Wolf leaps into action with the load-lugging

There’s nothing quite like a house move to prove the everyday usefulness of having a bakkie in the long-term fleet. Granted, in my case it was less of a house move and more of a massive house clearance, with the need to de-clutter ahead of a move to the UK.

A van would have been better but in the absence of a VW Transporter, our Amarok V6 was called to action. A new tonneau cover helped to keep everything neatly in the load bay on numerous trips to the tip and the recycling depot.

As a quick aside, on one such trip to the tip in Woodmead, I was passed by a Golf GTi that was blatantly exceeding the speed limit. He had to stop for the red robot and needed to be taught a lesson.

Switching the transmission to Sport mode, the light changed, the wolf (meaning of Amarok) bared its claws and the Amarok left the Golf behind, much to the surprise of its driver.

He was so surprised that at the next traffic light he wound down his window to ask what modifications the bakkie had benefited from. I pointed out that it was completely stock. He went off in a huff.

But back to the moving. At one point, I had to get an entire patio set into the back to deliver to a friend. I’m quite good at Tetris packing but this one was rather tricky.

However, after dismantling a few pieces and a bit of trial and error, it all went in and under the tonneau cover too.

Removing the tonneau for larger loads was a relatively easy affair. Fortunately, as with many of its type, it can be rolled back to the cab where straps fix it into place so you do not need to remove the whole thing. Then you just have to remove the bars across the load bay and pack everything in.

For me, my time with the Amarok V6 has come to an end and when I arrived in the UK I missed its practicality when it came time to pick up the odd item of furniture bought from Ikea or off Gumtree.

Immune to scratches

A Land Rover Discovery Sport helped, but it did not have the versatility of the Amarok and certainly not the more utilitarian load bay that seemed to have been immune to any potential scratches from the various loads put it in over its tenure.

While I will have to resort to the typical man with a van thing here, I look back on the time spent with the Amarok well. It proved not only practical but also immensely fun for those of us who enjoy a bit of performance and a good drive.

Like the X-Class, it’s not cheap but it is a great bakkie and practical not just at load-lugging but in the daily commute too. It will be missed but have no fear, the team will continue to bring you reports in the coming months. Me, I’m off to find a bloke with a Transit.