ONCE driving a pick-up conjured up the image of a builder or maybe a hill farmer more familiar with the needs of off road life with just the odd trip to the village.
Of course there’s more to a truck these days than extreme bricklaying or driving around Snowdonia with your sheepdog in a little Anderson shelter.
Double cabs have become recreational vehicles and daily transport for all sorts of people, not just those who speak fluent DIY SOS.
VW’s first real pick up, the Taro of the 1990s, was an unadulterated Hi Lux. For a first genuine in-house attempt at the roughneck commercial market and growing recreational demand the Amarok is pretty much on target.
Built in Buenos Aries and on sale in the Argentine two years ago, the load area is pampas-wide, the biggest available apparently and able to take a Euro pallet sideways which, if you are Bob the Builder, is pretty important stuff. So is being able to tow 2.8 tonnes if you have invested to launch a boat or haul a horsebox.
However, to succeed a modern pick-up must also have a level of interior refinement, the sort of fluffing which takes the Nissan Navara Outlaw to £35,000.
The Amarok Highline can only stretch to £28,000 but then it doesn’t have a thumping great V6 engine.
Indeed in comparison the 160bhp two-litre bi-turbo TDi 4Motion VW sounds particularly puny, but it’s not.
Hardly what you would call quick but good enough for a such big car, capable if a little noisy on the motorway and right and proper for a 4x4 expected to shed blood and tears for a living. You won’t weep at the pumps either.
And while the Highline has a good quality finish it has been chosen to last rather than pamper.
On the road it’s sheer size and weight means agility hardly threatens trouble for the Strictly judges, while the engine noise clearly defines it as leaning towards commercial as does the level of wind noise. Well you are piloting a mountain.
Good. Because compromise is a camel with wings, an animal with obvious drawbacks. For some tasks you must have a ship of the desert.
Take this beast off road and the fun begins. There is the option of 4Motion permanent four-wheel drive or manual selection.
Various ratios are all button selected and require driver knowlege and the right gears from the six-speed manual. It was born for the wild and attracts a lot of attention from people with a bad mud habit.
The Highline, has a lot to offer the serious off roader. All the locks and controls you could need along with luxuries like heated seats, climate control, parking sensors and plenty of cab storage.
There are alloys and head turning chrome body trim, too. The driving position is high and you won't miss a lot of what’s happening over the hedge.
Other fixtures and fittings include the expected host of acronyms associated with go-anywhere off road ability and includes off road ABS. No, it is different. You may notice ABS struggles on loose surfaces. This system accommodates that shortcoming.
As an artisan or son of the soil you probably would not want the ‘lifestyle’ Highline version but of your pick-up is for recreation and day to day commuting the extra equipment and comforts may the Amarok a serious contender in the heavyweight stakes.
FAST FACTS
Volkswagen Amarok
Price: £28,035
Mechanical: 160bhp, 1,968cc, 4cyl diesel engine driving four wheels via 6-speed manual gearbox
Max speed: 112mph
0-62mph: 11.1 seconds
Combined mpg: 35.8
Insurance group: 8
CO2 emissions: 209g/km
BIK rating: 34%
Warranty: 3yrs/100,000 miles