Family car review: 2023 Volkswagen Amarok Dual Cab Ute
An enjoyable dual cab ute for families
By Tace Clifford
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The new 2023 Volkswagen Amarok dual-cab ute is a HUGE update on the much-loved original, but loses one of the previous model's key features: The middle top tether anchor is now GONE, so if you're upgrading from the previous model Amarok and have three across, it's important to take this into account!
Still, this is a VERY promising ute so let’s take a look at how it gets on with our BabyDrive testing…
There are ISOFix in the two outer rear seats of the VW Amarok. They are not within plastic guides but are nice and easy to attach to.
There are top tether anchorages for the two outer rear seats ONLY in the VW Amarok. They are positioned behind the rear seat back, they are metal bars fixed to the body of the ute.
The rear seatback comes forward in one piece when you pull the cord to release it. You can then reach behind and attach the top tether straps to the anchorages.
It can be a bit tricky when installing two child seats, like in all dual cab utes, but you can manage it! I installed the Infasecure Adapt More Infant Capsule rear-facing behind the driver and the Infasecure Achieve More forward-facing on the other side. We could fit a 178cm driver in front of the rear-facing Infasecure Adapt More or taller with forward-facing child seats.
For families that need to travel with three children in the back, you are limited to using the Infasecure Versatile folding booster seat, for children aged 4-8 years, in the central rear seat because its super lightweight design means it does not require a top tether anchorage; however, it is the only child seat that can go in the central position.
An adult can sit comfortably in the middle between these two Infasecure child seats.
The Infasecure Adapt More Infant Capsule is perfect for use in the Volkswagen Amarok and other dual-cab utes because it is the only infant capsule in Australia with the top tether strap attached to the base. So once you have installed the seat base and top tether strap into the vehicle, you never have to remove it; it remains there.
You simply take the capsule itself in and out of the vehicle when you want to. The top tether strap is not attached to the capsule itself, so you don't have to reattach it or reconnect it every time you take the capsule in and out of the vehicle. Trust me, it's a game-changer, especially for utes where adjusting the top tether strap can be very difficult.
Rear passengers are also kept nice and comfortable in the back of the VW Amarok with rear air vents. There is also a 12V socket below the vents so you could run an electric Esky when camping.
Storage throughout the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok dual-cab ute is good; there are two cup holders in a fold-down armrest in the central seat back that will hold a kid's drink cup and a reusable or disposable coffee cup.
Door bins in the back will hold a large refillable water bottle and an iPad fits in them too.
There are map pockets in both the front seat backs that will hold and conceal an iPad. At the top of both seat backs are two other little pouches that are great for storing phones and other kiddie nik-naks!
Also, on the front of the central seat base are three more little storage pouches.
In the front, the door bins are longer and will hold an iPad lying down with a refillable water bottle.
The 2023 VW Amarok has a generous glove box that will fit an iPad and wallet with the manual.
A storage tray in the middle of the dash that is good for popping the bread or milk when you nip out for it or on road trips the map could go there.
There are two cup holders in the central console that will hold a reusable or disposable coffee cup and a phone charging tray in front of the gear lever. The central console box is big enough for a pack of wipes.
There is a lined glasses case in the ceiling and lit vanity mirrors in both front visors.
You can carry as many prams, shopping, bikes and dogs as your family needs, and it's great for a family camping trip. The tailgate is heavy and it's just at child height, so you need to watch they don't walk into it or it falls down on their head!
A twin, side-by-side pram fits in the tray of the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok with eighteen shopping bags around it.
The Jiffle Wagon 6-in-1 pram with seat fits in the tray of the VW Amarok with nineteen shopping bags.
The Jiffle Wagon 6-in-1 pram with bassinet fits in the tray of the VW Amarok with sixteen shopping bags.
The Jiffle Wagon 6-in-1 pram with the Adapt More Infant Capsule installed into the cab of the VW Amarok fits in the tray with twenty-three shopping bags.
The Jiffle Wagon 6-in-1 pram cart fits in the tray of the VW Amarok with twenty-three shopping bags. The cart also holds up to 60kg of groceries inside, so you can leave it packed with your shopping or parenting tool kit!
Any size dog will fit in the tray of the VW Amarok dual cab ute.
The media system in the new VW Amarok dual cab ute is massive, very modern and easy to use.
It has built-in sat nav…
… and you can control the climate through the media system too.
Within the vehicle settings screen, you can customise a lot of settings and turn warnings on or off.
When you put the Amarok into reverse, the camera images are lovely crisp, and clear, and you can turn the parking sensors off easily in the bottom right corner of the screen.
The VW Amarok has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so you can access your phone's listening, messaging and navigation apps while driving along.
