Volkswagen Amarok V6 vs Ford Ranger XLT vs Toyota HiLux SR5 vs Holden Colorado Z71 comparison review

The ute has evolved.

What was once a tool for farmers has become a very different vehicle. The modern dual-cab ute now has to play many roles; a workhorse, a family car and a weekend toy.

Now that most can perform multiple tasks, it has made them more desirable than ever before as evidenced by the Toyota HiLux becoming Australia's best-selling new vehicle in 2016.

Volkswagen became the first European brand into the modern ute market when it launched the Amarok in 2011. But it didn't have the muscle to mix it with the toughest rivals, until now... as a mid-life facelift not only brings fresh styling and a revised cabin but introduces a new 3.0-litre turbo V6 that instantly makes it the most powerful in its class.

But is that enough? We're putting the Amarok V6 Highline up against its direct rivals - the HiLux SR5, Ranger XLT and Holden Colorado Z71 - to see how it stacks up.

Volkswagen Amarok V6 Highline

The Amarok had already earned praise for its well mannered ride and handling and nicely presented cabin. But, with only a four-cylinder engine, it didn't win over buyers in the same way its Asian-built rivals have.

So for the update launched in late 2016 the focus was more on the engine bay. The four-cylinder diesel and petrol engines remain available in the lower grade models but for the top-specification Highline and Ultimate it is V6 power.

The 3.0-litre turbo diesel is the same VW Group engine used in the Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne. It does pack a significant punch, with 165kW of power and 550Nm of torque, which is comfortably class leading.

And it feels every bit as muscularon the road. There's a strong and steady flow of pulling power right across the rev range. Coupled with an eight-speed automatic transmission, the Amarok never feels strained, instead it always feels ready and willing to go a bit quicker.

The automatic is well suited to the engine, offering smooth shifts and quick reactions when needed but also cruising quietly.

Despite its power and torque advantage the Amarok has the lowest towing capacity of 3000kg, compared to 3500kg for its rivals.

We tested all four of these utes with 500kg of weight in the tray, to see how it impacted on the engine, ride and handling.

The Amarok has a payload of 911kg so had little trouble managing the weight. The engine was unflustered and the ride and handling remained controlled.

It's also worth noting that the Amarok is the only one of this group that will fit a standard Australian pallet (1165mm) between its wheel arches in the tray.

The tray measures 1555mm long, 1620mm wide and 1222mm between the arches.

The tray comes with a plastic liner, four tie-down points, a 12-volt outlet and a pair of LED lights mounted at the back of the cabin to illuminate the tray if you need to load up in darkness.

With or without weight the Amarok is one of the nicest utes to drive. The steering is almost SUV-like, much lighter and more responsive than its rivals.

The ride quality is good without any load, there's still some bounciness you get from all of these utes when they are unladen but overall it has good comfort and compliance. Adding the weight only improves the Amarok's ride by settling it down and removing that bouncing.

Stopping power is strong too, with the V6 models getting larger front brakes than the four-cylinder Amaroks as well as disc brakes on the rear; the only one of this quartet to have them fitted.

The power comes at a price though, with the Amarok Highline the most expensive of this group with a starting price of $59,990.

Standard equipment includes 18-inch alloy wheels, stainless steel sidesteps, bi-Xenon headlights with integrated daytime running lights and a sports bar in the tray.

Inside there are leather seats, Bluetooth, voice control and VW's App Connect system that incorporates Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The interior presentation is among the best-in-class, borrowing heavily from VW's passenger cars in terms of design, fit and finish. There's good storage and the seats are a combination of cloth and leather to add a premium touch.

Rear passenger space is tight on knee room, which detracts from its practical nature as a dual-cab ute.

Disappointingly there is one major omission from the standard equipment list - potentially life-saving rear curtain airbags, which Volkswagen management still views as unnecessary.

That's probably not the case for those buying these dual-cab utes for family duties, or those who carry work colleagues in the back. It also means that if the Amarok was re-tested by ANCAP it would not score a five-star rating. Active safety features including autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning and blind spot monitoring are not available either.

VW offers a five-year capped price servicing program for the Amarok V6. Intervals are 12 months/15,000km and will cost $1690 over the first three years, which makes it the most expensive to maintain of this group.

Volkswagen Amarok V6 Highline price and specifications

Price: From $59,990 plus on-road costs

Engine: 3.0-litre V6 turbo diesel

Power: 165kW at 2500-4500rpm

Torque: 550Nm at 1500-2500rpm

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic, all-wheel drive

Fuel use: 7.8L/100km

Ford Ranger XLT

Volkswagen has made no secret that it is targeting the Ranger XLT with its Amarok Highline. Which makes sense to us as the XLT is two-time defending winner of the Best Ute category in Drive Car of the Year Best awards, thanks to its combination of capability, comfort and value.

