Amarok at AIMS 2010

[phaeton]

Any engine bay shots?

The only shot I got is crappy because its basically only the P/S Reservoir LOL

I was going to take more but the hoards of people around the car got me distracted.

I agree, when compared to the "passenger" division of VAG, it is a bit of a let down and I think that is what people need to consider, that VW have deliberately put this in their "commercial vehicles" division for a reason, they see it as a workhorse, not a plaything or soft roader (which some of our guys will attest to doing some really hard testing!) but they have failed in their aspirations of making a true off-road vehicle because the chassis bends very easily Not a good thing if they want to take on hilux!

I'm surprised by this but its the second time its been mentioned 1st been Ford saying the front end is to Passenger car like.

You would think with the millions of km tested that they would sort any type of weakness.

What kind of testing did the failure happen would be my next question?

[ntboozer]

Couple of disappointments for me. First is that work commitments will keep me away from the AIMS , Second is the interior of the Highline - I accept that VW wanted a 'tough working ute' interior but in my opinion the pics in this thread (excluding leather) should indicate the trim of the base models not the Highline. The Highline should be a distinct step up from the base and Trendline variant and should have industry standard 'higher spec stuff' like steering wheel mounted audio controls (like the next Toureg variant that I just read about) etc (I believe the competitors eg Hilux SR / SR5, Navara, Triton have this level of equipment in their 'top spec' variant) fitted - not just some chrome bits on the exterior, climate air and bigger rims. A lot of tradies like a work ute that can be cleaned up and used on the weekend as a 'non-work' ute with some creature comforts. Third one would be to read above about the chassis bending - so how much mod'ing was actually done to the 'tough' Dakar support vehicles????
Guess I'll have to wait until next year to actually look at and test drive one (look out Geelong VW Commercial ), wait 12mths for all the 'new vehicle' problems to be sorted and buy in 2012 or perhaps re-consider my next 4x4 to tackle the NT and WA outback.
Cheers
nt

[Peter Jones]

I actually prefer the simple interior.

I count 13 buttons on the wheel of the Golf 6, I think that's getting a bit silly.

If I had my way I'd grab a base model Amarok with the "proper" 4WD system, PVC floor mats and a tub liner. Never mind the bling. Might option the Flare kit though to go a bit wider than the stock steelies though.

Going to wait a while though, see how year one goes, how they tow and see if I can can get someone else to pay the depreciation for me

[disco2300]

Thanks for these great pics, they just make me want one even more. It looks like a great car and vw through and through. I won't let my SR5 Hilux hear me talking like this or it might give me more trouble than a tail shaft recall.
Bring on the auto Volkswagen?

[gavs]

I'm surprised about the chassis bends, the off-roading videos out of argentina have people opening and closing doors with one wheel 4 feet in the air... tell me if i'm wrong but don't most current 4wds flex too much to get the door shut again?

Chassis flex is one thing, in extreme off-road conditions it is actually beneficial especially in independent front suspension setups, probably another reason they went with ladder-on-frame design. The only current 4x4 that has so much chassis flex that you can't close the door is the Land Rover defender, all other models don't have that problem. The most flexy chassis out of the dual cabs is the D40 navara, I have been able to twist it just by swinging on the roof rack! What I mean is that they actually permanently defromed the chassis in a test that all other off-roaders don't have an issue with, which leads us to believe that this was never truly designed as an off-roader, otherwise VW would have designed it to withstand stronger loads.

You would think with the millions of km tested that they would sort any type of weakness.

What kind of testing did the failure happen would be my next question?

Unfortunatley I can't disclose that, but it's one we do on every new model on the market and to this point, we haven't had a failure like this one. We have deliberately tried to destroy a great wall V240, but it didn't deform like this, which I am really disappointed about, as are alot of the guys here because we were hopinig this might have been the silver bullet to fix all that's currently wrong with the dual cab 4x4 market!

Oh, and those hefty looking under-body protection "skid plates" aren't anywhere near as robust as they look..... The front diff is an aluminium jobby and you really want those plates to hold!

[team_v]

That really is a shame Gavs.
I was hoping the Amarok muight finally provide a true off-road type vehicle for the future but it sounds like it won't be suitable from the factory for anything heavy.

Having said that, i probably wouldn't take one too far off road as all the eletronic wizardry worries me.
I don't know if they have many VW dealers who could fix an issue if you decided to go across Australia.

[flyingfridge]

It'd be very interesting to know just how extreme the test was where the chassis deformed. I know you can't share the exact details with us Gavs, but is it a 'normal 4wding' sort of test or is it a 'super extreme test'....

[Transporter]

Hmm, that would be my back up vehicle and the weekender. Maybe they will fix the problem in second year of production - if there is anything to fix.

[DionM]

gavs - did you load up the rear axle to GVM and then go offroad ...

That interior looks really cheap and nasty to be honest. Fine for a sub-$30k working vehicle but if they're targetting the $50k work-and-play market it looks a bit of a let down.

Here's hoping they bring out a wagon version that is better appointed ...

[flyingfridge]

That interior is far and away better than anything else in the 4x4 dual cab segment