The Volkswagen Amarok has been around for some time. It’s not the first pickup by Volkswagen. They already had the Taro, which was nothing more than a rebadged Hilux. My cameraman knew. That wasn’t a great attempt. This is a completely unique development. It was introduced in 2010/2011. It got a facelift in 2016. The outer changes were minimal. The most important difference lies under the hood. It has a V6 instead of 4-cylinder TDI engines.This includes Europe. The Amarok is available worldwide. It’s bumpy here, as you may tell from my voice. That’s a disadvantage with a car like this, a pickup with rear leaf springs. It needs to be able to carry or tow a lot of weight, so the rear suspension is rather stiff. It’s bumpy in the polder. There are always little things. Anyway, I was talking about the engines. There was a 2-liter TDI in different flavors before the facelift. After the facelift, there were only V6 TDIs in different flavors. It’s a nice engine. It sounds good and it has a lot of torque. The Amarok always has all-wheel drive. Again, in Europe. We do get to choose a manual or automatic transmission, though. ENGINES diesel, diesel In the Netherlands you’ll prefer driving the Amarok with commercial license plates. You won’t have to pay vehicle tax or VAT and the road tax is lower.However, to meet those requirements there are limitations on cargo space and the number of seats. This is a system of communicating vessels. This is a 5-seater Amarok with a short bed. This car has private license plates, so you’ll have to pay all the taxes. However, the bed can be lengthened. This is done locally in the Netherlands. With this you’re allowed to have a 5-seater with commercial license plates. You can also choose an Amarok with a short bed and no rear seats. The latter is cargo space. I understand, it’s confusing sometimes. Over 60 Amaroks are for sale on AutoTrack.nl. All have diesel engines and all-wheel drive because that’s the only European version. There is a choice between an automatic or manual transmission. Three quarters has an automatic transmission. That’s a lot. The prices show a wide range. New cars are for sale for 60,000 euros. The cheapest car is 15,000 euros. They’re work trucks and some show it. They’ve been used well.PRICES minimum, maximum The rivals are, I think, the Dodge Ram, Ford F150, Nissan Navara… What else? The Ford Ranger is a bit exotic in the Netherlands. There are other
cars that match the criteria. For off-roading you could consider other SUVs. I don’t see the Volkswagen Tiguan as a rival. This car is way cooler. The things to watch out for. Amaroks are robust cars. There is a thing to watch out for with a powertrain. That’s an understatement. Let’s start with the other stuff. The body. There have been complaints about the paint. It’s nothing specific, but you’re going to check for strange things on the body anyway. With a pickup you should check the bed. Stuff has been thrown in there. The bed has a coating all around, but it can be damaged. You want to take a look at that.With off-roaders you always check underneath for strange damages. Most won’t have been taken off-road. This car has street tires, so you won’t get very far in rough terrain. It may have been on some grass. There’s one thing to watch out for with the interior. This car doesn’t have that problem because it’s not included. There have been complaints that the sunglasses holder can break off. This car has a block heater. Lovely in winter. It sits on the panel that would have the sunglasses holder. When you press it, it shouldn’t fall out. The suspension. Look for off-road damages. You may hear some squeaking and rattling from the rear. The leaf springs have rubber bushings. These can wear. You could open the window and drive over a speed bump to listen for strange sounds.There’s one major thing to watch out for with the powertrain. The 178 hp 2-liter TDI is a problem engine. Not just in the Amarok, but Transporters as well. It’s a bi-turbo TDI. These engines can burn a lot of oil. The bottom grooves aren’t powerful enough and wear. This damages the cylinder wall. Also, the EGR cooler is made of the wrong materials, causing corrosion. Metal particles can get into the engine, causing more wear. These two things combined… Horror stories can be found about this.Let me merge. Lovely V6 power. Another reason to choose a V6 TDI. I can’t check the validity of these horror stories, but people claim to do 1L/70km (165 mpg). That’s not diesel, but oil. The engine is essentially total loss. There are overhaul options, but those are expensive. Many engines have been swapped under warranty. This doesn’t make you happy, so it’s something to watch out for with the 178 hp 2-liter TDI. Up to model year 2012/2013. Let me get the engine code while waiting at the traffic lights. The engine code is CFCA. This is
important to keep an eye on. It’s a real problem engine. A number of things for the powertrain. The manual transmission. Again, there were problems with it in the early model years. It starts with reverse gear being difficult to engage. Check if it still goes smoothly. Another thing for the manual transmission is the clutch. These cars are used off-road and have to carry or tow a lot of weight. These things cause the clutch to wear. The clutch is a wear part, but things happen when parking a heavy trailer and you’re not careful.Check if it engages smoothly without vibrating or slipping. You can test it by putting it into fourth or fifth gear, release the clutch, and go full throttle. There’s a problem if you hear the clutch slip and you can tell by looking at the tachometer. Another problem that can happen with the clutch is a defective slave cylinder. It’ll be as if the clutch has a will of its own. When you engage or release the clutch, it lags behind. It’s not parallel to your expectations. This can be difficult to pinpoint, but it’ll be obvious when it gets worse. It’s like you need driving lessons. These are things to watch out for with the manual transmission. Related to wear or not. This well-optioned car is a pretty dark gray. We found it at Ames Bedrijfswagens in Zwijndrecht.They can do the conversion to commercial license plates, lengthening the bed. They also convert Transporters, Caddys, and Crafters. It’s a nice car. The V6 is a lovely engine. THIS CAR If you’re looking for a second-hand car and want our help, or if your company has a nice car for sale of which we may shoot a video, please send an e-mail to tips@autoblog.nl Subtitles – Maru’s Text Support .
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