GRR Garage: Volkswagen Amarok – In with the new

After six months of mildly manic motoring in a teeny tiny Caterham it’s a complete reversal in many ways for the GRR team. After waving off the little orange beast we now await the arrival of its replacement – codenamed ‘Big Blue’.

We’re moving from the two-seater nutjob (3.1m long, 1.6m wide) to a massive double-cab Amarok pick-up (5.2m long, 1.9m wide) for the next three months – courtesy of our friends over at Volkswagen.

But fear not, it’s not going to be slow going. The Amarok received a refresh earlier this year, and a couple of years before that had new life breathed into its engine bay. Gone was the slightly wimpy 2.0-litre diesel, and in came a mighty 3.0-litre V6 (still an oil burner). That means 224PS (221bhp) but much more importantly a staggering 550Nm (405lb ft) of torque, pumped through an eight-speed ‘box to all four wheels. So the Amarok will hit 60mph in just eight seconds. Yes, that’s 2.2 tonnes of unladen pick-up hitting 60 less than two seconds slower than a Golf GTI.

‘Our’ Amarok is set to arrive in Highline trim level, which means Bluetooth and a 6.33-inch touchscreen, voice control, 18-inch Manuas alloys, full-size spare, cruise control, climate control, stainless steel sidebars and tinted rear lights. In addition the new GRR-mobile has been fitted with VW’s Chrome styling pack, sat-nav, 14-way adjustable heated electric front seats, fog lights with cornering function, automatic lights and wipers, a protective coating on the load bay and a towbar. The fetching Ravenna Blue paint is also an extra.

So the Amarok will weigh in at around £44,333 all told, which includes £5,592 of options on top of a base on the road price of £38,741 including VAT.

But what can we, a company that loves nimble fast cars do with a pick-up? Well, we live on a country estate and always need things like Christmas trees… so we’ll find something to do.

MPG this week: it hasn't arrived.