When it comes to the drive, the new VW Amarok feels unusually nippy and agile to drive for a big dual-cab ute. The steering is nice and light and the turning circle is good for a vehicle of this size.
Visibility is good in the Amarok because you are seated so high up you can still see out of the rear windscreen, even with the two outer child seats installed in the back and the Infasecure Versatile folding booster seat in the central seat. Although it's a big vehicle maneuvering it around town and school and supermarket car parks is surprisingly easy.
The 2023 VW Amarok Dual Cab Ute has a five-star ANCAP safety rating and has nine airbags as standard; Dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting (curtain) airbags, and driver and passenger knee airbags as well as a centre airbag which provides added protection to front seat occupants in side impact crashes, is also standard.
The VW Amarok has a clear seatbelt removal visual in the driver's display.
BabyDrive Indepth
BabyDrive Indepth - Storage
How big is the tray of the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok Dual Cab Ute?
You can carry as many prams, shopping, bikes and dogs as your family needs, and it's great for a family camping trip. The tailgate is heavy and it's just at child height, so you need to watch they don't walk into it or it falls down on their head!
A twin, side-by-side pram fits in the tray of the 2023 VW Amarok dual-cab ute with eighteen shopping bags around it.
The Jiffle Wagon 6-in-1 pram with seat fits in the tray of the VW Amarok with nineteen shopping bags.
The Jiffle Wagon 6-in-1 pram with bassinet fits in the tray of the VW Amarok with sixteen shopping bags.
The Jiffle Wagon 6-in-1 pram with the Adapt More Infant Capsule installed into the cab of the VW Amarok fits in the tray with twenty-three shopping bags.
The Jiffle Wagon 6-in-1 pram cart fits in the tray of the VW Amarok with twenty-three shopping bags. The cart also holds up to 60kg of groceries inside, so you can leave it packed with your shopping or parenting tool kit!
Any size dog will fit in the tray of the VW Amarok dual cab ute.
How good is the storage inside the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok Dual Cab Ute?
In the front of the VW Amarok dual cab ute, the door bins will hold an iPad and a refillable water bottle.
The glove box will fit an iPad and wallet with the manual.
There is a storage tray in the middle of the dash that is good for popping the bread or milk when you nip out for it or on road trips the map could go there.
There are two cup holders in the central console that will hold a reusable or disposable coffee cup and a phone charging tray in front of the gear lever. The central console box is big enough for a pack of wipes.
There is a lined glasses case in the ceiling and lit vanity mirrors in both front visors.
Storage in the back of the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok dual-cab ute is good too. There are two cup holders in a fold-down armrest in the central seat back that will hold a kid's drink cup and a reusable or disposable coffee cup.
Door bins in the back will hold a large refillable water bottle and an iPad fits in them too.
There are map pockets in both the front seat backs that will hold and conceal an iPad. At the top of both seat backs are two other little pouches that are great for storing phones and other kiddie nik-naks!
Also, on the front of the central seat base are three more little storage pouches.
BabyDrive Indepth - Noise
How noisy is the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok Dual Cab Ute? How good is the media system in the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok Dual Cab Ute?
The 2023 Volkswagen Amarok dual-cab ute media system is modern, on a huge portrait screen.
The Amarok has built-in sat-nav, which is easy to use.
There is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in the VW Amarok so you can access your phone's navigation, messaging and music/podcast apps while driving.
You can customise the vehicle settings within the media screen, too and turn on or off various alerts and warning sounds.
The climate is controlled through the media screen easily.
The reversing camera image is very clear and you have two angles to view from filling the screen. You can easily turn on and off the parking sensors on the bottom right on the screen.
The doors and windows of the 2023 VW Amarok Dual Cab Ute close quite gently for a ute. I didn't notice them to be baby-waking.
With Bub asleep you want to be able to get in and out without worrying the doors will be too noisy and wake Bub up!
BabyDrive Indepth - Car Seats
How many child seats fit in the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok Dual Cab Ute?
The 2023 Volkswagen Amarok is actually easier than most dual cab utes to install child seats into. Read more about this here.
There are ISOFix points in the two outer rear seats of the VW Amarok. They are not within plastic guides but are nice and easy to attach to.
There are top tether anchorages for the two outer rear seats ONLY in the VW Amarok. They are positioned behind the rear seat back, and they are metal bars fixed to the body of the ute.
The rear seatback comes forward in one piece when you pull the tab to release it. You can then reach behind and attach the top tether straps to the anchorages.
It can be a bit tricky when installing two child seats, like in all dual cab utes, but you can manage it! I installed the Infasecure Adapt More Infant Capsule rear-facing behind the driver and the Infasecure Achieve More forward-facing on the other side. We could fit a 178cm driver in front of the rear-facing Infasecure Adapt More or taller with forward-facing child seats.
