Volkswagen Amarok vs Renault Trafic

What's the difference?

This is a very important ute if you’re Volkswagen Australia.

A lot of time and money has gone into making sure this, the 2026 VW Amarok W600 as engineered by Walkinshaw, is the ultimate driver’s ute. Not the best 4X4, but the best ute on the road. Sounds like an odd task, right?

It might be, but a couple of thousand people bought the last version of this ute, so why not try to make it better?

Over a long development period and a steady build-up, including previews at the former Holden proving ground at Lang Lang, Volkswagen has teased its ‘ultimate driver’s ute’.

Now, we get to put the production version to the test on the very roads that helped shape it during its development in Tasmania.

Australia’s mid-size (2.5-3.5 tonne GVM) commercial van market currently features nine brands competing for sales against Toyota’s staggeringly popular HiAce, which now represents almost 60 per cent of vehicles sold in this segment.

One of those competitors is the Renault Trafic which in 2026 brings a suite of technical upgrades designed to deliver enhanced economy, lower emissions, greater towing capacity and improved driver comfort and convenience.

With June approaching, traditionally the biggest month of the year for commercial vehicle sales, we recently spent a week in Renault’s latest offering to find out if it represents a compelling alternative to the HiAce for tradies and other commercial van users.