2017 Volkswagen Amarok V6 is the torquiest dual cab ute yet

Overboost output wars no longer the domain of hot hatches and performance saloons, with the hot new VW Amarok V6 bringing the game to the top end of ute town.

Ford’s hugely popular Wildtrak may carry the name and look a little like it’s ready to cut loose like an uncaged animal, but its performance is actually no better than any other Ranger ute equipped with the 147kW/470Nm 3.2-litre, five-cylinder turbodiesel. In fact, it’s probably slower given the weight of all the extra toys its $59,590 starting price brings.

The Wildtrak is certainly no slug compared to most of its existing rivals, but the Amarok V6 is set to topple the lot for outright grunt when it hits Australian showrooms on November 24.

We already knew the 3.0-litre V6 that’s seen duty in various Porsche and Audi models - plus VW’s Touareg SUV – produces a mighty 165kW/550Nm, but the German brand has now confirmed it will achieve a full 180kW/580Nm on overboost.

This nudges the Amarok ahead of the previous dual-cab light-commercial torque hero, the 170kW/550Nm D40 Nissan Navara ST-X 550 which was discontinued with the NP300 generation in 2015, but also well clear of the current-best 147kW/500Nm produced by automatic versions of the recently updated Holden Colorado.

It’s real, it’s almost here and it brings the world’s best V6 turbo diesel.

The Amarok’s 185kW is also more power than we’ve seen from a diesel dual-cab light-commercial ute to date, but still falls well short of the 225W squeezed from the short-lived TRD HiLux sold here last decade. Its supercharged 3.0-litre V6 only managed 453Nm of torque, however. 

We’re accustomed to these momentary overboost-tickled outright power and torque figures through various hot hatches and other boosted performance cars, but this is the first time we’re aware of such a function being mentioned for a light-commercial dual-cab ute.

The Amarok V6’s full thrust is available using 70 per cent throttle in third or fourth gear (of the eight-speed ZF torque converter auto) from 50km/h and is available for up to ten seconds. It can be accessed again just five seconds later.

VW claims 0-100km/h acceleration of 7.9 seconds for the two-tonne-plus all-wheel drive pickup, with an 80-120km/h overtaking figure of 5.5 seconds but has wisely considered the other end of the equation by fitting four-wheel disc brakes – which may surprise you as first for the mainstream dual-cab light commercial segment in Australia.

Taking a thinly veiled swipe at the almost production-ready but Nissan Navara-based Mercedes X-Class concepts revealed this week, VW commercial vehicles boss Carlos Santos describes the Amarok V6 as “not an over-hyped concept or a badge engineering exercise.”

“It’s real, it’s almost here and it brings the world’s best V6 turbo diesel,” he said in a press statement this week.

It’s worth noting that the production X-Class is also set to offer a V6 turbodiesel range-topper.

The Amarok has established a reputation for relative refinement among its light-commercial rivals since it arrived in 2011, but more than five years later the upgraded V6 will still do without airbags for rear passengers and other active safety features available on more recent competitors.

VW Australia is yet to confirm local pricing for the Amarok V6, but the inside word is that the two-tier lineup could straddle the Wildtrak’s $59,590-$61,790 list figures. Such a move could certainly shorten the lengthy waiting list for the top Ford model.

Will you be lining up for an Amarok V6, Ranger Wildtrak or a top-spec Mercedes X-Class? Tell us what you think in the comments below.