For families that need to travel with three children in the back, you can only use the Infasecure Versatile folding booster seat, for children aged 4-8 years, in the central rear seat because this seat's lightweight design means it does not require a top tether anchorage; however, it is the only child seat that can go in the central position.
An adult can sit comfortably in the middle between these two Infasecure child seats.
The Infasecure Adapt More Infant Capsule is perfect for use in the Volkswagen Amarok and other dual-cab utes because it is the only infant capsule in Australia with the top tether strap attached to the base. So once you have installed the seat base and top tether strap into the vehicle, you never have to remove it; it remains there.
You simply take the capsule itself in and out of the vehicle when you want to. The top tether strap is not attached to the capsule itself, so you don't have to reattach it or reconnect it every time you take the capsule in and out of the vehicle. Trust me, it's a game-changer, especially for utes where adjusting the top tether strap can be very difficult.
Posting Bub into their child seat from outside the Amarok Dual Cab was easy. The doorways are high and wide so you don't have to bend down into the vehicle, which is nice for your back! With the high ceiling inside, it is easy to post them in from inside too.
Australia being a country of weather extremes; blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!
There is plenty of room to feed Bub in the back of the 2023 VW Amarok Dual Cab Ute if you only have one child seat installed.
BabyDrive Indepth - Drive & Comfort
How comfortable is the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok Dual-Cab Ute? And How good is the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok Dual-Cab Ute to drive?
The seats in the front of the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok dual-cab ute are comfortable and easily adjustable.
The headrests are not adjustable so I could not wear a ponytail while driving.
I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get this ponytail just right too… said no new mum ever!!!
For a mum travelling in the back with Bub, the seats are quite comfortable, too. The central seat has a firm backrest where the fold-down armrest is.
Legroom is good in the back and I had plenty of legroom behind a 186cm driver and I'm 162cm.
For the first year of my Bub's life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with Bub so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!
The steering wheel is fully adjustable in/out and up/down in the 2023 VW Amarok.
Across the front dashboard, there are four air conditioning vents, two in the centre, either side of the media screen and one at each end of the dashboard.
In the second row, there are air-conditioning vents in the back of the central console box, I could reach the vents to adjust them for my children while driving.
The climate can be easily controlled within the media screen.
Visibility in the VW Amarok is good. You sit nice and high so all passengers get a good view out.
Being only able to install child seats in the outer two rear seats, you have a clear view out of the centre of the rear windscreen…
The VW Amarok has a surprisingly small turning circle, which makes driving around town and doing the school run nice and easy.
One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Bub has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. The 2023 VW Amarok dual cab ute is a BIG vehicle, it was relatively easy to park in our tight apartment block carpark.
BabyDrive Indepth - Safety
How safe is the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok Dual Cab Ute?
The new 2023 Volkswagen Amarok Dual Cab Ute has a five-star ANCAP rating. With a very high 93% score for child occupancy protection and 86% for adult occupancy protection. ANCAP wrote of the child occupancy testing:
In the frontal offset and side impact tests, protection of the 10 year and 6 year dummies was GOOD and the Volkswagen Amarok scored maximum points in both of these tests.
The Volkswagen Amarok is fitted with lower ISOFix anchorages and top tether anchorages on the rear outboard seats.
Installation of typical child restraints available in Australia and New Zealand showed that all of the selected child restraints could be accommodated in each of the rear outboard seating positions and full points were scored for this assessment.
NOTE: Installation of child restraints in the centre seating position of the second row is not recommended as there is no top tether anchorage.
Nine airbags come as standard in the Volkswagen Amarok:
Dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting (curtain) airbags, and driver and passenger knee airbags are standard. A centre airbag which provides added protection to front seat occupants in side impact crashes is also standard.
As standard, the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok comes with adaptive cruise control (ACC), anti-lock braking system (ABS), autonomous emergency braking (AEB) – Car-to-Car, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) – VRU, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) – Backover, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) – Junction Assist, electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), electronic stability control (ESC), emergency brake assist (EBA), fatigue reminder, fatigue monitor/detection, forward collision warning (FCW), lane departure warning (LDW), lane keep assist (LKA), reversing collision avoidance (camera), roll stability system, secondary / multi-collision brake, speed assistance – auto / intelligent speed limiter, manual speed limiter and speed sign recognition & warning.
Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Bub’s asleep!
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About Tace Clifford
Tace Clifford founded BabyDrive in 2017 after discovering a huge information gap in mainstream car reviews that left new parents and expanding families in the dark when it came to one of the biggest purchasing decisions of their lives.
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