SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8
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.
*To read one of our road tests, just select from the menu on the left.
*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.
Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday May 1, 2013
The engine: This version of VW's R4 series 2,0-litre, DOHC, 16-valve, four cylinder biturbo diesel puts out 132 kW at 4000 rpm and maximum torque of 420 Nm at 1750 rpm, meaning that it develops slightly more pulling power than the manual model does.
The all-wheel drive system: One of two versions of 4Motion, this uses a Torsen centre differential to distribute torque as needed between the front and rear axles. Its default setting is 40:60, front to rear. In case you thought Torsen sounded Swedish, it was actually invented in 1958 by an American named Vernon Gleasman, and is manufactured by JTEKT Torsen North America. The name is a contraction of TORque SENsing. The other kind of 4Motion is a switchable 4x2-to-4x4 system fitted to manual shift Amaroks.
The gearbox: The ZF 8HP is an eight-speed, torque converter, automatic transmission designed and built by ZF, or Zahnradfabrik (gear factory) Friedrichshafen. A torque converter was chosen because it permits better response at low speeds and has less resistance to slip than a DSG. These are key factors during off road driving and towing. Trivia: The factory was founded in 1915 by Ferdinand, Graf von Zeppelin, inventor of the famous airships. He needed gears for the drive systems on his dirigibles, but no-one had anything suitable to offer, so he made his own.
The equipment: This includes ESP with EBA, hill start and hill descent assistance, ABS with off-road function, traction control, electronic differential locking, EBD, HVV and MSR, and an electro-mechanical lock for the rear diff. Brakes are 16” ventilated discs in front and 15” drums behind. Suspension is independent in front with A-arms, wishbones and spring dampers, while the back end relies on a rigid axle with leaf springs and stabilisers.
Safety kit includes four airbags and a pair of ISOFix child seat anchors. The electrical toy box offers Climatronic dual-zone automatic air conditioning, a VW RCD 310 radio and CD player without accessory plugs, powered windows and mirrors, an anti-dazzle interior rearview, fog lamps at both ends, cruise control, trailer hitch preparation and an onboard computer. There’s more, but you can download a brochure from http://www.vwcommercial.co.za/en/models/amarok-double-cab.html
The experience: For a double-cab, the bin is big and can take a couple of DIN sized pallets between the wheel arches. Our own practical experience was being able to cart two 750mm-cubed garden refuse bags in one trip. The drive and ride is very much like that of a big sedan; cruising easily in eighth gear at highway speeds, uphill and down dale. Because it doesn’t have low range, we avoided the harsher of our favorite off road tracks. Engaging manual override to hold first and second; and occasionally operating the manual difflock, it handled the 'softer' trail easily. Downhill crawl, selected by means of the off-road button, kept things tidy on steep descents.
Accessories fitted to the test car included leather seats, metallic paint, an electric interface for additional lights and equipment, a communication package that adds Bluetooth telephony and steering wheel buttons, and park distance control. The Amarok is big; it's 5254 mm long and has a turning circle of almost 13 metres, so we suggest you add this particular R5300 gadget to your list.
This is the only Amarok presently available with an automatic transmission, full time all-wheel drive and in double-cab configuration. It’s generally well equipped, even though it does appear that only old people, using CDs exclusively, are permitted to take portable music along for the ride. On the positive side, it really is excellent to drive both on and off the beaten track.
Test vehicle from VWSA press fleet
Our review of the manual shift model can be found here
The numbers:
Price: R461 100 basic, or R479 090 as tested
Engine: See text
Zero to 100 km/h: 10,9 seconds
Maximum speed: 179 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 10,0 l/100 km
Tank: 80 litres
Ground clearance: 192 mm under front axle; 244 mm between axles
Approach/departure/breakover angles: 28,0/23.6/21,4 degrees
Roll over angle: 50 degrees
Wading depth: 500 mm
Payload without driver: 845 kg but 1-ton payload available with optional spring set
GVM: 2820 kg
GCM: 5550 kg
Warranty: 3 years/100 000 km
Service plan: 5 years/90 000 km: at 15 000 km intervals
This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.
I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.
My reviews and launch reports appear on Thursdays in the Wheels supplement to The Witness, South Africa's oldest continuously running newspaper, and occasionally on Saturdays in Weekend Witness as well. I drive eight to ten vehicles each month, most months of the year (except over the festive season) 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 they can see I do actually exist.
Comments?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you thoroughly disagree with what I say? That's your privilege, because if everybody agreed on everything, the world would be a boring place. All I ask is that you remain calm, so please blow off a little steam before venting too vigorously.
This site is operated by Scarlet Pumpkin Communications in Pietermaritzburg.
Unless otherwise stated, all photographs are courtesy of www.quickpic.co.za
Copyright this business. All rights reserved.
SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8