Like many other motoring journalists in the last few months, I have spent loads of time driving the new 2023 Ford Ranger. From base models to the Wildtrak – right up to the fire-breathing Ranger Raptor. And I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. They are great utes.
Seat time in the 2023 VW Amarok however, which has been widely reported to be based on the new Ford Ranger platform, has been limited. As in none. Well, that has all changed, after spending a week driving the all-new 2023 Volkswagen Amarok in Style trim. Both on and off-road.
Watch: The world’s shortest car review: 2023 VW Amarok Style
What’s the story?
In the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok line-up, there are five different trim variants. The Amarok Style, as tested, sits in the middle in terms of specs and pricing coming in at $78,198. Below is a list of the 2023 Amaroks available:
- Amarok Core
- Amarok Life
- Amarok Style
- Amarok Panamericana
- Amarok Adventura
First impressions count
My first major impression is that the Amarok is a more road-focused vehicle. The suspension is firmer and sportier than the Ranger, and the traction control system seems less aggressively calibrated for technical driving. The most important thing to take from this is the fact both the 2023 Amarok and Ford Ranger are different vehicles.
Sure, they share platforms. But they do feel different. Considering the Ranger is made in Thailand, and the VW is made at Ford’s Silverton plant in Pretoria South Africa, this isn’t really a surprise I guess.
What’s inside?
The second I climbed inside the 2023 VW Amarok Style, I genuinely thought… wow. The Interior is awesome, both visually and from a quality perspective. I love the soft touch finishes on the doors as well as the clean dash layout. This is a big improvement over the outgoing model, which was definitely showing its age.
In fact, the front seats are up there with the best I think I’ve sat in out of any dual-cab ute. Both in terms of aesthetics as they look terrific, as well as comfort for my lanky frame and bad back. I experienced no discomfort during my time with the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok style.
As the seats feature side bolters, they might not be as comfortable for wider frames. For me though, they were sensational seats for trips around town or long runs on the highway. The seats are heated too, something I appreciated greatly while on location in sunny (Ha, yeah right) Lithgow NSW.
After the seats, the next thing you’ll notice inside the 2023 VW Amarok Style, is the centrally mounted infotainment screen. It’s massive and controls lots of the vehicle, rather than relying on individual dials and knobs.
This screen proved to be a love-hate type deal for me. It’s great that everything is mounted in a clean way, but I found myself constantly looking at it, and feeling disconnected from the road.
I also hated that the auto-brake hold and stop/start functions were buried in the menu. There wasn’t a button on the dash I could see to turn those (in my opinion) useless features off. Every time the vehicle was turned off and started again, I’d have to go into the menu screen and turn them off. Every time.
Naturally, you get used to this over time, but I must say if this is the future I’m not a fan. With that off my chest, let’s see how the Amarok Style drives off-road.
Off-road performance
From our time playing around in muddy ruts and on rocks, I have to say the traction control system in the 2023 VW Amarok isn’t calibrated strongly enough toward off-road use. It’s not great basically. The saving grace is the rear differential lock, which engages quickly and smoothly. Full points there.
With the diff lock engaged, the Amarok was very capable in the rough stuff. You do notice the wider track and longer wheelbase in ruts, however, I enjoyed the added stability those larger dimensions offer.
As well as the rear diff lock, another ace up the sleeve of the 2023 Amarok, is the fact it has selectable terrain modes. Things like Mud/Ruts, Sand, Mud, and so on. This sounds great, but my observation was these are all low-traction settings.
There was no Rock Crawl Mode as you see in the Land Rover Defender for example. Rock Mode tends to tighten the traction control up and provide dampened throttle response. It would have been good to see.
Watch: 2023 Volkswagen Amarok traction control tested
Again, with that off my chest, my mate Stevo from Coolum Motors and CRD Tech (who is an Amarok guru), has managed to already tune in both Rock and Sports Mode into the new Amarok. Hooray to the aftermarket for fixing what the vehicle manufacturer should have included. Give him a buzz, and tell him I sent you if you have a new Amarok and want those features programmed in. You heard it here first.
Off-road gearing is superb in the 2023 VW Amarok thanks to the dedicated low-range reduction in the transfer case, and 10-speeds in the automatic gearbox. I love that you can drive the Amarok in 4×4 high-range Auto Mode for added grip on-road as well. The rear leaf spring suspension offers a decent amount of suspension travel, and thanks to the wider wheel track as mentioned, the Amarok feels stable on off-camber sections of track.
