Volkswagen Amarok is crowned Ute of the Year

SYDNEY – Dec 8, 2011: The Volkswagen Amarok has taken out the 4x4 Australia Magazine’s 2011 ‘4x4 Ute of the Year award’, with a convincing win over a collection of established and newly released competitors.

The Amarok which entered the market earlier this year has confirmed its position as the benchmark for its class with this win.

Phil Clark, Volkswagen’s Director of Commercial Vehicles was pleased to hear of the Amarok’s success.

“The Amarok brings a fresh new approach to the segment which has for many years been overlooked when it comes to offering both active and passive safety features and more importantly excellent on and off-road performance,” said Mr Clark

“The 4x4 Ute of the Year award highlights just how well our designers and engineers have done their research with our first entry in this segment.”

According to 4x4 Australia Magazine the Volkswagen Amarok delivered on the key areas ahead of the competition.

“On-road, the chassis offers a level of ride and handling well above all of the others, yet the Amarok is still as good as it gets for off-road ability.

“The Amarok is ahead of the game in so many ways. It’s powered by the quietest, most refined and most economical engine that gives little or nothing away to the others”.

“Whatever way you look at it, the Amarok is the complete package…and the 2011 Ute of the Year”

The contenders for 4x4 Ute of the Year award were assessed on five different criteria:

“Value” in relation to equipment and price.

“Doing the Job” where judges assessed the vehicle according to the vehicle’s design brief.

“Bushability” which determined how well the vehicle was equipped for Aussie off-road and outback travel.

“Breaking new ground” evaluated advancement in technology and design.

“Built tough” took into account how strong the vehicle was and how it coped with rigorous off-road and outback driving environments.