Ram 1500 vs Volkswagen Amarok

What's the difference?

New engine or not, the facelifted Ram 1500 continues the theme of big US pick-ups by being capable of extreme towing feats as well as offering interior and cargo space that the mid-sized dual-cabs can only dream of.

That said, if you don’t need to tow 4.5 tonnes or seat five large adults, then maybe the 1500 and its ilk are overkill. Certainly, that’s the mood among many consumers who simply find them too much of a good thing.

Our pick would probably be the Laramie Sport for its superior ride quality, more sensible 20-inch tyres and reduced price. It can also tow a little more than the Limited, if that’s important to you.

On paper, of course, the Limited with its stonking engine tune should get our vote, but there’s absolutely no way the less powerful Laramie is anything but a powerhouse in its own right. But either version manages to carry off the feeling of being a high-end product, with refinement levels lacking in a lot of diesel-powered alternatives.

Yet, there are still compromises: The Ram is unlikely to be especially compatible with the average Aussie bush track (in width terms, anyway, on tracks formed by Toyota LandCrusiers and Nissan Patrols). And even though efficiency is up with the new engine, this will still not be a cheap vehicle to run day to day. Nor is the purchase price any less scary than its competitors’.

And of course, as with any of these full-sized trucks, buying them for the right reasons rather than a fashion statement is crucial to their viability once the new-car shine has worn off and car spaces begin to look smaller and driveways narrower than they ever have.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with accommodation and meals provided.

It’s been developed with adventurous four-wheel-drive enthusiasts in mind, but we don’t know exactly what it will cost. However, given the current ballpark estimate, the value equation will likely stack up well and things like safety and the ownership package are solid. And we know it’s tough and capable in rough going, which is the main point, after all. This package works brilliantly well.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

There’s not much point releasing a new model if your neighbours can’t pick the difference. So, Ram has revised the front and rear fascias of the pick-up with new grilles and a specific bonnet for the Limited. There are also new head and tail-light assemblies, a new front bumper and alloy wheel designs.

The Limited is a little sportier looking thanks to blacked-out door handles, grille, mirror covers, and the headlights that include an animated welcome when the vehicle is unlocked.

Ram calls this black-out stuff the Night Edition and it’s been made standard on all Australian Limiteds. The flagship version also gets a more sculpted bonnet for a more aggressive look. Strangely enough, though, all those black-outs somehow make the base grade look a little more high end to some eyes.

The rest of the deal remains the usual biscuits and gravy of big pick-ups, including the two-plus metre width and the requirement to often find two adjacent parking spaces before the grocery shopping can commence. What did you expect?

The Amarok is already a sleek-looking dual cab and the ‘Clear White’-only 10 Deserts Edition picks up unique black badging, a standard black tonneau cover and 17-inch satin ‘Asphalt Black’ alloy wheels shod with all-terrain rubber. More hardcore off-road tyres are a no-cost option, which is a nice touch, and there are black side steps and a ‘Asphalt Black’ mesh grille with ‘Bolder Grey’ inserts.

An ARB lift kit raises ground clearance by 40mm, from an already decent 235mm to 275mm, and ‘Genuine VW’ underbody protection is added.

The interior is cool, calm and collected in typical VW fashion with a predominantly dark grey colour palette highlighted by silver and brushed metal accents.

The 8.0-inch digital instrument display and 10.1-inch multimedia screen look contemporary without being garish, and there’s a workable mix of digital and physical controls, with climate being the former and audio the latter.

Inside, the 2025 Ram 1500 is also updated with a larger 14.4-inch infotainment touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto, supplemented by a 10.5-inch passenger screen and dual wireless smartphone chargers.

The passenger’s screen is a big deal, too, as it allows the passenger to upload navigation way-points and destinations, watch a movie, or search the internet via a connected phone. And the driver sees none of it thanks to the blackout screen tech.

Even though Ram has obviously gone to a lot of trouble to make the right-hand-drive conversion seamless and perfect, we still wonder why the indicator stalk wasn’t moved to the right of the column. Cost, probably, and the placement of the rotary dial for gear selection is less than perfect, too. What we’d really like to see would be a column-mounted gear-shift, as well as paddle shifters which are brilliant when towing big loads.

The front-seat area is home to no less than three USB-A and three USB-C charging ports, while there are also two of each in the rear seat.

There’s a storage area under the rear seat which also flips up to form a large load area. There’s even a secret cubby-hole under the carpet in the rear capable of storing a laptop or small bag.

In place, the rear seat is another of the Ram’s big selling points compared with conventional dual-cab utes. The foot and leg room is strides ahead of the mid-sized pack and the seat itself is also a better class of perch. The dual-pane panoramic sunroof keeps it all light and airy, too. Plenty of grab handles and those automatic side-steps make getting in and out a pretty civilised process.

