2023 VW Amarok Core and Life review: first drives

Volkswagen Australia has put the two base models of its 2023 Amarok range on sale, priced from $52,990 before on-road costs.

Called the Core and the Style, they are powered exclusively by 2.0-litre diesel engines and priced at $52,990 and $56,990 respectively.

A major difference between the two variants is that the engine in the Amarok Core is the single-turbo 125kW/405Nm TDI405 version of the Ford-manufactured four-cylinder mill, backed by a six-speed automatic transmission, while the Amarok Life has a bi-turbo 154kW/500Nm TDI500 diesel that shares its 10-speed automatic transmission with V6-powered higher grades.

33

2023 Volkswagen Amarok range

A six-speed manual gearbox is available for the Amarok Core, but one wasn’t available for testing on this day.

Both the Amarok Core and Life models have a part-time, dual-range 4x4 system and are not offered with the all-wheel drive system available in the higher grades. All 4x4 Amaroks get the driver-activated rear differential lock.

Entry-level 4x4 utes priced upwards of $50K might be a bit rich for some but the Amaroks don’t feel like base model vehicles. Yes, the Amarok Core comes with vinyl floor coverings and manual air-conditioning but both variants come with 17-inch alloy wheels, tyre pressure monitoring, LED headlights and relatively large 10-inch media screens.

33

Mechanically, the Life also gets disc brakes on the rear axle and the emergency brake is electronically operated.

The Amarok Life adds carpeted floors, LED front fog lights, eight-way adjustable driver and passenger seats – the passenger seat in the Core has no height adjustment – and a leather-covered steering wheel and gear selector.

Mechanically, the Life also gets disc brakes on the rear axle and the emergency brake is electronically operated.

Both Amarok Core and Life use the standard suspension calibration for the double wishbone front end and leaf-sprung live rear end and not the ‘Dynamic’ suspension as found under the upper-spec PanAmericana and Aventura models.

33

A pair of rated front recovery points and 3500kg rated towbar are standard on all Amaroks including these entry-level models.

The cargo tub includes six 400kg-rated tie-down points, however, the Core and Life miss out on the 12-volt power outlet in the tub.

Slip into either the Amarok Core or Life and you are greeted by a beautiful ignition barrel on the right-hand side of the adjustable steering column, where you need to insert the vehicle key and turn it to start the vehicle. None of this dinky start button business, just proper tactile functionality.

The Amarok Core even has a handbrake lever capable of functioning as an emergency brake if the need should arise.

33

Powertrains

While the four-cylinder diesel engines lack the refinement of the V6 mill, they are not left behind in the performance stakes.

In fact, if there was no V6 offered in the range, the TDI500 mill and 10-speed auto would be perfectly sufficient in any grade of Amarok.

Although 125kW doesn’t sound like a lot of power in this day and age, the Amarok Core gets along well and easily up to the posted speed limits.

We also drove a Core model with approximately 900kg strapped into its tub so that with a driver onboard it would have been close to its 1042kg payload

Even with this on board, the Amarok Core motored strongly up hills and was stable over bumps, through curves and under heavy braking. It felt as though it would haul this load all day without complaint.

33

Overtaking in the Core does require a bit more planning and patience than it does in the high-spec, more powerful models but it’s not impossible.

You do tend to drive with your foot flat to the boards more in the Core and we predict that towing a heavy load behind would be more of a chore in the Core. All 4x4 Amaroks have a 3500kg braked towing capacity regardless of the powertrain but the Core and Life are respectively limited to a 6200kg and 6350kg GCM, while the upper-spec V6-powered models get a 6400kg GCM.

If the limited power and vinyl floors of the Core sound a bit lacking for your needs, then the extra $4000 needed to step up to the Amarok Life would be money well spent. In fact, we reckon the Life represents a sweet spot in the new Amarok line-up.

33

In fact, the only negative that we see to stepping up to the Life ahead of the Core is the 10-speed’s little 'e-shifter', which is a bit fiddly.

Not only are you getting the increased outputs of the bi-turbo engine but the more efficient and refined 10-speed automatic transmission, leather steering wheel, carpeted floors, increased GCM and a few other features including rear cross-traffic alert, which we reckon is a great safety feature and should be standard across the range.

Producing 154kW and 500Nm, the TDI500 is never lacking in performance and with the 10-speed auto is rated to 7.2L/100km fuel consumption on the combined cycle compared to 8.0L/100km for the single-turbo Core.

The only negative that we see to stepping up to the Life ahead of the Core is the 10-speed’s little 'e-shifter', which is a bit fiddly. Both the e-shifter and the six-speed’s more conventional gear selector use small thumb buttons for manual gear selection, which is less than ideal.

33

Safety

Amarok Core and Life models get a full five-star ANCAP rating with a host of standard safety kit including:

33

As entry-level models, the Amarok Core and Life are not cheap utes but nor do they drive and feel like cheap utes.

They offer a superior driving experience and more features than found in the higher-specification variants of some other utes and the TDI500 engine offers better performance than some popular sellers.

2023 Volkswagen Amarok Life specifications