2026 Volkswagen Amarok W600 review

There’s the smell of burning brakes as a Volkswagen Amarok W600 prototype mule comes screaming into the skid pan at the former Holden Lang Lang proving ground. A passenger door flings open, and another disorientated victim stumbles out with a look of mild disbelief. “You’re up,” smiles a Volkswagen minder, and into the passenger seat straps Open Road. 

What follows is about five eye-opening minutes as Darren Webster, veteran Walkinshaw (and former HSV) test driver, makes a dual-cab ute do things it shouldn’t be able to do around Lang Lang’s approximately 4km-long ride and handling test circuit. We’re the next sucker to emerge from the Amarok W600 looking dazed and confused. 

Today, we’re about an hour south-east of Melbourne on what is spiritual ground for Australian car enthusiasts, where generations of Holden Commodore were fine-tuned. We’re disturbing the ghosts of Australia’s forsaken car industry to get our first drive of the closest thing you can get to a modern day Holden Special Vehicle (HSV) – the Walkinshaw-fettled Volkswagen Amarok W600. 

Regular Open Road readers will have already absorbed the first technical details of this new, home-grown, driver-focused dual-cab from our early first look in January. 

Then, we learned about the W600’s custom Koni suspension, the new wheels and tyres, the rear-side-exit exhaust and myriad Walkinshaw styling bits. We heard how the W600 has had its suspension tuned by the same people who worked on Australia’s greatest performance sedans, like the HSV GTSR W1. And how it will have its various bits attached in a great, big factory in greater metropolitan Melbourne – making it partly Aussie-built. 

We also found out how this Amarok has received a makeover from ex-HSV designer Julian Quincey, although VW kept the front bumper disguised. Today, as well as driving the new W600 – briefly – we’re getting to see the Aussie-designed bespoke front bumper and the overall finished design in full, for the first time.

How much does the Volkswagen Amarok W600 cost?

Volkswagen is yet to announce the W600’s price, but our guess is between $90,000 and $100,000 before on-road costs. 

It would be terrific value at $84,990. But even at that price, the BYD Shark 6 – which continues to take chunks out of the Australian dual-cab market – will smell blood in the water, and there’s not much any of the established brands can do to stop it. A 350kW Performance model of the Shark just arrived at a dizzyingly low $62,900 before on-road costs. 

VW could try to lure buyers away from the $90,690 Ford Ranger Raptor with a slightly more grown-up alternative that keeps its towing and payload capability intact.

What is the Volkswagen Amarok W600 like inside?

Based on the W600’s newly revealed, almost GTI-like exterior styling, we almost expected to see tartan trim when opening the W600’s driver’s door for the first time. 

A side skirt electrically folds down and we climb up into what is basically a richly specced Amarok with some Walkinshaw branding (no tartan). That is to say, one of the nicest, most car-like and premium interiors of any dual-cab ute on sale. You get ‘Savona’ leather seats with firmer side bolsters and leather-look dashboard and door trims. The headrests and floor mats are embroidered with Walkinshaw logos, and you can find additional Walkinshaw branding on the brushed sill plates, metallic pedals and even in the side mirror puddle lamps.

What equipment does the Volkswagen Amarok W600 come with?

Sitting at the top end of the Amarok range, the W600 comes packed with standard equipment. You get a 10-way adjustable electric driver seat and eight-way adjustable manual passenger seat; front seat heaters; a 12-inch central touchscreen and 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. There’s a 640-watt Harman Kardon eight-speaker audio system. The Walkinshaw treatment adds the unique styling, Koni suspension, rear sway bar, 20-inch bespoke wheels, Michelin tyres, electrically deployable side steps, side-rear exit exhaust and Walkinshaw branding inside and out.

How safe is the Volkswagen Amarok W600?

The current-generation Amarok has a five-star ANCAP safety rating. It was tested in 2022. Active safety features include adaptive cruise control with lane-keeping assist; autonomous emergency braking; rear cross-traffic alert; blind-spot monitoring; 360-degree surround view parking camera; and speed sign recognition.

What powers the Volkswagen Amarok W600?

The W600 is powered by the same cast-iron-block 3.0-litre diesel V6 found elsewhere in the Amarok range. A Garrett turbocharger with variable turbine geometry helps produce 184kW at 3250rpm and 600Nm between 1750-2250rpm. It has a 10-speed automatic transmission and selectable high- and low-range four-wheel-drive. There is a mechanical rear differential lock.

