The Amarok uses a lightly reskinned version of Ford’s Sync 4 infotainment system and it works respectably well, although it could still use a physical cursor scroller as an alternative to touchscreen operation. The digital instruments are rendered very clearly, and the steering wheel controls for the trip computer menus are proper buttons rather than touch-sensitive ones, which will suit glove wearers.
The 2.0-litre diesel engine isn’t as quiet or smooth as the V6, but it’s still impressively mechanically refined by pick-up standards. It idles quietly, has only a small amount of a distant clatter under load, and when revving, it’s much better isolated than the bigger four-pot of a Toyota Hilux, for example.
The 10-speed automatic gearbox has some of the feel, on the road, of a continuously variable transmission – that gentle initial engagement (useful when you’re carrying heavy loads, towing or driving off road) and the tendency only to rev 500rpm or so between upshifts when accelerating on part throttle. It’s smooth, though, and gives the Amarok all the on-road performance that a vehicle of this size and brief really needs.
For ride comfort and handling, since a mid-spec Amarok Style runs on 18in wheels with chunky-sidewalled ‘mud and sand’ tyres, it deals with UK country roads reasonably well – better, certainly, than the range-topping Aventura V6 TDI we tried (which has heavier 21s and lower-profile rubber). The ride is initially firmer and slightly fussier than that of most pick-ups, but its damping and isolation are better. Body control is quite good by class standards too.
