We put Volkswagen’s new ute through the ringer on-road, off-road, and with a big load test to see how it performs.
2023 Volkswagen Amarok PanAmericana
The 2023 Volkswagen Amarok is a big deal. Not just for the German automotive giant, but also for the four-wheel-drive segment overall.
Now sharing a platform with the class-leading Ford Ranger, this new Amarok picks up a trove of updates and upgrades the old model was screaming out for, while also holding onto a few key desirable features.
There’s still a diesel V6 available under the bonnet, the tray is still wider than most of the competitors, and there’s still the ability for four driven wheels on the blacktop.
However, this new Amarok now scores a more spacious and comfortable second row (with curtain airbag coverage), a bigger and better infotainment display, and a comprehensive suite of safety features.
And if your budget is able to stretch far enough, this PanAmericana could be the pick of the range.
How much does the Volkswagen Amarok cost in Australia?
PanAmericana is a new model grade for the Amarok, which sits towards the top of the pile and kind of picks up where the old Canyon model left off. Priced from $75,990 plus on-road costs, it carries an off-road bias in comparison to the urban-focussed (and more expensive) Aventura model.
The interior here is well stacked with features and creature comforts: leather upholstery, heated front seats with electric driver’s adjustment, leather materials on the dashboard, and an upgraded eight-speaker sound system.
The load space of the PanAmericana gets a nice spray-in tub liner and sports bar, but misses out on a 12V power outlet and roller cover. While Volkswagen’s spec sheet indicates a soft tonneau cover is available for this spec grade, our tester car didn’t have one fitted.
Other bits include roof rails, LED tail-lights, black roof lining, and darkened exterior elements like the grille, side mirrors and doorhandles.
When you include the available V6 power in the lower-grade Amarok Style, which shares the PanAmericana’s matrix LED headlights, 12-inch infotainment display, and 360-degree camera system, you are looking at an additional $5000 for this PanAmericana specification.
| Key details | 2023 Volkswagen Amarok PanAmericana |
| Price | $75,990 plus on-road costs |
| Colour of test car | Dark Grey Metallic |
| Options | Metallic paint – $990 |
| Price as tested | $76,980 plus on-road costs |
| Drive-away price | $83,987 (Sydney) |
| Rivals | Isuzu D-Max | Toyota HiLux | Ford Ranger |
How much space does the Volkswagen Amarok have inside?
Despite its age, the previous Volkswagen Amarok always had a pleasing cabin. Using classic Volkswagen design features and traits, it felt intrinsically carlike, especially in comparison to some of the more utilitarian competition.
This new Amarok – especially at this high specification grade – continues that theme. But you could argue it also takes it to the next level.
Naturally, there are many features reminiscent of the blue-ovalled brother (or cousin). That’s how things go when you’ve got common hard points and elements that dictate some of the major design features.
However, Volkswagen’s smart redesign with different materials and eye-catching details has helped the Amarok stand apart from the Ranger. And you could argue that it feels nicer overall, with a better sense of fit and finish.
The nicely damped second glovebox feels quality and adds a handy additional storage element on the dash. The leather-look wrapping of the dashboard certainly ups the ambience ante as well.
Its seats are a point of difference in comparison to the old Amarok. While they are comfortable and well designed in terms of adjustment and bolstering, I’m not sure if they are as good as the old ErgoComfort seats available in the previous Amarok. These Amarok seats are the same as what you get in a Ford, but have different materials and foam densities.
There’s a wireless charging pad, integrated brake controller, 12V plug, USB-A and USB-C power outlets all wedged in underneath the portrait-style infotainment display. You could also fit some extra bits and bobs in here, with other storage coming from your regular offerings like a centre console, twin cupholders and a primary glovebox.
The second row of the new Amarok is a vast improvement over the old model, taking the Volkswagen ute from the dead bottom of the ladder in this regard to somewhere near the tippity top. It’s more spacious, with more leg room and seat comfort on offer, and elements like power outlets, air vents and curtain airbag coverage ticking off important requirements.
Like the Ford, this Amarok has useful underseat storage and a pop-down armrest (with cupholders) in the middle, with the only difference here being that the Amarok uses some of the underseat storage to hold your tyre-changing equipment. The scissor jack and associated gear go behind the seatback in the Ford Ranger model.
The addition of a quality spray-in tub liner is a welcome addition for this Amarok PanAmericana, along with the central-locking tailgate that is also damped. However, it’s missing a 12V power outlet, and the sports bar design tends to get in the way of loading and unloading the side of the tub.
| 2023 Volkswagen Amarok PanAmericana | |
| Seats | Five |
| Off-road dimensions | Ground clearance: 233mm Wading depth: 800mm Approach angle: 30° Departure angle: 25.6° Rampover angle: 22° |
| Length | 5350mm |
| Width | 1910mm 2208mm including mirrors |
| Height | 1886mm |
| Wheelbase | 3270mm |
Does the Volkswagen Amarok have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto?
