Tow Test: Volkswagen Amarok V6

New V6 ute has plenty of grunt but can it tow?

Dual-cab 4WD utes have become a firm favourite with caravanners, and with their growing levels of performance, interior comfort and towing capacity it’s easy to see why.

There are also more luxury utes than ever, and the latest arrival is the V6 version of the Volkswagen Amarok.

‘Luxury’ in the dual-cab ute class used to mean an alloy sports bar and fancy side stripes at best, but these days equipment levels on the top-shelf utes is getting close to what is offered with premium 4WD wagons.

The Amarok V6 tested here is the Ultimate model, and at $67,990 it’s the most expansive dual-cab ute you can buy (there’s also the Amarok V6 TDI550 Highline at $59,990).

The Ultimate costs $8500 more than what was the most expensive ute, the Ford Ranger Wildtrak, but lacks safety features on Wildtrak (and some other utes) such as adaptive cruise control, forward collision alert, lane keeping aid, lane departure warning and cross-traffic alert.

Not only does the Amarok miss out on this safety gear, but also lacks a most basic piece of equipment for a ute: a tonneau cover. Sure Volkswagen offers a variety of tonneau covers, from your standard soft cover to a rolling cover, but you pay extra.

What the Amarok Ultimate does have is leather seats (the front pair heated), bi-xenon headlights, satnav, 19in alloys, tubliner coating and steering-mounted paddle shifters. And like many of its ilk, the Amarok also has trailer sway control.

Plenty of grunt

The big news is not the trinkets the Amarok V6 comes with but its engine. The 3.0-litre turbo V6 develops a very handy 165kW, with an extra 15kW available for about 10 seconds so you can reduce even more the time you’re in the wrong lane when overtaking, for example.

And of course there’s that 550Nm of torque, a bundle of Newton-metres ute buyers haven’t been able to obtain since the Navara 550Ti. And this has to be one of the smoothest turbo-diesel ute engines around. It will rev to about 4000rpm in Drive (or 5000rpm in Sport mode) before flicking into the next ratio of its excellent eight-speed auto.

With an engine offering a large bundle of power and a gearbox to keep it in its power band, it certainly feels like it would easily meet Volkswagen’s claim of a sub eight-second 0-100km/h time.

While the V6 has plenty of power and torque it doesn’t have much of anything at low rpm. With about 1800rpm on board the engine finally comes alive, but before then it is sluggish – not unusual for a turbo-diesel, but a trait some manufacturers have managed to all but eradicate.

Some towing restrictions

You might not be much of a reader of owner’s manuals, but when you’re towing it’s important that you do. While much of it is general towing advice, there can be all sorts of specific towing requirements that you won’t find anywhere else.

In the Volkswagen’s case, there are a few restrictions worth mentioning. Volkswagen says in the V6 Owner’s Manual not to use a Weight Distribution Hitch under any circumstances, as it may cause the towbar “to tear loose”.

You’re also supposed to keep your speed to 80km/h when towing, although you can go up to 100km/h in ‘exceptional cases’.

Not only does Volkswagen prohibit the ute of a WDH, in our case they also prohibit the use of an Electric Brake Controller (EBC). That is, under a global Volkswagen Group edict, no press vehicle is to be fitted with a non-genuine part. So, no Volkswagen Accessory EBC, no EBC on a press vehicle.

That left us with no choice but to use a caravan that had override brakes, which can only be legally fitted to caravans weighing less than 2000kg (only because at more than 2000kg Tare, a trailer must have brakes operable by the driver within reach of the driver’s seat).

We ended up with a 1700kg caravan behind the Amarok, which is a fair bit under the 3000kg maximum capacity (of which a maximum 300kg can go on the towball). Not ideal.

Even though it was not as heavy as we would’ve liked, the van was still a bluff, big box with four wheels on the ground that the Amarok needed to drag around. It would give us some indication of the V6’s comparative towing ability over a familiar towing-test loop.

The Amarok might be a load-carrier but when that load is just 100kg sitting out in the breeze (on the towball) it has a negative effect on ride: it was oscillating slightly over bumps, feeling as if the dampers had a small amount of travel in which they had little damping control. At least it felt planted on the road – not a single hint of sway or fore-aft pitching.

Up long, steep freeway hills the Amarok held 100km/h easily, although downhill engine braking was not as impressive; a relatively low-compression, high-revving diesel can’t offer the best compression braking in the world.

The Volkswagen redeemed itself a little with its steering mounted paddle shifters, which allowed a quick downshift or three to get some engine braking happening. It’s funny how a gearshift designed for Formula One has become a great feature for towing.

Verdict

The Amarok V6 TDI550 is a stable platform with plenty of power and torque to make it a relaxing tow vehicle. But at least in this case it lacks a cohesive ride (which might be fixed with a heavier towball load and/or a load in the tray).

Fuel economy was also acceptable, with fuel economy when cruising without a van behind it, averaging 9.2L/100km, and rising to 15.5L/100km when towing the 1700kg van.

2017 Volkswagen Amarok V6 TDI550 Ultimate

Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo-diesel

Output: 165kW/550Nm

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Fuel: 7.8L/100km (ADR Combined)

Towing: 3000kg, 300kg (towball)

Tow Test: Volkswagen Amarok V6

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