It's a cylinder short on the VW though, powered by a 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbo diesel. But it produces a healthy 147kW and 470Nm that makes it feels strong enough on the road. It isn't quite as effortless as the Amarok but the Ranger gets the job done easier than most.

The six-speed automatic transmission helps extract the best from the engine with its well matched ratios and smooth shifts.

The Ranger has always impressed with its ride quality both with and without a load. The comfort and control is similar to the VW when it is unladen but with the 500kg on board the Ranger feels more stable and composed.

The engine has to work slightly harder than the VW with the load but it doesn't struggle and still pulls strongly.

The steering isn't quite as light as the Amarok but it is direct and responsive, one of the best in this class.

The Ranger also wins points for its practical tray. While it may not be quite as wide between the arches as the VW it still measures 1549mm long and 1560mm wide, with 1139mm of space between the arches.

It also gets a tray liner, lighting similar to the VW and a group-leading six tie-down points, which makes securing a load easy. It also has 12-volt outlet in the tray if you need to plug something in that requires power.

Total payload is higher than the VW with a claimed 995kg and towing capacity is 3500kg.

Priced from $57,725 (plus on-roads) the XLT is the second most expensive of this group but comes well equipped. Standard items include 17-inch alloys, a six-speaker stereo, Bluetooth, digital radio, Ford's SYNC3 infotainment system that includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, navigation, CD player, USB port, dual-zone air-conditioning, leather-wrapped steering wheel, auto headlights and wipers.

The cabin is nicely presented too. It looks good and the finish is nice for a ute even with the cloth seats. There's good storage space, a cooled console box, a pair of 12-volt outlets and room in the back is best of this group with good head and knee room. The back seats also boast a 230V inverter in the rear console for running anything with a regular power plug.

Ford has listened to earlier criticism and made a reversing camera standard on its pick-up models, along with full airbag protection for both rows.

Additional safety is available in the optional Technology Pack that brings adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, lane keeping assist, lane departure warning and automatic high beam lights for $800.

Ford offers lifetime capped price servicing for all of its post-2007 models. Services are required every 12 months/15,000km. Over the first three year period it will cost $1465 to maintain the Ranger.

Ford Ranger XLT price and specifications

Price: From $57,725 plus on-road costs

Engine: 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbo diesel

Power: 147kW at 3000rpm

Torque: 470Nm at 1750-2500rpm

Transmission: Six-speed automatic, four-wheel drive

Fuel use: 8.2L/100km

Toyota HiLux SR5

If popularity was the deciding factor in these comparison tests then the HiLux would be a comfortable victor.

As mentioned previously, the venerable HiLux has become not only the most popular ute but was Australia's most popular new vehicle of any kind in 2016.

But popularity isn't part of our criteria so the HiLux has to stand on its merits as a workhorse and family-friendly dual-cab.

It doesn't start strongly under the bonnet with the least powerful engine with the least amount of torque. The 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel produces 130kW and 450Nm.

While that may sound modest in comparison to the VW and Ranger it does a respectable job on the road most of the time.

Unladen it feels reasonably strong but can labour under hard acceleration. With the weight in the back it felt noticeably more strained than its rivals here, working hard to get the job done.

The ride isn't as composed as either the Ranger or Amarok without a load, with a tendency to bounce and fidget across uneven surfaces.

Adding 500kg to the tray settles it down slightly but it still can't match the Ranger for composure and comfort.

The steering is a big step forward from the previous HiLux but is still lagging slightly behind the Ford and VW in terms of responsiveness. It feels a little slow at times and lacks the feedback the benchmark cars offer.

At $56,490 (plus on-roads) the HiLux SR5 is the cheapest of this group but doesn't feel it in terms of equipment. Standard gear includes 18-inch alloys, LED headlights, keyless entry and ignition (the only one of this quartet to have the handy feature), navigation, digital radio, Bluetooth, cloth trim (leather is optional) and reversing camera.

However, it does miss out on a tray liner and even our press test car was starting to show the scraps and scratches you can expect to cover the tray bed with if you use it as a workhorse.

The HiLux has the lowest payload of this group at just 820kg. The tray measures 1569mm long and 1645mm wide.

The tray does have four tie-down points but also misses out on a power outlet and lighting.

In the cabin, the design also feels more SUV-like than a traditional working-class ute. The dash has some flair to it and a variety of trim elements help lift the feeling of quality.

