The sun is setting on the first-generation Amarok ute, and Volkswagen Australia has revealed 90 per cent of sales of the outgoing ute were for the punchy turbo-diesel V6 – but don’t expect the second-generation Amarok V6 to be as popular as its predecessor.
That’s according to Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles director Ryan Davies, who told CarsGuide the top-spec engine will still be popular, but won’t quite reach the heights in terms of percentage mix compared to the first-gen Amarok.
“We grew to 90 per cent over the period. We don’t see that we’re going to be quite 90 per cent with the new one,” he said.
“We definitely think it’s going to continue to be our bread and butter because that’s what customers have told us they want.
“That’s why we’ve specced the car the way we’ve specced it – that’s what the Australian consumer wants, but what the finite level of the mix still remains to be seen, but I will say it will be less than 90 per cent, but it certainly won’t be far off it.”
The outgoing Amarok V6 made use of a Volkswagen-sourced 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6, which ended up making 190kW (200kW on overboost)/580Nm in its final form in variants such as the Walkinshaw-tuned W580SE.
However, for its second outing, the VW Amarok will share its V6 with the Ford Ranger (as it shares the same underpinnings), and punches out 184kW/600Nm.
This makes it much more potent than four-cylinder rivals from Toyota, Mazda, Isuzu, Mitsubishi and Nissan.
The new V6 will be available across the Style, PanAmericana and Aventura grades of the new Amarok that is launching in April next year.
In the Ranger, the most affordable option for the turbo-diesel V6 is the XLT grade priced from $63,290 before on-road costs, while the engine is also available on the Sport ($67,690) and Wildtrak ($71,190) – which could give an indication of the starting price for the trio of V6-powered Amarok utes.
And while the new-gen V6 is expected to still be the most popular powertrain choice overall, the introduction of a 2.3-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder version could prove to be unexpectedly prevalent.
“When we first announced that engine (2.3-litre petrol), we were a bit surprised by the interest that seemed to bubble to the top immediately – so much so that we may have under-called the mix to start with, but that’s something we can quickly look at,” Mr Davies said.
“In our mindset, we’ve become accustomed to working in a pick-up segment that is being diesel dominated for decades, and the reason it’s diesel dominated is because people like to tow and they like to have torque.
“As far as I’m aware, that mindset hasn’t shifted dramatically in the last few years.
“We’re appealing to different buyers. It’s got a lot of power that engine, and I think there’ll be a lot of interest in it.”
Like the turbo-diesel V6, the 2.3-litre petrol engine will be sourced from Ford, and produces a sizeable 222kW/454Nm.
And the Amarok will stand apart from the Ranger in offering the smaller-capacity petrol option in its ute line-up, while the only petrol-powered Ford pick-up is the flagship Raptor with a 292kW/583Nm 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6.
As for the rest of the engines available across the 2023 Amarok line-up, there will also be a 125kW/405Nm 2.0-litre turbo diesel and a 154kW/500Nm 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel.
Keyword: Don't expect the 2023 Amarok V6 to be as popular as the first-gen ute: Volkswagen