Despite the change in engine, the six-cylinder pick-up retains its 4500kg maximum braked towing capacity – at least in Laramie Sport form. That, however, is contingent on the use of a 70mm tow-ball, while towing drops back to 3500kg with the standard 50mm ball. All Aussie Rams have a tow-bar as standard.

The Ram 1500 Limited drops 300kg in its maximum braked towing capacity rating to 4200kg. That, says Ram, is purely because the Limited is a high-performance vehicle first and a load-lugger second, although one suspects the 22-inch Pirelli Scorpion tyres might be a factor in that as well.

As for payload, the 2025 Ram 1500 Laramie Sport features an 863kg capacity, while the Limited comes in at 782.5kg – 20kg and 17.5kg more than the pre-facelift version.

The tub features a spray-on liner and a cargo divider. There’s also a standard tri-fold tonneau cover for Australian 1500s, not to mention a fold-out step for accessing objects at the bottom of the tray. Powered side-steps are also standard on our Rams, backing up the prestige price-tag.

A powered tailgate is another nice inclusion which can be raised and lowered by touch or via the key-fob.

Fortunately, the twin storage bins along the top of each side of the tub remain, complete with their drain holes just perfect for adding ice and cool drinks.

At just over 5.3m long, a little more than 1.9m wide and close to 1.9m tall (with a 3270mm wheelbase) the Amarok lives within the same dimensional footprint as key competitors like the Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and Isuzu D-Max.

Up front, it's easy to get in and out thanks to big door apertures and this limited edition’s slightly higher ride height. There’s plenty of breathing space and good separation from your co-pilot.

In terms of storage there are door bins with room for decent size bottles, a couple of cup/bottle holders in the centre console, a lidded storage box between the seats (which doubles as a centre armrest), a wireless charging pad ahead of that, two glove boxes, a shallow well in the centre of the dashtop and a drop down sunglasses holder.

In the back, sitting behind the driver’s seat set to my 183cm position, there’s plenty of head, leg and toe room.

Three full-size adults across the second row will be okay for short to medium trips and a trio of up to late teenage kids will be fine. There are bins in the doors with room for medium-size bottles, a fold-down centre armrest with a pair of cupholders and map pockets in the front seat backs.

On the not so good side, there’s no individual ventilation control for back-seaters and the only power option is a 12-volt socket with USB-A and -C ports confined to the front only. Shout out for the USB input in the mirror housing for a dash cam, though.

The roughly 1.5m long by 1.2m wide illuminated tray will accommodate a Euro pallet between the wheel arches. There are multiple tie-down rings and tailgate closing is assisted.

Maximum towing capacity for a braked trailer is 3500kg (750kg unbraked), a full-size spare is on-board and there are two towing hooks at the front.

Although it’s being cagey on exact pricing at this stage, Volkswagen says the Amarok 10 Deserts Edition will be positioned between $65 and $70K (likely closer to former than the latter).

The Amarok Life TDI500 this car is based on boasts a healthy standard equipment list including LED headlights, daytime running lights and fog lights, adaptive cruise control (with stop/go), alloy rims, a towbar, wireless charging and tailgate lift assist plus wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. 

There’s also six-speaker audio (with digital radio), single-zone air-con, electrically folding and heated exterior mirrors (with courtesy lamps), auto headlight and high-beam control, a leather-trimmed steering wheel and gearshift, and auto rain-sensing wipers.

Not a bad fit-out, even before adding the extra 10 Deserts kit (see Design) and that prospective price puts it between the existing Amarok TDI500 Life ($59,490) and Style $69,740), both before on-road costs, and a step up from Ford’s close to $57K limited-run (1500 unit) Ranger Black Edition.

Here’s where the Ram world gets flipped on its head.

The new inline six-cylinder engine for the 1500 measures 3.0 litres which sounds like a relatively small unit for a vehicle this size. But don’t be fooled, because with twin turbochargers it really comes out swinging.

There are two states of tune for the engine dubbed Hurricane, starting with the basic tune that develops 313kW and 635Nm of torque. That’s a good chunk more than the old V8, in fact, 22kW and 79Nm more.

But it gets better. If you pony up for the higher-spec 1500 Limited you’ll find the engine bay now contains what Ram calls the 'high-output' version of the Hurricane. In that form, it cranks out an impressive 403kW and 707Nm. In old-school horsepower terms, those 403kW equal 540 ponies.

The extra power and torque comes from more turbo boost and, to cope with that, the High Output version of the engine sports a little less compression but twice the number of fuel pumps (two) to deliver the fuel.

