Life with a VW Amarok | Gerotek shakedown

Last week, we nosed our VW Amarok 2.0 TDI long-termer down the N14 for a customary shakedown at Gerotek testing facilities in Tshwane.

By now you are certainly familiar with our base, white double-cab, experienced in authentic workhorse specification. That includes a six-speed manual shifter, linked to the least powerful engine offered in the range: a 2.0-litre diesel with a single turbocharger. Buyers with a penchant for more can go for the twin-turbocharged iteration of the same displacement, or the 3.0-litre V6, also a turbocharged-diesel source.

Since taking delivery in October, our Amarok has seen its share of the country. December travels took it to Cape Town and Gqeberha.

And as a daily commuter, it has proven to be a pleasant companion, taking anxiety away from traversing crumbling roads, negotiating Johannesburg floods and, on occasion, easily mounting pavements where parking is limited.

In previous updates we had said that the base Amarok felt stout enough under hard acceleration, with sufficient torque to comfortably hold its own on the freeway. We thought we would get some numbers down for reference, using the main straight at Gerotek and the trusted VBOX testing equipment. After dispatching three 0-100km/h runs, the results were in close range: variations about 12 seconds. The best was 12.25 seconds, executed with the traction control deactivated. We had no expectations of the heavy double-cab being a sprinting champion. It is a motor geared for economy, steady pulling power and low-stress longevity.

My next stop at Gerotek was at the suspension track. It is a course that never fails to fascinate. It is a wide strip with three lanes – the outer two with fearsome layouts designed to test proper military vehicles. One obstacle is labelled as “waves” and resembles exactly that, concrete waves. It would probably split a bakkie in half, with the kind of axle articulation it induces.

No, we opted to keep the Amarok within intended operating parameters and stuck to the middle lane of the course. Which is no walk in the park either. The section evolves from corrugations, to simulated potholes, Belgian cobblestones and onto two stages of washboard surfaces. It provides a proper and literal shakedown.

Testing cars here over the years, it is always interesting how differently vehicles behave, some being more rattled than others, attesting to standards in build quality and integrity.

With double wishbones at the front supported by leaf springs at the rear and a traditional ladder-frame, the bakkie was designed for tough applications all day long. So it barely broke a sweat and its plump tyres added a further layer of comfort to proceedings. Happy to report that after two runs down the gruelling suspension track, no trim rattled loose and everything still feels as tidy as it did when we fetched the vehicle, new.

Last but not least, I headed off to the dynamic handling circuit, where group motoring editor Denis Droppa was exploring the competencies of Ford's Mustang Dark Horse. Once the circuit had been warmed-up by the American muscle car, I put down a leisurely lap in the Amarok (which is also rear-wheel drive); just to feel it out.

Modern double-cabs really have become polished to an almost car-like level. The Amarok (and its Ranger donor) are probably the best current examples of this evolution. Respectable body-control, steering that is not as vague as might be expected and a confident feel in and out of corners, it is a workhorse that can hustle its load in tidy fashion.

TEST LOGBOOK: LONG-TERM UPDATE 6 | VW Amarok 2.0 TDI manual
ODOMETER ON DELIVERY: 1,400km
CURRENT ODOMETER: 9,500km
PRAISES: Tough tests reveal real substance under the skin. 
GRIPES: Nothing really.
AVERAGE CONSUMPTION: 7.3l/100km