Volkswagen has outlined specifications for the new Amarok – model-by-model – ahead of showroom arrivals in early 2023.
0- 2023 Volkswagen Amarok specifications for Australia
- Five models: Amarok, Life, Style, PanAmerica, Adventure
- Four turbo engine options: two four-cylinder diesels, one V6 diesel and one four-cylinder petrol
- Engines have same outputs as the shared Ford Ranger – but manual gearbox available, unlike Ranger
- Four-cylinder diesels available on three base grades, V6 diesel is available on three highest grades, four-cylinder petrol on top model
- Prices to be announced later this year
Specifications for the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok have been released for Australia ahead of local showroom arrivals early next year.
Volkswagen dealers have today received detailed specification charts to help customers place reservations for the new Amarok well ahead of launch.
Customer orders placed today for a 2023 Volkswagen Amarok in Australia will be “pending price and test drive”, which means buyers can back out of the deal if needed.
“Since the Amarok was globally revealed four weeks ago, Volkswagen dealers have been beset by inquiries and customers attempt on placing deposits,” Volkswagen Australia Commercial Vehicles Director Ryan Davies said in a media statement.
Many Ford Ranger customers are also considering the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok – given both vehicles are twins under the skin and share the same mechanicals and capability, but have different designs and certain unique features.
The second-generation Volkswagen Amarok was jointly developed with Ford – and is built on the Ford Ranger production line in South Africa. Australia-bound Ford Rangers are sourced from Thailand.
Given the lengthy delays already being reported for the new-generation Ford Ranger, some customers in the queue are weighing up making the switch to a new Volkswagen Amarok.
Information shared with Volkswagen dealers in Australia today – and confirmed by the company as being accurate – show there will initially be five model grades.
The new models are listed as Amarok, Life, Style, PanAmerica, and Aventura.
There are four engine options: single-turbo 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel (125kW/405Nm), a twin-turbo 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel (154kW/500Nm), a single-turbo 3.0-litre V6 diesel (184kW /600Nm), and a single-turbo 2.3-liter four-cylinder petrol (222kW/452Nm).
The single-turbo 2.0-liter diesel is available with a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission.
The twin-turbo 2.0-liter diesel and single-turbo 3.0-liter V6 diesel are available with 10-speed automatic transmissions, however the four-cylinder has part-time four-wheel-drive hardware, whereas the V6 has full-time four -wheel-drive hardware.
The single-turbo 2.3-liter petrol is backed by a 10-speed automatic and permanent four-wheel-drive hardware.
All transmission options now have low-range modes, which was absent on the original Volkswagen Amarok.
There are six driving modes: Normal, Eco, Slippery, Snow/Sand, Mud/Rut, Tow/Haul.
One manual transmission variant will be available on the base Amarok grade, while the Ford Ranger line-up is now automatic only.
The four-cylinder diesel engines are available on the three base grades (Amarok, Life and Style), while the V6 diesel is available on the three highest grades (Style, PanAmerica, and Aventura).
The single-turbo 2.3-liter four-cylinder petrol engine is available only on the flagship Aventura.
Most variants of the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok range come with a full suite of safety systems – including a center airbag and crash avoidance systems – marking a pole vault leap in technology compared to the original Volkswagen Amarok.
However, conspicuous by its absence: blind zone waring and rear cross-traffic alert are not available on the cheapest Volkswagen Amarok – even though this tech is standard on even the cheapest Isuzu D-Max, Mazda BT-50 and Ford Ranger utes.
And in the information shared so far, rear cross-traffic alert is not listed. We will update this story once we can clarify which models – if any – will have this helpful technology.
The absence of key safety tech on even the most basic Amarok is an unusual oversight given Volkswagen appears to be taking a premium position compared to the latest Ford Ranger; for example all models have LED headlights, whereas Ford perseveres with halogen lamps on its workhorse variants.
Australian prices for the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok are expected to be announced later this year – ahead of showroom arrivals early next year – but the details listed here will help customers place orders and compare features across rivals, including the new-generation Ford Ranger.