Both versions of the inline six also use an intercooler with its own cooling system, rather than relying on the engine’s coolant reservoir.

In each case, the turbocharged engine sends its outputs through an eight-speed conventional automatic transmission.

The Ram also features four-wheel drive with a two-speed transfer-case for low-ratio off-road gearing. As well as two-wheel drive and a low-range four-wheel-drive setting, there’s also 4WD auto mode that allows the Ram to be driven on bitumen in all-wheel drive which is a huge bonus when towing in wet conditions.

The updated pick-up also offers five drive models, selectable via the steering wheel buttons. They include Normal, Sport, Towing, Off-Road and Snow.

Mechanically, the main difference between the two grades (engine output aside) is underneath where the Limited gets air suspension rather than the Laramie Sport’s conventional steel coil springs.

The record-breaking Amarok was a V6 Style, but this limited edition is based on the Amarok TDI500 Life, so a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine sits under the bonnet, sending 154kW/500Nm to the rear, or all four wheels, via a 10-speed automatic transmission.

This twin-turbo, dual-overhead cam unit is shared with the Amarok’s twin under the skin, the Ford Ranger (where it’s referred to as the ‘Bi-Turbo’), and the selectable all-wheel-drive system features three driving modes - 2H, 4H & 4L - and there’s a mechanical rear diff lock.  

Because of the classification the Ram 1500 falls into, there’s no compulsion for the manufacturer to state an official fuel consumption figure in Australia. And in this case, Ram doesn’t.

The most definitive statement we could get was that the 313kW tune is 12 per cent more fuel efficient than the outgoing Hemi V8, and the high-output engine is closer to 3.4 per cent more efficient. Although whether that extrapolates directly to a 12 and 3.4 per cent fuel saving respectively is not clear.

Our test drive included a stretch of gentle highway cruising, during which we saw an average of about 8.5 litres per 100km, which is about the best you can hope for, but remains a decent figure for such a machine.

In normal use, you can expect that to creep up, and seat of the pants says the standard-output engine should be good for a high 10 litres per 100km, and the high-output unit closer to a high-11.

Obviously, that will go to hell during off-road work or when towing any sort of trailer.

With the Laramie’s 98-litre fuel tank, that model should see an easy 700 to 800km between fills, while the Limited’s larger, 125-litre tank, should take it closer to a realistic 1000km range.

Bear in mind, though, that while the Laramie is happy with standard ULP, the higher compression and extra turbo boost of the Limited means it requires the more expensive Premium brew, which might be harder to find in the outback.

The TDI500’s official fuel consumption figure on the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle is 7.2L/100km. With an 80-litre fuel tank on board, theoretical range is around 1100km.

Stop-start is standard, but we’ll have to wait for an as-tested figure, as this launch drive leant heavily into arduous off-road work.

For reference, in previous testing we’ve recorded real-world consumption closer to 10.0L/100km for this Amarok powertrain, which would deliver a driving range of around 800km.

If speed and acceleration were your only metrics, then the new Hurricane six-cylinder engine really delivers. Against a zero to 100km/h time of about 7.5 seconds for the outgoing Hemi V8, the standard-output Laramie Sport takes around 6.2 seconds for the same journey.

Point the high-output version down the same piece of hotmix, and the time to 100km/h falls even further to about 5.5 seconds and maybe even less if you get the perfect launch. Oh, and those figures were recorded with the transmission in 4-Auto, as trying the same thing in two-wheel drive will see the rear tyres turn into smoke bombs.

So, yes, it’s very fast for such a big truck. In fact, it’s fast by any standards, really. But does it feel 'right’ for a pick-up?

While it’s obviously not a V8, there is a huge sense of swelling, cresting performance on tap as well as a feeling that the turbo boost is available pretty much immediately. There’s very little lag, in fact, and, in the traditional manner of inline sixes, the Hurricane feels smooth and sweet all the way across the face of the tachometer.

What you can also feel is the eight-speed transmission really making its presence felt. Obviously, getting this much mass moving requires full use of all those ratios and even though the shifts themselves are crisp and silky, there is more evidence of the transmission at work than in a lighter vehicle with the same sort of torque. File this under `observations’ rather than `complaints’.

The steering is light but accurate and helps create the impression that the Ram is not as big to drive as it is to look at. That’s helped by the ride quality which, frankly, is superior in the base grade with its conventional steel springs. The Limited on its air springs feels a bit more lively and jiggly over patchy surfaces, but part of this is also surely the difference between the Laramie’s 20-inch tyres and the 22-inch Pirellis fitted to the Limited.

There’s a degree of tyre roar on coarse surfaces but, overall, if all you know about American picks-ups is hitching a ride in a 1976 F-100, you’re going to be very impressed at how these things have matured and become refined to the point where they’re a genuine high-end experience in many ways.