The stock Goodyear tyres, however, are awful in mud – which is no surprise – due to their highway pattern and rounded shoulders. They would be the first thing I’d be upgrading for a big improvement in off-road ability. A slightly larger set of all terrains (33s do fit – I‘ve seen them) and you’ll be laughing in the rough stuff. Whilst being incredibly comfortable and feeling stylish (for a ute driver) in the process.
There’s loads of power on tap for spirited off-road driving, towing, or powering through soft sand, and you’ll go to most places you’d ever want to go in comfort. I just feel the Ranger is better off-road thanks to its local suspension tune and tighter traction control calibration.
On-road performance
In my time living with the Amarok, it sipped on average 10.1L/100km of diesel fuel, which seems right considering the 3.0L V6 engine and the fact it’s pushing a large ute around. This engine makes some seriously sweet turbo noises too, which fills my heart with joy.
The power is just great in the way it is delivered, but after doing some soul searching, I feel overall I prefer the old V6 turbo-diesel engine found in the previous generation Amarok. That is a proven motor, that delivers. Still, I enjoy seeing more dual-cab utes with V6 grunt on the market and the V6 Amarok hauls.
Steering feel is definitely on the light side, and I’m not the first person to report this. And I feel the gear selector is fiddly and annoying to operate. Again, I’m not the first person to report on that. These are no way deal breakers, and you absolutely get used to them, I just feel there is room for improvement.
Other than that, in my opinion, and it’s a big call… the 2023 VW Amarok is the best road-handling four-wheel drive dual-cab ute on the market – other than the Ranger Raptor – which is in a league of its own.
Practicalities
The tray is massive on the new Amarok, and it wasn’t small on the previous model. There are tie-down points where they need to be, as well as LED lighting in the tray and quite possibly the most over-engineered 12V socket I’ve ever seen. Nice.
The tray liner is a drop-in affair, which I’m not a fan of personally. It would be easy to remove this for a spray-on liner which is something I’d do.
Another thing I’d do if I were to buy a 2023 VW Amarok, is fit some gas struts to the bonnet. On a nearly $80,000 vehicle it’s a crime they aren’t fitted from the factory. Yes, I know the internet loves to make fun of motoring journos for pointing out such trivial matters, but I feel it’s worth mentioning.
I do rate the cupholders, they work with a variety of water bottles. But the Ranger takes the win in the cupholder stake. That is across the dual-cab ute board, too. I also really liked the pop-up cubby on the passenger side dash. This was the perfect place in our case to store some pies from Mountain High Pies in Wentworth Falls (a great pie shop) on our cold shoot day. They seemed to be warmed by the vehicle’s air conditioning system which made my day. Yes, I’m an easy man to please.
Verdict
We all know it’s based on a Ford Ranger, but the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok Style is nicer inside and better on-road than the Ranger in my opinion. It’s not as good as the Ranger off-road, but not by much.
The call is really going to be up to you and your needs. I’d also be taking into account the dealer network, and servicing costs locally to you as well to help make your mind up if you are on the fence between buying a Ranger or an Amarok.
I enjoyed my time with the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok. But I also really enjoyed driving the Ford Ranger Wildtrak. I hate to make this sound like a cop-out, but you are really going to have to take them both for a drive and see which manufacturer you feel best about giving around $80,000 to.
What I will say though, as four-wheel drivers we are the winners here. The new generation dual-cab utes are better than ever and I can’t wait to see what you good folk at home do with them and see the places you take them. Long live V6-powered dual cab utes.
2023 Volkswagen Amarok Style 4×4 Specs
On sale: Now
Price: $78,198
Body: Four-door ute, ladder frame chassis
Length/width/height/wheelbase: 5350mm/1910mm/1888mm/3270mm
Gross vehicle mass (GVM): 3350kg
Gross combination mass (GCM): 6400kg
Tow capacity: 3500kg
Fuel tank: 80L
Wading depth: 800mm
Engine: 3.0L V6 turbo-diesel with 184kW and 600Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Approach/departure/ramp over angles: 29 degrees/21 degrees/21 degrees
