South Africa next? Volkswagen Amarok drops 2.0-litre Down Under

Volkswagen has started its clampdown of alliance partner Ford’s 2.0-litre Panther turbodiesel engine in the Amarok by removing it entirely in Australia.

2.3: In, 2.0: Out

Last year, the Blue Oval confirmed the end of the bi-turbo unit of the same engine in both the Ranger and Everest by 2026.

While the single-turbo unit prevails, the bi-turbo will make way for the 2.3-litre EcoBoost petrol already in use in the Amarok.

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As part of the introduction of the Dark Label trim, the Aussie-spec Amarok loses the 2.0-litre in both configurations, as well as the six-speed automatic gearbox.

This leaves the 222 kW EcoBoost petrol and the 3.0-litre Lion turbodiesel V6 as the only options now available.

Unlike the previous Amarok, still sold and made in South America, the Ford-based model is produced solely in South Africa by the Blue Oval at its Silverton plant outside Pretoria.

For South Africa

Locally, Volkswagen South Africa has not confirmed the same engine revisions as the Ranger, which is still to be implemented.

Aside from the the bi-turbo, the Ranger will also take leave of the six-speed automatic ‘box, though, the six-speed manual on the base XL remains.

At the same time, the 2.3 EcoBoost will only be available with rear-wheel drive whereas on the Amarok, all-wheel drive is standard.

The expansion of the Lion turbodiesel V6 will see it come with all-wheel drive as standard as the effective replacement for the four-wheel drive bi-turbodiesel.

This also applies to the Everest, which loses the XLT trim level in favour of the Active as the new base grade.

On the Ranger, the Sport grade, long used in Australia, debuts, but only with the EcoBoost.

Amarok range expansion

As present, the Amarok range has 14 models priced from R593 200 for the single cab 2.0 TDI manual to R1 252 200 for the 3.0 TDI Aventura 4Motion auto.

Come the second and fourth quarters, the line-up will see the arrival of the returning Dark Label and the first-time availability of the Australian-honed Walkinshaw-tuned W600.

For the moment, it remains unknown as to whether the arrival of the latter pair will see the same line-up rejig as the Ranger in which the bi-turbo departs and the single-turbo stays.

Information from carexpert.com.au.

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