2023 Volkswagen Amarok model range
- Amarok 2.0-litre single-turbo diesel manual 4×4
- Amarok 2.0-litre single-turbo diesel auto 4×4
- Amarok Life 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel car 4×4
- Amarok Style 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel auto 4×4
- Amarok Style 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 diesel auto 4WD
- Amarok PanAmericana 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 diesel auto 4WD
- Amarok Aventura 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 diesel car 4WD
- Amarok Aventura 2.3-litre turbo petrol car 4WD
2023 Volkswagen Amarok standard features (base model):
- Single-turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel (125kW/405Nm) with six-speed manual or six-speed auto
- Part-time four-wheel-drive
- 17-inch alloy wheels
- Electric folding side mirrors
- LED headlights
- tail gate lock
- 10-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
- 8.0-inch digital instrument cluster
- AM/FMradio
- Four-speaker sound system
- Wireless phone charging
- Single-zone climate control (air conditioning)
- Six-way manual driver seat adjustment
- vinyl flooring
- Electric power steering
- Mechanical differential lock
- Emergency call function
- autonomous emergency braking
- Adaptive (radar) cruise control
- Lane-keep assist
- Eight airbags (including center and driver knee)
- Tire pressure monitors
- Rear-view camera
- Rear parking sensor
2023 Volkswagen Amarok Life adds, or replaces with (vs Amarok):
- Twin-turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel (154kW/500Nm) with 10-speed auto, part-time four-wheel-drive
- Body-coloured bumpers, mirror caps, door handles
- Six-speaker sound system
- Electronic parking brake
- LED fog lights
- Heating and puddle lamps for side mirrors
- Locking wheel nuts
- Power locking on tailgate
- Eight-way manual driver seat adjustment
- Rear privacy glass
- Leather-wrapped steering wheel and gear selector
- Front and rear floor mats
- carpet flooring
- Automatic headlights
- Rain-sensing wipers
- Front parking sensors
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Auto-dimming rear-view mirror
- Two front recovery hooks
2023 Volkswagen Amarok Style adds, or replaces with (vs Life):
- Twin-turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel (154kW/500Nm) with 10-speed auto, part-time four-wheel-drive
- Optional single-turbo 3.0-litre V6 diesel (184kW/600Nm) with 10-speed auto, permanent four-wheel-drive
- 18-inch alloy wheels
- Matrix LED headlights
- 12-inch infotainment touchscreen
- In-built satellite navigation
- 12-inch digital instrument cluster
- 10-way power-adjustable driver’s seat
- Eight-way manually-adjustable front passenger seat
- ‘Premium’ cloth upholstery
- Dual-zone auto climate control (air conditioning)
- Sensor key entry and push-button start
- ambient interior lighting
- Chrome rear bumper
- Drop-in tray-liner
- sports bar
- Insulating windscreen
- Ambient cabin lighting
- Thatcham alarm system
- 360-degree camera
- Automatic park assist
2023 Volkswagen Amarok PanAmerica adds, or replaces with (vs Style):
- Single-turbo 3.0-litre V6 diesel (184kW/600Nm) with 10-speed auto, permanent four-wheel-drive
- 18-inch black alloy wheels
- X-design front bumper (black)
- Side mirror caps, bumper highlights, door handles in black
- LED tail lights
- Sports bar and side steps in black
- Soft tonneau covers
- roof rails
- Spray-in tray liner
- panamerica decals
- Leather seat upholstery
- Leather dash top
- Leather door accents
- Eight-speaker premium sound system
- 10-way electric front seat adjustment (driver and front passenger)
- Black roof lining
2023 Volkswagen Amarok Aventura adds, or replaces with (vs PanAmericana):
- Single-turbo 3.0-litre V6 diesel (184kW/600Nm) with 10-speed auto, permanent four-wheel-drive
- Optional single-turbo 2.3-liter four-cylinder petrol (222kW/452Nm) with 10-speed auto, permanent four-wheel-drive
- 21-inch alloy wheels
- X-design front bumper (chrome)
- Side mirror caps, bumper highlights, door handles (chrome)
- ‘Sail plane’ sports car (body colour)
- Electronic roller shutter cover
- Side steps (chrome)
- Electronic roller shutter
- Drop-in bed-liner
- Leather seats
- Leather dash top
- Leather door accents
2023 Volkswagen Amarok color choices
- Frozen White
- Agate Black (metallic)
- Blue Lightning (metallic)
- Carbonized gray (metallic)
- Lucid Red (metallic)
- Moondust Silver (metallic)
- Diffused Silver (metallic)
- Moroccan Blue (metallic, unique to Volkswagen)
2023 Volkswagen Amarok key highlights (not previously available)
- 10- and 12-inch infotainment screens
- 8.0 and 12-inch digital instrument clusters
- Premium audio system
- LED headlights (previously bi-xenon)
- Matrix LED headlights
- Puddle lamps in the side mirrors
- Ambient cabin lighting
- Leather dash top
- Wireless phone charging
- Sensor key with push-button start
- WiFi hotspot
- Electric power steering
- electric parkbrake
- Eight airbags (include knee, center and rear seat coverage, up from four airbags previously)
- autonomous emergency braking
- Speed sign recognition
- Adaptive (radar) cruise control
- Lane-keep assistance
- Blind spot monitoring
- 360-degree camera
- Trailer sway control
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