Test drive: the Volkswagen Amarok is on a roll

Painted in a striking blue the jeep isn’t one of the subtlest things on earth, but it certainly strikes a pose. Climbing into the new Amarok is not a massive surprise when compared with the old Amarok or any Volkswagen vehicle.

The fixtures and fittings are very familiar to anyone who has spent any time in a Volkswagen car, SUV or pickup.

The big change in this pickup is under the bonnet with its new 3.0 litre, six-cylinder engine producing an impressive 224bhp.

Once sitting in the driver’s seat, the positioning of everything is at hand. This jeep as usual came with all the extras that you could ever need.

The infotainment system is really impressive from the very good Volkswagen satellite navigation to the connectivity that comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

On the road

Once perched up in the driver’s seat of this sizeable vehicle, it doesn’t seem as big as you might expect. The test jeep was fitted with Volkswagen’s excellent DSG gearbox and this makes the Amarok very easy to get used to and to drive competently.

Once on the move the big Volkswagen gets down the road very well.

During the week I had it, I travelled on every different type of road in the country from the M1 heading for Co Down to the farm lanes on the home farm.

On the motorway the Amarok’s new bigger power plant makes it very comfortable and smooth at the national speed limit.

The new smoothness of the engine linked to the DSG gearbox means that it breezes along effortlessly for kilometre after kilometre, making this jeep a very capable motorway cruiser, not something you expect from a pickup.

On the more cross-country routes that I travelled over the week, the Amarok showed some serious poise for such a sizeable machine. Yet again the more powerful engine makes it very driveable cross-country with plenty of power to shift it at pace if required.

With many of the pickups on the market, the rear end tends to want to pass you out or at a minimum act like a bucking bronco over bumps if there is no weight on the back load carrying area the Amarok doesn’t seem to suffer from this problem, it was sure footed and never made me feel as if it was about to swap ends or throw me out of my seat.

Speaking of seats, this big jeep comes with big comfy seats and these, in conjunction, with the high driving position make for a very comfortable and commanding driving position.

Road noise was barely noticeable from the sizeable tyres but at speed there was an annoying wind whistle that I was able to attribute to the aftermarket roll bar fitted on the test jeep.

The crew accommodation in the back of the Amarok has ample room for average-sized adults but for someone of my height (6 foot-ish) the back would be a little cramped for a long-haul journey.

On the load lugging front the Volkswagen is rated to pull up to 3,500kg braked and also carry a sizeable 928kg on the load area. There is also enough room between the wheel arches for a full sized euro pallet or large bag of meal.

Off the road

When put to the test of some proper off-roading, the Volkswagen Amarok V6 was perfectly capable and at no time did it ever even seem like it might be leaving me stuck there.

I managed to put it through some terrible terrain and at times I couldn’t even step out to see how deep it was for fear I’d be minus a shoe or two getting back in, but the Amarok just kept on chugging away and never even broke a sweat.

On the lanes and fields at home where slipping was the issue, the Volkswagen showed no signs of giving up on me or sliding into a hedge or edge of a field plough track.

The Volkswagen is very capable when off the black stuff.

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