The Amarok TDI500 is easy and effortless to drive on the open road. Peak power of 154kW (at 3750rpm) is adequate, but it’s the 500Nm of pulling power, delivered exactly where you want it at just 1750rpm, that sets the tone.

With 10 ratios to cycle through, the auto transmission also helps keep things in the sweet spot and while you’re aware of a certain amount of diesel thrum under acceleration, in this type of ute that’s more reassuring than annoying.

Suspension is by double wishbones and coil springs at the front with leaf springs supporting a live axle at the rear. And as is typical for a ute with this set-up (particularly unladen) bumps on a typical B-road make their presence felt, but not to an alarming degree.

We drove it on loose dirt roads and some challenging trails (which we’ll get to shortly), but overall it feels capable and pretty well planted on the road.

The steering is electrically assisted and there’s a good connection between your hands on the wheel and the tyres on the road.

Standard 17-inch alloys are shod with 225x70 Continental CrossContact ATR (all-terrain) tyres and they’re civilised on the highway. Also worth noting more aggressive off-road-focused rubber is a no-cost option, which is a nice touch.

The brakes are discs front and rear, which is notable because the entry-level Amarok Core is fitted with drums at the back.

On the open-road and in slow-going off-highway, where you’re constantly feathering the brakes during steep declines, braking remains strong with a progressive pedal feel. 

The off-road section of the launch drive was more about the nature of the terrain than ultra-steep inclines or declines.

Big boulders, cavernous ruts, bulging tree roots as well as loose gravel and sand surfaces were the flavours of the day and the Amarok did a great job.

Standard approach, departure and ramp-over angles for the Life TDI500 are pretty solid, but an extra 40mm of ground clearance makes a big difference. 

Worth noting the 10 Deserts Edition held its own with the more heavily modified V6 Style that set the Guinness record, which we also had a chance to steer.

With around 80kg less weight on the front axle, the four-cylinder feels agile and eager in the rough stuff and we saw some impressive axle articulation as the suspension and drive systems helped the Amarok pick its way through the most difficult sections.

We stepped our way through two-wheel high, four-wheel high and 4WD low modes, pulling in the diff lock only when things got hairy.

In terms of miscellaneous observations, it’s worth noting the turning circle is 12.8m. The Amarok is a sizeable vehicle and you’d expect the turning circle to be up there, but just be prepared for a reasonably wide arc when you’re parking or making three-point turns. 

And the front seats are a stand-out. They’re pretty much sports editions - grippy and comfortable even after a full day behind the wheel on- and off-road. And their lateral support keeps you nicely located in the corners.   

The Amarok was given a maximum five-star ANCAP assessment in 2022 and active (crash-avoidance) tech includes AEB (with pedestrian and cyclist monitoring), lane keeping assist and lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control (with stop and go function), rear cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring, hill-descent control, tyre-pressure monitoring, driver fatigue alert, roll-over mitigation and trailer sway control.

There’s also ‘Swerve Steer Assist’, road and speed sign recognition, front and rear parking distance controls, and a reversing camera. That’s an impressive suite for the category.

If a crash is unavoidable, there are nine airbags onboard - dual front and front side, dual front knee, full-length side curtain and a front-centre bag to help reduce the chance of head clash injuries in a side-on crash. Again, above average.

The Amarok scores well with ANCAP for vulnerable road user protection, multi-collision braking minimises the chances of secondary collisions following an initial impact and there’s an auto emergency call-out function able to sense if the driver is incapacitated following an airbag deployment.

Important to note there are top tethers and ISOFIX anchors for baby capsules and/or child seats on the outer rear seat positions only.

Ram probably needs to do a bit of catching up in this department, as the 1500 seems off the pace warranty wise.

The three-year/100,000km factory warranty might be okay in throw-away North America, but it doesn’t really send the right message here. For reference, the Chevrolet Silverado range also has three-year warranty, while both the Ford F-150 and Toyota Tundra run to five years of cover.

Service intervals are every 12 months or 12,000km, and Ram has no capped-price servicing for the pick-up, although previous experiences tells us that the Hemi version was quite reasonably priced to service. Let’s hope that continues with the turbocharged version.

Volkswagen covers the Amarok with a five-year/unlimited-km warranty, which is expected in the mainstream market.

Service is recommended every 12 months/15,000km, which is pretty handy, and the price averages $360 for the first five years, which is competitive for the class and price point.

Fixed price three- or five-year plans are also offered, which brings a modest discount and locks in the pricing. Twelve months of roadside assistance is complementary, renewed for another year each time you service the car at an authorised VW dealer.