What is the Volkswagen Amarok W600 like to drive?

Back at Lang Lang, it’s finally our time to drive the W600. A vehicle pulls up and the first thing we notice is that the new exhaust is certainly not what you’d call loud – there’s a polite level of extra volume but starting it early morning is probably not going to sour any neighbourly relations. 

“Accelerate as hard as you can towards those witches’ hats down there,” points one of the driving instructors, to some fluoro orange specks in the distance, “and slam on the brakes”. 

We select Drive, put our foot flat to the floor and there’s ample traction from the all-wheel-drive system in the wet. The W600 feels no faster than the standard V6 Amarok – nor should it, given it has the same 184kW and 600Nm. If anything, it might be slightly slower given it weighs a bit more. 

We arrive at the gated witches’ hats at 100km/h and slam on the brakes. The W600 feels stable and secure and having just done the same thing in the standard V6 Amarok, immediately we notice the stopping distance, on the wet surface, is much shorter in the W600, courtesy of the much wider wheels and tyres (up from a 7.5-inch to a 10-inch rim, with wide 285/50R20 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres). That’s even if the ABS feels a little surprised at the extra grip.

Next up, a slalom. The W600 has much wider tracks than the standard car, with the wheels sitting out an extra 51mm at each corner. It’s immediately noticeable, giving the vehicle a more planted feel. There’s also a not-unwelcome new meatiness to the steering at low speeds. 

Through the wet slalom, the W600 has substantially more cornering grip than the standard V6 Amarok, letting you carry significantly more speed. It sits reasonably flat (for a ute) and feels polished and composed. The standard Amarok V6 is hardly nautical through a slalom, but the W600 tidies that up again. 

We are invited to take the W600 around the handling circuit. Feeling inspired by the sportier suspension, more aggressive styling and road-focused wheels and tyres, we go hunting around for a Sports driving mode and maybe Manual transmission setting with some Golf GTI-style steering wheel paddles. There are no such things; not even an old-school sport transmission mode. A pity. 

The W600 feels as surefooted on the narrow track as it did in the slalom. First impressions of the suspension are good, even if there is an underlying tautness, which we presume is a byproduct of needing to maintain the Amarok’s 3500kg braked towing capacity, its GVM, GCM and circa-1000kg payload (which it does). 

There’s an early sense that the newly added 22mm rear swaybar has completely enlivened the Amarok’s enthusiasm for corners. But we need to drive the W600 on the road – off the very track on which it was developed – before making a final assessment. We’re also eager to feel the ride quality on urban and country Aussie roads. If the Koni frequency selective off-road dampers are as good as the bewitching Fox Shocks of the first-generation Ranger Raptor (which also had no extra power), Volkswagen will have done its job.

The Open Road’s take on the Volkswagen Amarok W600

Like so many brands before it, Volkswagen could have stopped at purely cosmetic changes for the W600, jacked up the price and called it a day. But instead, it has pursued and implemented some meaningful mechanical improvements. On first experience, it feels great to drive, and we look forward to driving it even more. 

That’s even if the Ford Ranger Raptor keeps entering one’s mind whenever Volkswagen calls the W600 the “ultimate driver’s ute”. There’s no doubting Walkinshaw’s engineers have worked magic in gifting a heavy ute extra handling ability – while preserving its required utility – but calling it the “ultimate driver’s ute” does invite comparison to a best-selling vehicle on which it shares its platform. One that’s a purpose-built performance ute with a 292kW twin-turbo 3.0-litre petrol V6 and a tonne of driving modes to play with – for potentially about the same price.

Like the previous generation Walkinshaw Amarok, an S version may later bring greater oomph, but VW has made no mention of such a thing. As it stands, we had a lot of fun in the driver – and passenger seat – of the W600 on this brief first drive, enough to have us champing at the bit to join the proper launch in August on Tasmanian roads.

What we like

• Walkinshaw feels to have transformed the handling
• Restrained yet aggressive new styling
• Amarok interior remains one of the best among utes

Not so much:

• No extra power or torque – might actually accelerate slower
• Not even a Sport driving mode or steering wheel paddles
• It could be a tad expensive for what it is