The all-new Amarok is here. How does it compare with other farmer-friendly products in the UK?
As some of you will know, I am currently running the PH Fleet Land Rover Defender 110. And the, I discussed its usefulness as a farm vehicle; and not metaphorically, by actually using it on a farm. Now, I thought this would make everyone very pleased – seeing a Defender being used as something more than a big, shiny, plaything, trundling about the streets of London.
To test this theory – sort of – let’s take a look at the all-new Volkswagen Amarok. There shall be no bias here; I loved the old Amarok and I’ve long awaited its return, which, of course, is now very closely related to the latestSo: is it cheaper? Yes. The Amarok range starts at £40,791 for the 170hp 2.0-litre. But to get the top engine – the 240hp 3.0-litre V6 diesel we have here – the price shoots to £53,931.
The point of all the above is that there are pros and cons to both cars as farm vehicles and, sometimes, the lines of delineation aren’t as clear-cut as one would imagine. I am also not claiming that the Amarok is the only pick-up on sale. Nor am I claiming it’s the most rugged or the cheapest – the closely-related Ranger, for one, starts at a rather more sensible £33,060. Ford makes a single cab, you see, whereas VW doesn’t.
Fuel consumption is surprisingly high in the VW. On a run with it in two-wheel drive, the Amarok was averaging around 24mpg. The Defender in the same circumstances tends to get nearer to 30mpg. Bearing in mind that weighs about the same but has two fewer gears and can’t disconnect its front axle, you might’ve expected those results to be reversed.
One mild disappointment is the ride. The Amarok might be settled enough to attack country lanes but the ride isn’t calm, which is a shame because that was a plus point of the old model. The old Amarok wasn’t soft and squidgy, I’ll grant you, but it was more cushioning than this one I am sure. On some road surfaces the new car can be a bit wearing, what with all the consistent fidgeting, and then there's its firmness over the bigger callouses in the road.
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