Life with a VW Amarok | Clocking 3,700km across SA

The neighbours could probably hear the thud as my shin made contact with our Volkswagen Amarok’s tow bar in the early morning hours.

In the heat of hustling luggage down the stairs and into the vehicle’s loading area, I had completely forgotten about the presence of the sturdy appendage.   

Luckily, the day could only get better as we chugged towards the freeway for a lengthy haul to Strand in the Western Cape, then Gqeberha and back to Johannesburg.

With a full tank, the white 2.0 TDI was gently nosed onto the N1 on-ramp, where it would chug along for many hours. We hit the road just before 2am but the silly season congestion was still brewing noticeably. Crossing Verkeerdevlei toll plaza in the Free State, there was a stream of headlights bearing down the rear-view mirror.

Fully laden Toyota Fortuners and other SUVs tugging trailers, piloted aggressively as if trying to seize the gaps in morning traffic on Winnie Mandela Drive. So tiresome to witness. As for me, it was a sedate pace between 80km/h and 100km/h. Slow and steady wins the race.

An easy pace and steady consistency also translate into superior fuel economy. The Amarok's cluster data was reset before the journey and its consumption figure had settled about the 6.2l/100km during the first leg of the shift. A decrease from the combined average of 7.8l/100km. 

Early in the trip, a shortcoming of the vehicle's interface became clear. Whereas the related Ford Ranger retains physical buttons for fan and temperature adjustment, the Amarok requires that its user access those functions via the screen. It became a bit tricky switching between demister and adjusting climate settings through the varying ambient temperatures of early morning driving.

Another ergonomic quirk to get accustomed to was revealed much later in the day. Enthusiastic shifts from fifth to fourth for expedient overtaking had me knocking my elbow into the large centre storage box which doubles as an armrest.

The Amarok proved to be comfortable with plump rubber and a well-tuned suspension delivering pleasant road manners supported by excellent cabin insulation. We should not forget that the bakkie it shares an identity with has a few trophies in the cabinet, lauded for overall refinement and elevating expectations of a commercial vehicle.

But even despite the easy-going nature of the double-cab, my fatigue levels began to rise about an hour after a stop in Colesberg. Too tired to push ahead until Beaufort West, I took a break in Three Sisters and caught a 20-minute nap. Much better than trying to soldier on and fight through the tiredness.

It gave me the recharge needed to push ahead. Eventually, as the sun began to set, my destination in Somerset West had been reached. The on-board computer showed a distance of 1,428km, covered in 17 hours and 32 minutes. Average consumption read 6.7l/100km.

The next leg of the journey from Strand to Gqeberha was a lot more enjoyable, especially with the stunning N2 Garden Route scenery to please the eyes. By contrast to the 1,400km+ slog to Cape Town, this 704km journey felt like a stroll to the shops. In Nelson Mandela Bay, the Amarok looked at home with its EC registration plates. Hauling back to Johannesburg before the Christmas rush, our Volkswagen maintained its sub-7l/100km average diesel consumption.

After taking its bay in our Parktown offices 3,700km later, the trip computer showed 6.9l/100km. Now, back to the routine of the daily grind, we expect those figures to creep back towards the high 7l/100km region. We still have a few months left with our Amarok and look forward to putting its off-road and workhorse capabilities to the test. For now, we can happily confirm that it fares nicely as a cross-country hauler.  


LONG-TERM UPDATE 4 | VW Amarok 2.0 TDI manual
ODOMETER ON DELIVERY: 1,400km
CURRENT ODOMETER: 7,400km
PRAISES: An easy-going, frugal companion on the open road.
GRIPES: We wish our Amarok had physical buttons for climate control temperature and fan speed.
AVERAGE CONSUMPTION: 6.9l/100km