GRR Garage: Volkswagen Amarok – first thoughts

Obviously moving from a teeny tiny little sportscar to a 2.2-tonne pick-up takes some adjusting to. But the first thing that hits you when you drive the Amarok is how Volkswagen have managed to make it feel much smaller.

There’s no denying that you’re sat towering above all the other traffic – Ranger Rover? Puny – but without that heightened viewpoint there really wouldn’t be much to let you know there’s anything different (until you have to park it).

The interior is standard Volkswagen cars fare, a nice and easy to use infotainment system, 14-way adjustable seats (heated), climate control etc. But with the odd bit of rugged-ness added in. So some of the plastics are a little more hard wearing than you might expect in a Golf or a Passat.

But when behind the wheel I all feels remarkably car-like. The steering is light, perhaps a teeny bit too light, but has more feel than you would expect for such lightness when there’s about eight feet of linkage before you are connected to the wheels. Ride has plenty of roll, but no more than you might expect from a family SUV, and it would be weird if it didn’t roll considering the ride height…

The engine is an absolute masterpiece, we’ll spend much more time dwelling on it as the weeks go by, but as a quick first thought we’ll just pause on how something this big can hit 60mph in just eight seconds… stick your foot down and you are away with speed that is guaranteed to shock those around you. Due to that roll and the height the Amarok lurches backwards when you floor it, using all 580Nm of torque as it heaves 2.2 tonnes into action, accelerating in the Amarok is almost more a theatrical performance than motoring performance. But by god is it effective.

We’ll have plenty more to come over the next few months, and will hopefully find somewhere a little more off-roady to take it soon…

MPG this week: 29.8.