I haven't driven one but one of my companions bought one recently and towed a 4+ m tinny fully loaded into steep point in may.  No dramas..  He is very happy with it.

To day we got a price for a new side mirror on a VW commercial van that got broken, $770. Last week we had a gearbox blow, oil all over the ground. That's the second we've had. Small faults but parts have to come from Germany, taking months. Personally I wouldn't touch anything with the letters VW on it.

 Hi mate,

 I have a second hand Amarok, had for almost a year which I am very happy with. The fuel economy is very good and tows my 5.2 ally no dramas mainly in 6th gear. I have the manual 6 speed box which has 4H and 4L with rear diff lock as standard. You are referring to the 8 speed auto which has no 4L but with eight gears 1st and 2nd are very low ratio.

Ground clearance on par with other modern utes not as good for example as the 99 Hilux I owned previously. Went well on the beach in Esperance with stock tyres, although the sand very hard the access over dunes is soft, let my tyres down and did it easy.

Type AusAmarok into google dedicated forum which should answer all your questions. 

Rgds Brydon

Small engine that works fairly hard ! Much more impressed with the Ranger and good old Hilux

I wasn't a fan of the 2l. Bought a bt50. and id buy another. I have heard of a lot of probs with the amarok.I don't know how true they are but ive heard of a lot from different people.

Surely you can't go past the unbreakable Hilux! I have the latest model SR5 dual cab and I love it. Good ground clearance and goes very well in the sand dunes and beach even with stocky tyres on it.

The only thing I can fault is that the Hilux can only legally tow 2.5 ton, not sure about the Amarok. I think the BT50/Ranger can tow 3.5 ton which is impressive.

Yes as norun nofun said,  small engine that has to work really hard. 

I've heard a few stories of them having overheating issues because  this. 

I just  got the latest 2014 holden colorado which compared to the 2013 has the updated engine, gearbox, mylink system aswell as a few other things

Can't beat 500nm of torque and 3.5t towing :p

 If Money isn't an issue though then the ford ranger might be a goer imo. 

 Interesting the comparisons between amorok and colarado.  We had one of each drive into steep point.  Dual cab amorok towed a fully loaded tinny, colarado single cab ute towed a fullo loaded trailer.  Neither had any problems.  Both about the same fuel consumption which was very low (diesel)

You can argue until you are blue in the face which ute does what best, I have an Amarok and think it's the best. One of my work colleauges has a Ranger that he thinks is best. My mate has a Navara etc etc

If you are commiting big $$$ on a car, go to Wangara or somewhere where all the dealerships are and take the various models for a test drive. If someone else will be driving the ute  ie. your Mrs, make sure she likes it as well, this is an important point!!

I did a lot of research and narrowd it down, I liked the way the Amarok drove and got a good deal on a near new pre-owned model. The 5 star ANCAP rating was important to me ferrying around two small kids. Also I did a lot of research and yes they are not problem free, no cars are, but not so much as to put me off. I have had no dramas and my neighbours mate has two for his business, he had one and liked it so bought another.

The overheating issues is a new one to me and I have been a member of the AusAmarok forum for over a year. They have a 3 Tonne towing capacity.

As for the engine having to work really hard beacause it's smaller, I would say it works more efficiently than 'really hard', I had to hammer my trusty old 3.0D hilux towing the boat, whereas the new ute tows it very easily without having to over-rev. Like I said I tow in 6th gear mainly at 100k's doing about 1600RPM. Get about 12.L/100km towing like this. ITs pretty good for a 2L making 420Nm and 132kW.

Plenty of models and deals around, go for a look around the dealerships and do your research and don't be sucked in by the salesmans pitch!!

Happy hunting,

Brydon

 My mother in law owns a 2010 VW golf, it's now on it's 4th motor. The motor packs it in (I'm not mechanically minded and don't know the specifics) and it gets replaced no questions asked by VW. Good on VW for replacing the dud motor each time (while it's in warranty) but that's more then enough for me to never even consider getting a VW. Just my opinion by the way, and like Brydon said, they all have there problems

 Towed one with blown gearbox and 4000 on the clock 

because I've mostly had hilux's, but I still cant get past the fact that the amorok's are only a 2L engine. how the bejesus a 2L motor can legally tow 3 tonne is beyond me, but there ya go.

a good mate at work has one, and it has a very nice interior and drives well on the road, although he reckons even though he's only had it 15 months or so, he's looking at going back to a Toyota, and reckons he's already going to take a hit on the resale value of the VW.

