After months of previews, sneak peeks, and leaky-faucet drips of information, Volkswagen’s all-new Amarok pickup truck has been fully unveiled. This foreign-market midsize truck won’t be sold in America—or, at least, it most likely won’t be—but it has an unlikely connection to our market: It was developed alongside the upcoming 2023 Ford Ranger.
What’s an Amarok?
The Amarok has been sold globally since 2010, and believe it or not, this new model marks only its second generation. While the original looked like a foreign-market pickup, meaning slightly narrow, tall, and with softer-edged SUV-like styling, the new Amarok goes for a properly trucky appearance. New C-shaped taillights, a beefier front-end look with squarer detailing, and bigger fender bulges around the tires help out in this regard.
No longer is the Amarok a knobby kneed, slab-sided thing—in part, this could be because it’s related mechanically to the made-for-insecure-America 2023 Ranger, a square-jawed, corn-fed rig that itself has been remade relative to its globally derived (and, like the old Amarok, somewhat softly styled) predecessor. We wouldn’t waste too much time, however, looking for any obvious visual connections between the Amarok’s sheetmetal and that of the new Ranger: While similarly proportioned, the two wear unique body panels with brand-specific stampings.
Like an Amarok
The new Amarok will be available, once again, in two-door regular and four-door crew cab styles, with rear- or four-wheel drive, plus a 4Motion all-wheel drive setup. Thanks to its Ranger connection, the Amarok has grown, by 3.8 inches in length (to 210.6 inches) and 6.8 inches in wheelbase (which swells to 128.7 inches—same as the Ranger). For those keen on taking their VW trucks deep off-road, the water-fording depth has increased from 19.7 inches to 31.5 inches, while the truck’s shorter overhangs are said to improve its approach and departure angles.
As befits this truck’s global intentions, the engine lineup is loaded with diesel offerings. Every powertrain is turbocharged, including the lone gas option that seems suspiciously similar to the Ranger’s four-cylinder: A 2.3-liter I-4 making 298 hp. Ditto the 10-speed automatic transmission, another parallel to the upcoming Ranger, though some other engines get six- or five-speed options. The rest of the engine lineup is diesel-fed, ranging from a 148-hp 2.0-liter I-4 to a 168-hp 2.0-liter in single-turbo configuration, plus a 201-hp twin-turbo 2.0-liter and a 238-hp diesel V-6.
These powertrains help lend the new Amarok up to 2,555 pounds of payload capacity and 7,716 pounds of towing capacity.
Where Are the Amarok and Ranger Noticeably Alike?
Peer inside the Volkswagen, and the look is vaguely similar to that of the new Ranger, with an upright center stack housing (at least on nicer models) a vertically oriented touchscreen. Look closer, and there are some obvious shared parts, including the shift knob, electronic parking brake switch, window switches, headlight controls, turn-signal and wiper stalks, and what appears to be Ford-like graining on the plastics.
VW has fitted some of its own specific wares, however, including the steering wheel, different air vent and gauge cluster designs, and switchgear below the central touchscreen, which all look slightly upmarket relative to the Ford’s bits. Buyers in various markets will be able to specify 8.0- or 12.0-inch digital gauge cluster displays, 10.0- or 12.0-inch touchscreens, and stuff like a Harman Kardon audio system, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, and other modern safety and convenience goodies.
Will we see the Amarok here in America? Likely not. Though VW execs have openly discussed the idea of adding a pickup to the brand’s U.S. lineup, chances are good that they’re thinking of a unibody truck like Honda’s Ridgeline, a compact offering, or some combination of the two that happens to be electric and based on VW’s EV platform. The new Amarok, meanwhile, will be built in South Africa and sold in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Keyword: Ranger Danger: New, Ford-Based Volkswagen Amarok Pickup Is Finally Revealed