2017 Volkswagen Amarok TDI550 review - Long-term owner

Multimedia and safety technology: 7/10

A big reason why I bought this car over other dual-cab utes was due to the lack of intrusive safety tech. This car has no lane-keep assist, no blind-spot monitoring, no front camera for autonomous braking, and to be honest I love it. The multimedia is let down a little as the interior was designed in 2010, and only given a slight facelift in 2016, but Apple Carplay and Android Auto are still standard, so points there. The Bluetooth is used for both calls and music, and acts as a great backup when i dont want to plug the phone in for CarPlay.  

Practicality: 10/10

Being a dual-cab ute, practicality is always going to be incredible. I use this ute a lot for work, and being able to get a Euro pallet in the tray is incredible. The tub is a little shorter than I would have liked, carting motorbikes means dropping the tailgate. This could be fixed quite easily with a tray, though. The interior space is massive, and can find three adults in the back pretty well. The rear seats fold up too - making even more space in the rear of the cab. 

Driving: 9/10

I like to tell people that the Amarok drives like an SUV with a tub, which is a stark comparison to the truck-like HiLux. The all-wheel drive is one of the reasons to buy this car, it's incredible on and off road. The eight-speed ZF gearbox goes great - just make sure to service it. VW like to say it's 'sealed for life', but don't believe the marketing, as ZF themselves say it is not. The power the V6 puts down is easily enough, I've towed a two-tonne caravan to SA from eastern Victoria plenty of times with it and not once thought it lacked beans. I just wish the manual gearbox paired with the V6 was more common in these. The manual V6 came with selectable high and low range, which would make this even better offroad. 

Running costs: 6/10

The 2H model variant (2011-2022) is starting to get up there in age now, with a few V6 variants like mine starting to stray north of 200,000km. I think if you were to pay the dealer to service this car for you after warranty has ended, this maybe isn't the right car for you. Find a good Euro specialist or do the work yourself with the factory service manual and a good set of tools and you'll be golden. The V6 is known for coolant leaks in the valley of the engine, which can add cost really fast if going through the dealer. The plastic rocker covers like to leak oil too - so check those before buying. DPF issues are plentiful too - long highway burns are this things best friend. Great on fuel though! Country driving with a bullbar and standard wheels, I return about 8L/100km which I think is excellent considering the size of the thing. Towing a two-tonne van returns about 12L/100km for me.

Reliability: 7/10

I'm not sure reliability and German are words that ever get used in the same sentence. Look, all things considered if you buy a well looked after example, it'll treat you well. Steer well clear of anything with a patchy service history or badly done modifications. I've had very few issues with mine in the 40,000km I've owned it. I've learnt to live with very slight oil leaks and tiny coolant leaks, I mean the car has almost 200,000km on it now and is never going to be perfect. Biggest issue was a blown coolant hose that left me on the side of the highway, but plugged it back in, filled with coolant and away we went. Haven't had an issue since. Like any car, look after it and it'll look after you. There are certainly worse choices out there (looking at you, 2.2-litre Ranger). I absolutely love the Amarok to bits, and all other owners I've talked to have said the same. Get one with a good service history and you'll be smiling ear to ear.