Thought I would Google for some specs on the Amorok. But what came up was a surprise. Quote "Volkswagen recalls 2.6m vehicles over gearbox, electrical issues
Volkswagen Group is recalling approximately 2.6 million vehicles around the world over three safety issues relating to the cars' dual-clutch transmissions, fuel pipes and electric systems. Volkswagen says electric malfunctions may occur in the power supply of its DQ200 seven-speed dual-clutch DSG automatic transmission if synthetic oil is used, and has recommended customers use mineral oil instead..."
The towing spec says it can tow 2.8 tonne braked.

http://www.caradvice.com.au/258846/volkswagen-amarok-review-tdi420/

Some interesting reviews with high ratings, but feed back comments give a very low score mark.

The amarok has twin turbo's for a reason. The second turbo keeps the torque up when needed - a small engine working hard imo. Personally , I would rather a larger capacity engine that is under less strain.

 I'm no mechanic or engineer, but I have always wondered what has the capacity of the cylinders has got to do with the durability or strength of an engine?

Surely the crank and bottom end are the parts that take the stress. Can someone enlighten me.

 Previously being a carsalesman, feedback on the Amarok is that it is fabulous for on road driving and a bit lacking for 4wd. I sold toyotas in Albany so most 4wd drives brought down here were for farmers...so genuine 4wding and Toyotas biggest competition to the Hilux was the Dmax. The only vehicles getting real negative feedback was probably the Navara and the Colorado at the time (Colorado has since been updated with engine and towing capacity). With towing capacities the Hilux is an unconditional 2.5 tonne capacity (meaning it doesn't matter what weight is in the cab or tray - you can still legally tow a 2.5 tonne trailer/boat etc. The wording of up to 3 tonne means legally you need to consider GCM (weight within cab, tray and trailer), but 3.5 tonne towing capacity is appealing if you are going to be towing. 

Also with the poor diesel quality in Australia I suggest putting in a secondary fuel filter no matter the brand of car, because the common rail turbo diesels are not as tolerant to dirty fuel like the older diesels or turbo diesels. New injectors is a costly exercise if it occurs outside the vehicle warranty.

 Get a Isuzu Dmax, great ute.

There really isn't a huuuge difference between hilux, colorado, bt50, ranger, amarok, Dmax and  triton........ But  then there's great wall,  ssangyong and foton

Hi Sarcasm0,

The whole towing in 6th was something I was not really bothered about. I will use 4th, 5th or 6th depending on gradient, need to overtake etc. My understanding was 'overdrive' was used in older vehicles, essentially an extra gear mounted externally to the main gearbox therefore was inherently weaker than the other 4 gears, as far as I know there is no directive from modern manufactueres not to tow in top gear. However I will find out for sure as I don't want any dramas.

Be interested to hear peoples views about towing in top gear with modern utes.

The recalls, my ute has been in for fitting of redesigned timing belt cover and modifications to fuel lines. As far as I know the electrical issues and double clutch recalls are for other vehicles in VW range. Not having a good run are they, but at least they are fixing the faults.

I have an Amarok Highline and cant rate it highly enough. 30000km in 18 months. Replaced a NT Pajero with the Amarok. Tows 2.5T without to much trouble, I tow in Drive unless going up steep hills, hold speed well and good on fuel. Plenty of power but you will notice the weight going up steep hills, will still hold 80km up some of the steepest hills here in Sydney. Does rev but nothing more then my Navara did. Out of all the utes on the market IMHO the Amarok is the most comfortable to drive and is more like a car then a ute. Great on fuel getting 8's around town and even with the boat on the back getting 15's, ass end does not sag at all. I have not been out 4x4 in it as I only use it for towing and carting rubbish to the tip. Get one out for a test drive as you wont be dissapointed. My next car will be another Amarok or Touareg. Cheers