XJ Junkie wrote:Yip, a very good write up Quack. It’s sounds like a big step forward. What’s the rear suspension & brake configuration on the V6 vs the 4 cyl?
V6 has 17” discs in the front and smaller discs on the rear, with coils front and leaves in the back. 17” is huge and a pain in the proverbial to fit rims anything smaller than 18” You can get away with T5 steelies that has been spaced just[emoji12]
But then it does outstop most hot hatches[emoji12]
2.0 has same suspension, although I thought it was much firmer. The 2.0 has conventional drum disc settup.
I thought it might have discs in the back with that sort of power. But leafs don’t make sense. But VW are getting there slowly but surely as far as understanding the market & 4x4s.
Disclaimer: Uninformed, no research, just very strong opinions
Leafs in the back but not in the traditional sense that you would expect, they are offset to the outside of the chassis and not on top of it! This makes it more stable as they sit wider and the leaf (hope I’ve spelt it correctly[emoji12]) can move past the chassis for better articulation[emoji15]
Nice write up Quack and well said, the Amarok really takes away skill as you don't need it at all.
I have learned that the 4x4 moffie knoppies are just there to make the dash look interesting
Amarok
V6 3.0
Double Cab
Some beige Gold colour that scratches if you look at it
2017 Model
Not much to say about the Amarok as Quack’s version is spot on
Exterior
Bold wide and does not fit easily through a normal garage door or in a shopping centre parking.
That said is why the Rok cannot be called a Mall crawler.
Not really any changes on the outside except the grill, lights and fog lights over the previous models
You can still fit 2 Euro pallets in the load bin.
I did see an engine cover when I bought her but can’t give you feedback on the engine layout as it is one big mass filling the whole engine bay
All I can say is the air filter is easy accessible for regular clean outs.
I like the lights and the view finder fog lights. Not to bore you all it has all the lekker nice to haves on the outside you can get on a luxury SUV
Ride and feel
All the power needed that you only find in a sports car is available at every stop street and robot.
10% boost and launch control is a plus
Put foot and you are forced back into the seat and you get a fist from mom from the left hand side shouting you are not a youngster
The V6 is definitely softer on the ride than the 2.0 but road holding is like “Hy sit soos kak aan n wol kombers” on the road
Comfortable feel and though a BIG bakkie drives and handles like a smaller car.
Tows like a dream you tend to forget there is a caravan hooked to the back. We did a +- 5000 Km tour with the caravan and average towing consumption was 7.6 Km/l
You should hear Dianne going on when she realise I am towing very comfortable at 170 Km/h. Ok kill me but I forgot I was towing and enjoyed the ride while she was sleeping
Lots of space inside and very comfortable seats with all the settings you can think of.
Dash was changed and you can see better over the dash. Di never wanted to drive the old Rok as she complained she can’t see the bonnet
Believe it or not she is stealing the Amarok just to drive it.
The new vents on the new dash is kak I liked the round ones on the old Amarok more.
The rest all buttons on the steering and around the driver is where it should be on a best 4 motion by far
Gears are very soft, you don’t know when gears are changed, you only see on the dash that you are already in 8th gear
Overall the bakkie is as quiet as a luxury platkar
Fuel consumption is good, when driving road speeds you can easily get up to 14.5 Km/L. But this is not easy as that loud pedal always causes other drivers to sulk.
My Rok came with 19 inch tyres, when going off road I replace them with 265/70 17 what a schlep
I will change to 18 inch wheels in the next week
Offroad
We did Whoopa in October last year, where we did Boegoe berg pass, Waterford and the trail at the dam.
I don’t have much to say as the whole 4x4 experience is moertoe due to the vehicle just gliding over obstacles, like Quack said it'sa only an option of point and shoot
Then we did the 10 passes tour with 4x4AG, again it was like highway driving you just sit back relax and enjoy the scenery. Average consumption was 9.8 Km/l
I was worrying to go to the top at Ben Macdui pass but the Rok glided to the top
BUT………..
There is a negative as Quack described. The gearbox tends to get hot but the Rok caution you long before any damage may occur.
Driving very slow like behind Toyotas you need to lock the GBox in 1st gear and keep your refs above 1600 rpm
We did Ongeluks Nek pass in normal auto and half way through the GBox warning light came on, idled the Rok for a few minutes locked it in 2nd and did the rest of the pass without any issues. So actually the issue was with the moer wat die steering vasgehou het
This is where my Rok got famous on all social media platforms on mother earth Negatives
With the Amarok included we have 3 vehicles the Amarok is always the one we want to drive with
Land Cruisers does not count as 4x4`s 
