Configurator Challenge: Volkswagen Amarok

The first new Volkswagen Amarok in 12 years has finally arrived in Australia. Here’s how the Drive team would order theirs.

Customisation is in vogue at the moment, but choice can be seriously confusing. In our configurator challenge, we let the Drive team loose on a manufacturer’s website to create their ideal combination for a certain model.

This week the team turned to the freshest arrival in the ute class, the new Volkswagen Amarok – the first new model in 12 years, and the twin under the skin to the latest Ford Ranger.

All the submissions below were completed without looking over each other’s homework – and we were surprised to find three of the six team members who responded chose the same model grade and engine.

Tell us what your ideal Volkswagen Amarok would look like in the comments below (build yours here), and what you’d like us to configure next.

MORE: 2023 Volkswagen Amarok video review: Australian first drive
MORE: New Volkswagen Amarok to be the brand’s biggest seller in Australia
MORE: 2023 Volkswagen Amarok price and specs

Joshua Dowling, National Motoring Editor

I would opt for the turbo-petrol – not the V6 diesel – version of the Volkswagen Amarok Aventura in the light silver colour that Volkswagen for some reason calls Light Grey. It looks understated and stylish in this finish and, after all, silver is the colour cars are designed in.

The engine is the same turbocharged 2.3-litre four-cylinder petrol available in the Ford Mustang.

As a mall rig – and needing to do mostly short trips – I can do without the hassle of diesel particulate filter maintenance.

I also like the smoother power delivery of turbo four-cylinder petrol engines.

And as my time with the latest Ford Ranger Raptor has shown – with a twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 – modern petrol power is not much thirstier than diesel these days.

Don’t like the idea of a refined, efficient, turbocharged petrol-powered double-cab ute? That’s ok. There are plenty of Facebook pages dedicated to jacked-up utes with tyre poke. Sick bro.

Kez Casey, Production Editor

Volkswagen’s specifications make it easy to configure a vehicle with no options or packages to consider, but rather than go fully-loaded with my Amarok, I’ve picked what would be an excellent starting point.

Starting with an Amarok Life means locking into the 154kW/500Nm 2.0-litre bi-turbo engine, but this is more than robust enough.

I’d quite like the 222kW 2.3-litre turbo petrol engine to become its availabile beyond the top-of-the-range Aventura – as that would be my preferred engine – but alas it’s not to be, at least for now.

So, to my Midnight Black starter pack, I’m picturing a two-inch Ironman lift kit, a set of bronze Method racing wheels wrapped in BFGoodrich KM3 mud-terrain tyres, and a much-needed front nudge or bull bar to hang a row of Lightforce LED driving lights from.

Necessary equipment? Absolutely not. Great looking? Once all that aftermarket gear arrives for it, without a doubt.

Tom Fraser, Journalist

I think the new VW Amarok looks great in all variants, but particularly in off-road-focused PanAmericana guise.

I’m not usually a huge fan of red but I can’t go past the Deep Red Metallic ($990) on the Amarok. It looks great on the configurator, but I’d be keen to add bits and pieces after delivery such as a light bar, wider flares, and a subtle nudge bar. In fact, just have mine delivered to ARB, thanks.

Ben Zachariah, Journalist

Unlike some other Configurator Challenges, this one was a pretty straight-forward decision for me: a 2023 Volkswagen Amarok Style TDI600 with the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6.

I have a long history with six-cylinder cars, and turbo-diesel sixes always seem to have a great history of reliability – often because they’re under-stressed and have an easy life. This one has 184kW and 600Nm, which sounds like a good set of numbers to me.

The options list was limited on this one, and while I wasn’t keen to spend any more than the $70,990 starting price (before on-road costs), paying the extra $990 for Midnight Black Metallic transforms the Amarok from an anonymous commercial ute to something a little sleeker and more mysterious. As well as making the Amarok easier to sell when I’m done with it.

I’d remove the 4Motion decals from the tub, and take the Amarok directly to swap out the factory-fitted wheels for a set of aftermarket alloys from Method.

Without the non-genuine wheels – bought separately – the Amarok Style TDI600 comes to $77,950 drive-away in Melbourne. Job’s a good’un.

Jordan Mulach, Journalist

The reason for my choice is why I don’t know if I could buy a non-Raptor Ranger – I don’t like diesel engines.

Sure, there are huge torque and fuel economy benefits, but I just can’t gel with having a diesel – even if it would save me money in the long run.

Unfortunately, in the Amarok that means paying top dollar for the Aventura, though it does actually make almost as much power, and even more torque than a Volkswagen Golf R hot hatch (thanks to Ford’s turbo 2.3-litre four-cylinder petrol engine).

Buying an Amarok Aventura results in every feature being fitted as standard. The only way I could make its price go up was to option Dark Grey Metallic paint, which is $990 extra.

With a Queensland postcode, the drive-away price of my Amarok is $87,291 (ouch). Like the Ranger, I wish the petrol engine was available in lesser-equipped grades, but that could be why I don’t run a car company.

Alex Misoyannis, Journalist

A caveat to start: my ideal Volkswagen Amarok – a mid-grade Style with the 2.3-litre turbo-petrol engine – doesn’t exist. Here’s hoping that petrol engine makes its way to cheaper models in the Amarok range with future updates.

But for the purposes of this challenge – with unlimited Monopoly money to spend – the engine matters more than the model grade, so I’ve selected the top-of-the-range Aventura with ‘TSI452’ turbo-petrol power.

I’m not your typical ute customer, do most of my driving in the city, and have never been a huge fan of diesel engines, so the concept of a potent turbocharged petrol engine in a ute is more appealing than the rattle and more leisurely pace of a diesel.

Impress your mates with this ‘fun’ fact: the last four-door car left on sale in Australia with the just-departed Ford Focus ST hot hatch’s engine is a Volkswagen, and you can buy it in the same showroom as what was the Focus ST’s chief long-time rival, a Golf GTI.

I’ve optioned my petrol Amarok Aventura in the launch colour seen in VW’s official images, the creatively-named ‘Mid Blue’ metallic, which costs an extra $990.

The final price? $80,980 plus on-road costs, or $88,488 drive-away plugging a Sydney postcode into Volkswagen’s online pricing calculator.

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