Infotainment comes in the form of a 12-inch portrait-orientation display, which comes with all of the bells and whistles: Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (wired and wireless), native navigation and digital radio. It’s a nice operating system with fast load times and a crisp, responsive screen.
Other reviewers at Drive have noted some stability bugs with the Amarok’s operating system, something shared with the Ford Ranger. That’s because this Amarok uses the same hardware. I didn’t experience any of that myself, perhaps because I’m operating in the land of Android phones. However, it is still worth noting.
Problems aside, Volkswagen has done a good job of re-skinning the interface and operating system to give it a different look and feel. It’s in keeping with the rest of the cabin, and importantly sets it apart from the platform-sharing Ranger.
Is the Volkswagen Amarok a safe car?
On top of a fresh five-star ANCAP safety rating, which was gathered through testing by Euro NCAP in Europe, the Volkswagen Amarok boasts some solid numbers in terms of individual scores. Adult occupant protection is rated at 86 per cent, while child occupant protection rates at 93 per cent. Vulnerable road users (pedestrians) get 74 per cent worth of protection, while the safety assistance systems get an 83 per cent rating.
For those that really want to sweat the comparison details, the Ford Ranger (which got five stars after testing at ANCAP facilities in Australia) got identical numbers across the board, aside from a slightly lower adult occupant score (84 per cent). This came from the Amarok getting a better whiplash protection score in the second row.
| 2023 Volkswagen Amarok PanAmericana | |
| ANCAP rating | Five stars (tested 2022) |
| Safety report | Link to ANCAP report |
What safety technology does the Volkswagen Amarok have?
While entry-level Core specification disappointingly misses out on blind-spot monitoring and rear-cross traffic alert, all grades above get the whole enchilada of safety equipment. That includes blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, autonomous emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assistance, traffic sign recognition, intelligent speed limiter, and adaptive cruise control with lane centring.
There are nine airbags inside the cabin of the new Amarok, with curtain airbags (that includes second-row coverage), a front centre airbag, and knee airbag for the driver and passenger.
How much does the Volkswagen Amarok cost to maintain?
Volkswagen has made the right decision to keep service costs of the new Amarok close by the Ranger, which shares all major mechanical components. If it worked out to be noticeably more expensive, that could be enough of a push for buyers to choose their camp.
Servicing a Volkswagen Amarok, regardless of being a V6 or four-cylinder, works out to be $1072 over three years ($357.33 per year) or $1801 for five years ($360 per year on average). Services are every 12 months or 15,000km.
Insuring a 2023 Volkswagen Amarok PanAmericana works out to be $1934.07 per year. This figure is based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male driver living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.
| At a glance | 2023 Volkswagen Amarok PanAmericana |
| Warranty | Five years, unlimited km |
| Service intervals | 12 months or 15,000km |
| Servicing costs | $1072 (3 years) $1801 (5 years) |
Is the Volkswagen Amarok fuel-efficient?
A big diesel V6 is never going to be as efficient as a smaller four-cylinder engine, and I’m going to hazard a guess that the V6 Amarok won’t rate miserly consumption rates as its purchasing factor. And indeed, the Volkswagen Amarok V6 was reasonably thirsty during our time with it.
After a week of town and highway driving, as well as two days of bush cruising, off-roading and load testing, we saw an average of 11.1 litres per 100 kilometres. It’s not a great number, and isn’t close to Volkswagen’s claim of 8.4L/100km.
Still, we saw an average of 10.5L/100km on a similar (if a little less onerous) look in a Ford Ranger XLT V6, so don’t expect splendiferous consumption figures from this engine. Don’t forget, though, this new Ford-sourced V6 is a relatively old engine overall dating back to the mid-2000s.
Fuel Consumption – brought to you by bp
| Fuel Useage | Fuel Stats |
| Fuel cons. (claimed) | 8.4L/100km |
| Fuel cons. (on test) | 11.1L/100km |
| Fuel type | Diesel |
| Fuel tank size | 80L |
What is the Volkswagen Amarok like to drive?
By moving across to a shared platform, especially after the first-generation Amarok was wholly Volkswagen owned, I don’t think any kind of backwards step in the driving experience would not be well received by the Amarok faithful.
This is made more difficult by the fact that despite its age, the old Amarok was constantly referred to as being one of the best four-wheel-drive utes from a driving point of view.
Thankfully, and unsurprisingly, the new Amarok can still hold its head high in this regard. For a four-wheel-drive ute that is constantly evolving into a refined, premium family car with a tub, the new Amarok continues the trend of gentrification.
