It’s business time for Volkswagen NZ with Darkside ute
The double cab Amarok has a 3-litre V6 turbo diesel engine, and black style packs inside and out.
With double cab ute sales dominating New Zealand new vehicle sales, it's no surprise that the likes of Volkswagen is selling special editions to woo customers.
For the past five years the Ford Ranger has been the top selling vehicle here (not just commercial but passenger as well) while Toyota is ready to fight back with all the all-new Hilux that will be launched at the end of this month.
Volkswagen launched the Amarok ute in 2010, producing a ladder-frame utility in the style of rivals HiLux and Ranger, and becoming the first mainstream European brand to tackle the increasing market.
(FYI: Amarok means a wolf deity in Inuit mythology. Luckily I didn’t let the Parihoa live stock that fact!)
The cows at Parihoa checked out the Darkside, or maybe they thought I had hay.
For Volkswagen, it’s taking the fight not to the workhorse double cab utes that are favoured by tradies. Instead, its Amarok ute is suitable for lifestyle buyers, who will use the vehicle to carry their mountain bikes and surfboards, while it fits in as a work vehicle for city slickers.
Actually, I think the Amarok is the business suit version of a ute as it is posh enough to have in your company’s car park thanks to the European badging.
And as everyone knows, there’s nothing quite as stylish as a dark suit so Volkswagen New Zealand Commercial created the Darkside Edition double cab ute that has a 3-litre, six cylinder turbo diesel engine producing up to 200kW of boosted power, 580Nm of torque and paired with an eight-speed auto transmission.
That engine was launched in 2016, and can also be found in the Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q7 and sibling, VW Touareg.
The Darkside has black door handles and bars.
What makes the Darkside stand out is the new exterior package of carbon steel grey metallic paintwork, 20in "Talca" black high gloss alloy wheels and a blackout accessory kit such as black side bars, side steps and black door handles.
At $79,000, the limited edition Amarok Darkside may be on the pricier side, but until recently it was competing with Mercedes-Benz’s X-Class ute that the fellow German brand has now cut from its line-up.
That leads way for VW NZ to snap up buyers looking for a premium ute that can be seen around town but also capable enough of working on the farm thanks to the standard feature of permanent 4MOTION all-wheel drive.
The Darkside had black panelling on the heated front seats.
The intelligent ‘off-road’ button sets up the vehicle for off-road driving with functions including Hill Descent Control, and recalibrated ABS settings that improve performance on dirt, and reduce the stopping distance on loose surfaces.
Inside, the Darkside Edition gets carbon detailing and dark headlining plus black accents on the heated front seats. The rear bench seat can sit three people, but the middle passenger would find it uncomfortable on long trips as there is limited foot space.
The VW Amarok Darkside had a hard cover and four tie down points.
Further back, the tray is 1555mm long and up to 1660mm wide with a hardcover and four tie down points. It was ideal for a trip to the tip with a dead washing machine and cardboard boxes to recycle. The Amarok fitted in alongside other utes doing the weekend trip to the dump.
Back driving the Amarok around the city was easy, thanks to its great maneuverability despite its size being 5254mm long, and 2228mm wide. Parking is easy enough thanks to the front and rear Park Distance Control and rear view camera.
Heading out of the city onto the motorway to Parihoa, it was time to enjoy the V6 engine - something you won’t find in any rivals. The power is fantastic when you need to overtake, and it’s easy to think that you’re in a VW Touareg – and forget there is a tray behind you.
A trip across the southernmost, cliff paddocks was an easy trip.
Onto the gravel road to Parihoa, the Darkside was at ease thanks to its permanent four-wheel-drive system but it was time to get dirty so we headed out to the southernmost part of the farm to visit the cows about to calf. Although it has hill descent control, it wasn’t needed for the trip across paddocks alongside the cliffs.
As I parked to take photos, the cows came over to check out the Amarok. Actually, they probably thought it was the farmer with more hay, so I had to explain the difference between a VW Amarok and the farmer’s single cab Toyota Hilux.
Well, at least they listened to my talk, instead the sheep fled as I drove through their paddocks. Then again, they may have realised it was a wolf in (black) sheep's clothing.
The interior of the Amarok Darkside is similar to most Volkswagens.
