Volkswagen Amarok test drive since 2010 pickup

Volkswagen Amarok. Number 1

Volkswagen Amarok. Price: Not defined. On sale: Since August 2010

In the capital of Argentina, the release of VW Amarok of the first heavy pickup in the history of the German concern and the first such car designed in Europe began. To get acquainted with this model, we went to the other end of the globe

Test pilot
Maxim Fedorov, 32 years old, automobile journalist, driving experience 6 years, personal car - Ford Focus II

From Moscow to Buenos Aires almost 20 hours. Here, on the other side of the equator, all the scruff of the nurse-light. When we have winter, here is summer. Morning, and on the thermometer already plus 30! But the final point of our route lies south: from the capital of Argentina, we go to Patagonia, where at the foot of the Andes there is the town of Barilocha, the center of the reserve, which is a popular resting place for natives and visiting tourists from Chile and the USA. Less than an hour after take -off, the charter jet begins to decline, and a fantastic picture appears to the eye: the earth with a reddish tint, rare shrubs and majestic mountains rising to the sky. Upon arrival, we experience another effect of the southern hemisphere. Here is the warmest place north. And after the metropolitan heat, Barilocha seems to be a pole of cold. Behind the side there is only a plus ten!

At the exit from the airport we are met by a string of pickups with the VW emblem. The car looks very impressive and ... unusual. After all, before the German concern never made such cars! Maybe the Volkswagenovites are cunning that Amarok is designed from scratch, but in fact the basis for him was borrowed on the side? No wonder the novelty is so similar to Toyota Hilux. But if you put both cars nearby, it will become clear that this is not so. The German pickup has a different configuration of the frame and at the same time it is longer and much wider than the Japanese. What is Hilux! The dimensions of Amarok surpasses even a giant such as Nissan Navara!

But why is VW design a new platform on which a single car will be produced? Well, firstly, not one: next year, Amarok will appear with a single cab, and then SUV will be created on the same platform. We have such an SUV success: with large sizes and an indestructible frame structure, it will be much more accessible than Touareg. And secondly, Amarok was created not from scratch: VW has rich experience in designing frame cars, including 4x4 drives.

Yes, Amarok is not a Touareg: an oak plastic of the salon and the same oak chassis with a spring rear suspension give out the utilitarian essence of the model. But the brutal appearance, spacious interior and excellent cross -country ability of the pickup with more than pay off all its shortcomings. Amarok worked miracles on an off -road highway laid in the vicinity of Bariloca! Equipped with a transmission with a strictly connected all -wheel drive, lowering and blocking the rear differential (all this farm is activated by buttons near the KP lever), the pickup at idle rolled up the mountain with a 100%bias. Thanks to the Hill Hold Assistant system, you could stop on the slope and then calmly continue moving without a hint of rollback back. Another system, Hill Descent Assist, independently slowed down the wheels on the descent, allowing a whisper to move from the steep mountain without touching the pedals.

On the plain burned out by the sun, the pickup also did not hit the mud (more precisely in dust) face. Even without additional ballast in the back, which was on some test machines, he almost did not go crash. But as it turned out later, the ballast has nothing to do with it. Amarok can have two types of suspension: standard, with three -leaf rear springs, and tough, Heavy Duty, designed to be used to be used to the maximum, its springs are already consisted of five sheets. And since there were cars with both suspension types on the test to level their characteristics, an additional load was put into the body of the Heavy Duty version.

On the primer, the Off-Road ABS system, regularly installed on all versions of the pickupa, was tested. They don’t lie in the press release: it really allows you to reduce the braking distance in a slippery sand and gravel rut, where the usual anti-blocking grazes.

As a rule, the better the off -road qualities of the car, the worse it behaves on the roads with a good coating (if we are not talking about advanced models with air suspension). However, despite the cargo chassis, on the asphalt, Amarok behaves surprisingly with dignity. The pickup is steaming almost in light, and a two-liter biturbodiesel, which issues 163 liters. With. and 400 nm, it provides vigorous acceleration, just have time to sort through the gears of the 6 -speed manual transmission (the operating range of the motor is quite narrow).

Now, if there were still an automatic machine and a gasoline engine, so that in winter not to suffer with a launch in severe frost and not to sprinkle in traffic jams ... AKP will be assured, they assure VW. For markets such as Russia, where even pickup owners want to ride comfortably, they will release a version with an automatic transmission, though it will not appear earlier than next year. There will also be a gasoline engine: a turbocharged 2.0 TSI with a capacity of 160 liters. with., but only for versions with the rear -wheel drive. Well, for those for whom such a car is primarily a workhorse, they will offer a budget option with a 122 -liter turbodiesel. With.


Middle weight champion
In cargo capabilities, VW Amarok has no equal in the class of medium -sized pickups. A body with an area of \u200b\u200b2.52 m2 (1555 mm in length and 1620 mm in width) contains a standard European ward, and the distance between the wheel niches (1222 mm) allows you to put this pallet both along and across! The cargo, so that it does not erase the body, can be fixed with stretch marks, for which special eyes are provided in the corners of the platform. The maximum pickup load capacity is 1.15 tons, and in the presence of a rim, Amarok can pull a trailer weighing up to 2.8 tons along with it. At the same time, thanks to an impressive (3095 mm) wheelbase, there is enough space in the pickup cabin to accommodate five adult passengers.
 

We do not love
Removable towing loop is not the best solution for the SUV. In addition, there is only a place for it in front. Unknown

The modest size of the glove box compensates for the large box located on the central tunnel. Modestly


Driving
Amarok rushing off -road like a tank, and he steer, by cargo standards, with dignity.

Salon
There are enough space both in front and behind. But the quality of plastic is worse than in Polo.

Comfort
An empty pickup is shaking on the lane. On the highway to go comfortably up to 120 km/h further aerodynamic noises overlap the not quiet sound of the motor.

Safety
According to the Euro NCAP methodology, only 4 stars have been to blame for a hard frame.

Price
At the Toyota Hilux level, which means a little more expensive than Ford Ranger or Mitsubishi L200.


Advantages and disadvantages
+ Design, capacity of the salon and cargo compartment, a decent level of comfort, outstanding off -road qualities.
- cheap interior decoration, weak sound insulation, small glove box


Technical science characteristics
Mark and model - VW Amarok
Dimensions - 5254x1944x1834 mm
Engine - turbodiesel, 1968 cm3, 163 hp/4000 min -1
Transmission - MKP, 6 -speed
Dynamics - max181 km/h; 11.1 c to 100 km/h
Competitors - Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi L200, Mazda BT -50, Nissan Navara


Our opinion
The first pancake VW in the field of pickup release will be a lump in the throat of competitors. Experienced by classmates in dimensions, spaciousness and comfort and possessing impressive patency, Amarok has every chance of becoming a bestseller of the Russian pickup market, of course, subject to an adequate price. As we are promised, Amarok will be more expensive than Mitsubishi L200, but cheaper than Nissan Navara.


Author: Maxim Fedorov


 

Source: Magazine 5 wheel [April 2010]