Many of the characteristics of the new Amarok are similar to high-spec, V6-powered versions of the Ford Ranger. However, it’s got its own Volkswagen-born spin on the base.
Particularly, the PanAmericana specification gets its own suspension tune that leans into the off-road focus of this model. It’s softer overall, less tied down and controlled in terms of body roll. And I reckon it’s where things should be for this kind of vehicle.
Making a four-wheel-drive ute handle and feel like a passenger car has always been a case of hammering a square peg into a star-shaped hole. Having something softer and more absorbent plays into the role of the modern-day ute much better, and it puts the PanAmericana in a good place.
Combined with squishier Goodyear Wrangler tyres on sensibly sized 18-inch alloy wheels, this Amarok is adept at soaking up all manner of imperfect surfaces: potholes and speed bumps around town, as well as rough-surfaced dirt roads.
The 3.0-litre turbo diesel V6, which might feel a little less perky and aggressively revvy as the old Volkswagen V6, feels like the consummate engine in this application. It’s torquey and flexible, with a relaxed nature to the way it gathers up momentum and revs. It’s matched well to a 10-speed automatic gearbox that mostly makes smooth and smart decisions. It’s certainly busy cycling through the many close-knit ratios on offer, but at least these changes are mostly imperceptible.
Its steering is well balanced and responsive, combining nicely with the clutch-based four-wheel-drive system to give an assured feeling on bitumen and dirt. There’s a great sense of connection and sure-footedness, which pays dividends in terms of managing fatigue on long drives on crappy country roads or unsealed surfaces.
Off-road, this new Amarok is better than the old model. Firstly, it’s got a low-range transfer case. The old model was good off-road even though it was missing low-range, and executed the case that a four-wheel drive can be good without it. Regardless, it would be better if it had one.
Secondly, this model comes with better levels of ground clearance, and the combination of stability and articulation seems to be better from my driver’s seat, at least.
And when the tyres were aired down for some steep and slippery rock climbs, the Amarok proved to be impressively capable. Surprisingly, it’s similar to a Ford Ranger with similar tyres, but this puts it right at the top in contention for off-road ability in stock form.
The longer wheelbase does erode some of the rampover angle, but that didn’t seem to hinder us too much off-road. There is additional clearance everywhere else, and we don’t have the log-shaped chrome steps of the previous Amarok to munch on the very first obstacle. The plastic steps are more tucked in for this new model, and have a little bit more flexibility available.
One of the more disappointing elements of this Amarok PanAmericana was the load testing side of things. When all of the available 1031kg payload is used, courtesy of a one-tonne bulk bag of sand thanks to Nepean Landscape Supplies, the rear suspension sagged down to the bump stops and lost a lot of the available composure.
Its engine’s performance didn’t particularly notice the extra load, with plenty of torque available down low to cover off the needs of acceleration. The steering lightened off somewhat, but hitting any bumps with a semblance of speed did send a bit of a shudder through the chassis.
| Key details | 2023 Volkswagen Amarok PanAmericana |
| Engine | 3.0-litre V6 turbo diesel |
| Power | 184kW @ 3250rpm |
| Torque | 600Nm @ 1750–2250rpm |
| Drive type | Selectable four-wheel drive |
| Transmission | 10-speed torque converter automatic |
| Power-to-weight ratio | 79.3kW/t |
| Weight (tare) | 2319kg |
| GVM | 3350kg |
| Payload | 1031kg |
| Spare tyre type | Full-size |
| Tow rating | 3500kg braked 750kg unbraked |
| Gross Combination Mass | 6400kg |
| Turning circle | 12.8m |
Should I buy a Volkswagen Amarok PanAmericana?
The Volkswagen Amarok is mightily impressive, especially when armed with a muscular V6 engine under the bonnet. However, it also comes at a relatively high price, so it isn’t necessarily the best choice in terms of value for money. The Style spec – equipped with the same V6 – might be smarter buying, but you’ll miss out on the softer suspension tune that comes with this PanAmericana model.
And for me, this off-road focus makes for a much better ute than the more tied-down, urban-focussed Aventura. It’s comfy, premium-feeling, nice to drive and great off-road. However, I would also recommend some suspension modifications for those who are looking to handle big loads often.
Importantly, though, this Amarok does feel like more than just a rebadged Ford. This is somewhere that I think Mazda missed a trick – not applying its own design nous to the interior and engineering to the driving experience of its BT-50 in comparison to the closely related D-Max.
This Amarok uses a Ford Ranger platform, sure, but it feels different. And it feels like a Volkswagen that can stand alone based on its own merits.
The post 2023 Volkswagen Amarok PanAmericana off-road review appeared first on Drive.
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