SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.
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*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.


We attended the world launch of Volkswagen's Amarok single cab pickups in the Eastern Cape.

This is a launch report. In other words, it's simply a new model announcement. The driving experience was limited to a short drive over a prepared course chosen to make the product look good. We can therefore not tell you what it will be like to live with over an extended period, how economical it is, or how reliable it will be. A very brief first impression is all we can give you until such time as we get an actual test unit for trial. Thank you for your patience.

Pics supplied by manufacturer

Load-carrying kings of the wilderness

Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday July 13, 2011

Amarok is an Inuit word meaning 'Wolf', the animal we know from the classic tale of White Fang to be the king of the wilderness, so Volkswagen set out to show the world that its off-road pickup is more than just a recreational toy. The high riding single-cab commercial versions released recently can carry a decent load across uncharted territory as well. A selection of South African journalists, three more from specialist 4x4 magazines in Germany and a pair of technical and marketing managers from Head Office were on hand to be part of the occasion.

To complement the four double-cabs released last year, VW has brought six single cab variants to market: 90 kW 'Basic', 90 kW 'Trendline' and 120 kW 'Trendline' versions are each offered in 4x2 and 4Motion configurations. A pair of 4x2, two-litre petrol versions developing 118 kW of power and 300 Nm of torque, in Basic and Trendline trims, is expected during September.

Six-speed manual transmissions are fitted across the range, with sixth being an overdrive ratio to ensure fuel efficient and relaxed cruising on the open road. A gearshift indicator in the instrument display cues up- or downshifts at optimised engine operating speeds and loads. All 4Motion Amaroks feature electronically selectable low range.

This pickup is a 'cab-and-a-third' design with quite generous storage space behind the seats and a load bin claimed by VWSA to be the biggest in its class. Specifically, it is 2205 mm long, 1620 mm wide (1222 mm between wheel housings) and 508 mm deep. Loading sill height is 780 mm and bin area is given as 3,57 m2. Payload varies between 1225 and 1354 kg, depending on model and all boast a braked towing capacity of 2800 kg on gradients up to 12 percent.

Standard equipment on 'Basic' models mainly intended for fleet use, includes 16-inch steel wheels fitted with 205 R16C tyres, all the usual electronic driver aids and some you hadn’t thought of, underbody engine and transmission protection, tow hitch preparation, high level brake light with load box illumination, driver's airbag, height adjustable driver and passenger seats, height and reach adjustment for steering wheel and rubber floor covering.

Trendline versions gain “Taruma” alloy wheels fitted with 245/70 R 16 tyres, anti-theft wheel nuts, rear differential lock, colour-coded front bumper, passenger airbag with de-activation switch, alarm system, remote central locking, electrically adjustable side mirrors, power windows, radio and CD player, climate control air conditioner, leather steering wheel, gearshift knob and handbrake handle, steel rear bumper with step, front fog lights, multi-function display and on-board computer and cruise control.

Optional on both trim levels is an electronic stabilisation program (ESP) with hydraulic brake assist, hill start assist and descent control, trailer stabilisation, load sensing and roll over protection. Double-cab versions already have a four-star EuroNCAP rating, so the single cab design is expected to equal that.

We don’t often see these things mentioned in descriptions of pickups so cannot say whether they are common or not, but… The ladder frame chassis incorporates crash impact structures aimed at providing protection for occupants in the event of severe frontal or side collisions. Sill enhancements, impact absorbers and safety padding in the door structures further improve protection levels. An energy absorbing structure in the footwell area assists in protecting occupants' feet and legs while the safety cell cab fulfils strict US requirements for minimal roof indentation in the event of a rollover.

There is a foam element in the front bumper to absorb impact energy and provide some protection for pedestrians’ hips and legs, while the bonnet is designed to minimise head injuries. Wipers are covered, when not in use, by the rear edge of the bonnet for the same reason.

Launch model engines are the familiar 2.0-litre turbodiesel developing either 90 kW at 3750 rpm and 340 Nm of torque between 1750 and 2250 rpm, or 120 kW at 4000 rpm and 400 Nm between 1500 and 2000 rpm. Sprint times vary between 10,5 seconds for the 120 kW 4x2 and 13,4 seconds for the 90 kW 4Motion versions. Euro test average fuel consumption ranges from 7,6 to 7,9 litres per 100 km.

Volkswagen SA sponsors an anti-poaching unit for protection of rhino, so it was arranged that the off-road drive included ranger trails in a wildlife conservation area usually closed to the public. Just to make it interesting, each single-cab was loaded with a DIN-sized pallet packed with a dozen 50 kg bags of cement, firmly shrink wrapped and lashed securely to the six hooks provided in the bin. Despite being slightly nose-up and back-droopy as a result, the Amaroks acquitted themselves well over a fairly demanding course. This is probably a good point at which to mention that the Wrangler AT tyres for the launch vehicles, VW staff double-cabs and the backup Touareg, were all sponsored by Goodyear SA for the occasion.

The details

Prices:
Basic 90 kW 4x2: R205 500
Basic 90 kW 4x4: R257 400
Trendline 90 kW 4x2: R265 800
Trendline 90 kW 4x4: R313 700
Trendline 120 kW 4x2: R287 100
Trendline 120 kW 4x4: R335 000
Engines, performance and economy: See text
Fuel: 50-ppm diesel preferred but 500-ppm can be used
Tank: 80 litres
Ground clearances: 249 to 265 mm
Approach/departure/rampover angles: 28/23,6/21,4 degrees
Wading depth: 500 mm
Warranty: 3 years/100 000 km
Service plan: 5 years/90 000 km (15 000 km intervals)

 For the double-cab launch, click here

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.

What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

My articles appear every Wednesday in the motoring pages of The Witness, South Africa's oldest continuously running newspaper, and occasionally on Saturdays in Weekend Witness as well. I drive eight to ten vehicles most months of the year (press cars are withdrawn over the festive season - wonder why?) so not everything gets published in the paper. Those that are, get a tagline but the rest is virgin, unpublished and unedited by the political-correctness police. Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so I do actually exist.

I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax.
So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!

Comments?
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