to limit the off-road mode for when we really
needed it.
The rear-biased drive system gives the
Amarok a bit of character, while its compliant
suspension tune offers support in the middle
of the stroke, despite the estimated 300kg of
payload on board. Steering is excellent for a
4x4 ute, and the braking performance is top
notch, too.
This is a trip designed to put the Amarok
firmly in the sights of a cross section of people
who use their vehicles just as their makers
intended. While a lot of the roads on this trip
could be tackled in a pretty standard SUV if
the conditions were favourable, there wouldn’t
be a lot left of it when you got home. Out here,
what was once almost exclusively Toyota Land
Cruiser country is slowly but surely changing
its stripes. There are still plenty of Cruisers
and Prados, of course, but the Japanese
brand’s once iron-clad grip on dusty outback
roads is not what it once was.The Big Red Bash provides a great snapshot
of this brand drift. More than 6000 people
descended on the tiny outback town, setting
up a mini city 35km from Birdsville for the
better part of a week – and they drove here,
for the most part, in 4x4 utes. Row upon row
of 4x4s, the majority towing camper trailers
or off-road vans, are lined up in an orderly
semi-circle that’s almost two kilometres long
on its outermost edge, all facing into a sound
stage that’s nestled in the shade of Big Red.
It’s an eclectic mix, too, but it follows current
sales trends pretty closely. Hiluxes rub fenders
with new arch rival, Ford’s Ranger, while
Isuzu D-Maxes nestle next to Nissan Navaras,
with a smattering of oddities – a Mazda CX-7,
a Commodore wagon and a couple of Land
Rover Defenders – in amongst the sea of
bullbars, awnings and cans of XXXX.
So, why has our band of Amarok owners
looked to Germany for a 4x4 ute? Surprisingly,
a lot of people picked it for its size. “I had myTOYOTA’S ONCE IRON-CLAD
GRIP ON DUSTY OUTBACK ROADS IS NOT
WHAT IT ONCE WAS
96 http://www.4X4australia.com.auDRIVEN VW AMAROKS TO BIG RED