go into bat with the manufacturer if things go pear-shaped.

Good dealer = half way to hilux chum carving

[Transporter]

First question in my quest for a new ute: for those who have a Rok, how well is it screwed together? I see that vw Argentina produces the following kit: Suran, Fox, Amarok. And in their Cordoba plant the MQ200, SQ200, MQ250. So people's views on the quality of the Suran and Fox (I confess, never heard of them, but then again I'd never heard of amarok until 3 weeks ago)

The biggest mitigator of risk in buying a vehicle is the dealer. I'm in Canberra so I can purchase anywhere in the area Sydney-south coast-wagga-young-orange-Sydney and still not have a bad drive if I need to go back. So probably the number one thing I'd like from forum members is their experiences with dealers. If people don't want to give them a public cheer or curse, you could message me. I want a dealer who'll go into bat with the manufacturer if things go pear-shaped.

Good dealer = half way to hilux chum carving

The relationship between the dealer and the car manufacturer is always the same, no matter what brand you buy. Some dealer as a person will look after you better than other, but that's personal and can always change when that bloke would leave the dealership.

When buying a new car you need a bit of luck, but sometimes it's a bad luck and you could have a lemon instead a car. All manufacturers have them.

Good luck with your choice.

Plenty of dealers in the forum, I'm sure you won't wait too long for the respond.

[ben_from_watson]

As for dealers, I'm biased having worked for Rolfe and Lennocks here, and am more then willing to deal with them as a customer

How did you find working for Lennocks? They're the Amarok people in Canberra.

[calibrated]

all the info you can possibly want is on the amarok forum.

i've had mine near on 2 months now. love it to bits. its awesome. cannot fault in any way. reports coming out of argentina, amarok's with 100 000km's on the clock already, with NO issues.

I think the "reliabilty" myth has been busted already.

[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