"There was a time when the pickup truck was the battered and mud spattered companion of the farmer or small builder. Not to mention those good old boys from across the pond. VAT loopholes and new improved spec saw its "
Amarok: VW’s sexy new pickup
OK, ‘Sexy’ and ‘pickup’ might not be two words that you would naturally put together (unless you’re a plaid-wearing good old boy from Oklahoma that is), but we are immediately impressed wit the first official images of the new veedub truck the Amarok.
Available as a four-door double cab version from launch with a single cab model to follow in 2011, the Amarok combines the robustness of a pick-up with innovative technology, high safety standards, excellent fuel economy and Volkswagen usual standards of comfort, quality and durability.
As you can see the frontal styling is broadly in line with the latest Transporter and Golf and press releases tell us that the ladder frame chassis will be offered with a choice of rear-wheel drive and switchable or permanent 4MOTION all-wheel drive.
There’ll be an impressive fleet of tech available: including a six-speed manual transmission – and ir and will have impressive fuel economy with low emissions to make the Amarok the first all-wheel drive pick-up in this class offering CO2 emissions of less than 200 g/km. Like the new Transporter and Caravelle, the Amarok will have a gearchange indicator to help drivers achieve the best fuel economy – and with an 80-litre fuel tank it should offer a range of over 600 miles.
If you like on-the-limit tarmac action then stick to the Golf, of course, but for the family man who likes to get dirty and at the weekend as well as lugging tools for the day-job, we think the Amarok looks a lot more appealing than the Japanese competition.
Check out the pseudo Baywatch promo (below). All that’s missing is the Hof!
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