When it comes to towing, capacity is king. Or is it? NZ4WD Editor Ross MacKay decided to find out.

A previous winner of our annual ‘4WD Ute Comparo’ it may be, but it’s fair to say that Volkswagen’s Amarok was greeted with (and in some far-off pockets of our fair land is still subject to) deep suspicion.

For some it’s because it seems ‘too flash’ to get dirty, for others it’s the fact that – shock, horror – it doesn’t come with a low-range option, instead relying on VW’s excellent full-time 4Motion 4WD system with Torsen diff, a broader (eight) spread of gears (auto) and some trick off-road electronics.

Then there is the fact that the engine is ‘only’ a 2-litre 4-cylinder.

Straight away you’re probably thinking, ‘so it’s not going to be your first choice as a tow vehicle.’ So what was I doing borrowing a Volkswagen NZ demonstrator to tow my drift car from Auckland to Taupo and back?

The simple answer is that I wanted to see first-hand if, indeed, a modern 2-litre turbo diesel was up to a typical NZ tow job.

And the short answer is, ‘it certainly is!’

For the longer answer check out the April issue of NZ4WD. For more information about the various Amarok models and spec levels currently available go to www.volkswagen.co.nz
 
To read the full story in the April 2016 issue of NZ4WD go to Zinio.com (on sale March 21) or purchase your own hard copy at the Adrenalin store.