How safe is the new Volkswagen Amarok? Second-gen ute scores five star rating from ANCAP

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Volkswagen’s new-generation Amarok will enter the Australian market with a five-star safety rating, according to Australia’s car testing body ANCAP. 

The Amarok scored 86 percent for adult occupant protection, an impressive 93 percent for child occupant protection, 74 percent for vulnerable road users and 83 percent for safety assist. 

It’s worth noting that the new Amarok gains rear side airbags for the first time – an addition not found on the last generation of Amarok. 

What didn’t the Amarok do so well in?

ANCAP noted that the Amarok “could pose a risk for oncoming vehicles in a crash”, much like the related Ford Ranger and other large SUVs on the market.

The safety authority also noted that car-to-pedestrian AEB was rated as ‘adequate’ rather than ‘good’ .

Pre-orders for the Volkswagen Amarok are now open, with first deliveries to take place in May 2023. 

What standard safety tech is included with the Volkswagen Amarok?

All 2023 Volkswagen Amaroks come fitted as standard with the following safety features:

• Nine airbags
• Autonomous emergency braking 
• Driver fatigue warning 
• Hill start assist 
• Trailer sway control
• Emergency call feature 
• Lane keeping and lane departure warning 
• Swerve steer assist
• Speed sign recognition 
• Hill descent control
• Front and rear park distance control
• Reversing camera

On certain models, the following safety assistance features are standard:

• Side assist and blind-spot monitoring (all but base Core)
• Front view camera (Style and up)
• Rear traffic alert (not available on Core)
• 360-degree camera (not available on Core and Life)
• Adaptive cruise control (Core)
• Adaptive cruise control with stop and go, predictive speed limiter (not available on Core or Life variants)
• Parking assistance (available on Life, Style, Panamericana and Aventura) 

How does the related Ford Ranger compare?

As you might expect with the two vehicles sharing the same platform, the Ford Ranger scored an almost identical safety rating as the new Volkswagen Amarok, with the only difference being a 2 percent lower adult occupant protection score of 84 percent (versus 86 percent for the Amarok). 

It’s worth noting that all Rangers are included, bar the Raptor which is untested.

Volkswagen Amarok 2023: prices in Australia

All prices listed are before on-road costs.

• Core 2.0L TDI405 (manual): $50,990 
• Core 2.0L TDI405 (auto): $52,990 
• Life 2.0L TDI500 (auto): $56,990
• Style 2.0L TDI500 (auto): $66,990
• Style V6 3.0L TDI600 (auto): $70,990 
• PanAmericana V6 3.0L TDI600 (auto): $75,990 
• Aventura V6 3.0L TDI600 (auto): $79,990
• Aventura 2.3L TSI452 (auto): $79,990