Toyota Hilux GR-S pips bi-turbo VW Amarok in photo finish

One of the gains Volkswagen made by getting into bed with Ford in the production of the new VW Amarok, is a wider selection of powertrains.

The second-generation Amarok is offered locally in a choice of three engines; 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel, 2.0-litre bi-turbo and 2.0-litre single turbo.

ALSO READ: LISTEN: Is VW Amarok better off by getting into bed with Ford Ranger?

Bread and butter VW Amarok

After putting the V6 to the test in both Aventura and PanAmericana guise, The Citizen Motoring got to sample the 2.0-litre bi-turbo mill in Life guise. This trim level is one step up from workhorse Amarok-level. But still one step below the more leisure-orientated Style offering that sits below the Aventura and PanAmericana.

The Life’s bi-turbo powerplant made its debut on the previous generation Ford Ranger. From the previous to the current generation Ranger – and now Amarok – the mill was retuned from producing 157 kW of power to 154 kW, with the torque kept unchanged at 500 kW.

The engine is mated to 10-speed automatic transmission, which also debuted on the previous generation of its production twin.

ALSO READ: VW Amarok pips V6 Ford Ranger to sibling rivalry bragging rights

Faster than Ford Ranger

What we did notice in the new bi-turbo Ranger is that the gearbox is much better calibrated to the engine. Despite losing out on 3 kW, it feels a lot faster, which was confirmed during testing.

By achieving a 0 to 100 km/h sprint time of 10.71 seconds, it beat the outgoing bi-turbo Ranger by almost two seconds. So we took the bi-turbo Amarok for an early morning outing to Gerotek to see how it stacks up against its production twin. And the fastest other four-cylinder oil-burning bakkies we have on record.

The bi-turbo VW Amarok was up against the bi-turbo Ford Ranger, which clocked a fastest 0 to 100 km/h time of 10.71 seconds.

Next up was the Isuzu D-Max 3.0TD V-Cross, whose 140 kW/450 Nm 3.0-litre turbodiesel engine saw it come out of left-field to run a 10.59-split last year.

ALSO READ: Turbo upgrade helps Toyota Hilux GR-S overtake V6 Ford Ranger

Toyota Hilux GR-S on top

Topping the chart for the four-pot diesel bakkies is the 2.8-litre turbodiesel Toyota Hilux GR-Sport (GR-S). Uptuned from the standard 150 kW/500 Nm to 165 kW/550 Nm, the Hilux clocked a sprint time of 10.32 seconds.

With Road Test Editor Mark Jones behind the wheel, the bi-turbo VW Amarok beat both the Ranger and D-Max. With a best run of 10.38 seconds, it lost out to the Hilux GR-S by sixth hundredths of a second.

What we liked about the R837 900 VW Amarok Life, is its unassuming appearance. Being a modestly-specced offering, it does not come with all the frills featuring on its more expensive siblings. But it hustles when you need it to hustle and gets the job done without any fuss.