Space is good front and rear, as is storage space and there is both 12V and 220V sockets.

Safety includes seven airbags to cover all occupants but the active safety extras offered by Ford aren't matched by Toyota.

The HiLux is covered by Toyota's capped price servicing program for three years. But it has shorter intervals than its competition needed a dealer visit every six months/10,000k. Despite the extra service visits it still only totals $1440 over the first three years.

Toyota HiLux SR5 price and specifications

Price: From $56,490 plus on-road costs

Engine: 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel

Power: 130kW at 3400rpm

Torque: 450Nm at 1600-2400rpm

Transmission: Six-speed automatic, four-wheel drive

Fuel use: 8.1L/100km

Holden Colorado Z71

Having failed to match the sales highs of either the HiLux or Ranger, Holden has given its Colorado a major mid-life upgrade.

Holden, and parent company General Motors, worked hard to improve the refinement of the engine and gearbox as well as the Colorado's on-road manners.

The engine is still the same 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel as before and with 147kW and 500Nm it matches the Ranger for peak power and is second only to the Amarok in terms of torque.

The improvements to refinement are evident as soon as you begin driving the updated Colorado, with less noise and vibrations penetrating the cabin.

The same is true of the transmission, which now operates more smoothly thanks to a counter balancer on the flywheel that dampens out vibrations.

With so much torque, the Colorado feels strong both unladen and with 500kg in the back.

Holden can claim bragging rights for payload capacity with the Colorado capable of taking 1107kg.

The tray measures 1484mm long and 1534mm wide and comes with a tray liner but no power outlets and only two tie-down points. The tie-down points are located at the rear of the tray, near the tailgate, which make it hard to secure a load which is a big negative for anyone looking to use the tray for bigger loads on a regular basis.

Ride comfort is better than the HiLux, with more control and less fidgeting, but it can't match the Ranger and Amarok in terms of pure comfort.

The steering is also just ahead of the Toyota but not quite a match for the other two in terms of responsiveness and feedback to the driver

We're testing the top of the range Colorado Z71 which is priced from $57,300 (plus on-roads), putting it in third place cost-wise.

It looks the most premium of these four thanks to its 18-inch alloy wheels, sailplane sports bar and side rails with 'Z71' graphics, and soft tonneau; the only one of this group to get a cover for the tray.

It also comes with 'Z71' decals on the bonnet, roof rails plus a black front grille, door handles, mirrors and side mouldings.

The sporty treatment continues into the cabin with 'Z71' embroidered into the leather-appointed and heated front seats. There's also climate control air-con, cruise control, auto lights and wipers, a seven-speaker sound system and Holden's MyLink infotainment system that includes an 8.0-inch colour touchscreen and incorporates Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, digital radio and navigation.

That helps the cabin look nice but some of the materials used, specifically the harder plastics, detract slightly from the premium feel.

The Colorado's safety credentials are strong with seven airbags, a reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors plus forward collision warning and lane departure warning all included in the cost.

The Colorado is covered by Holden's capped price servicing scheme that requires maintenance every nine months/15,000km. Over the first three years it will cost $1396 to service, thanks to relatively affordable $349 charges each visit.

Holden Colorado Z71 price and specifications

Price: From $57,300 plus on-road costs

Engine: 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel

Power: 147kW at 3600rpm

Torque: 500Nm at 2000rpm

Transmission: Six-speed automatic, four-wheel drive

Fuel use: 7.9L/100km

Verdict

So, has Volkswagen done enough to make the Amarok the new benchmark in the booming ute market?

In short, no. The V6 is unquestionably an improvement and the best engine you'll find in any ute today, and the Amarok is also at the top of the segment for ride and handling as well as cabin presentation.

But it falls down in some key areas, such as rear seat space and off-roading ability. But by far the biggest black mark against is its sub-par safety credentials. Its lack of rear air bag protection and any form of semi-autonomous driving aids places a massive question mark over its credibility as a family-focused alternative.

So where the Amarok finishes depends entirely on how much weight you put on safety.

The Toyota doesn't actually do much wrong, it's just not quite as good as its rivals. But if you want dependability and peace of mind come resale time then the HiLux cannot be faulted.

The Holden does a better job of being a sport ute than the HiLux in most areas - the engine is stronger, the cabin is better, and the ride is more compliant.

But the Ranger XLT still remains our pick of this bunch as the best all-rounder, with more car-like driving attributes, more work-friendly features and the ability to go anywhere for those more adventurous. It is the one that plays the roles of workhorse, family wagon and weekend warrior the best.