LONG-TERM UPDATE 3 | Our VW Amarok carries a light load before a long haul

The person who takes ownership of a bakkie might find their circle of family and friends widen unexpectedly.

Suddenly your peer group — and even those peers of peers — are hitting you up with requests to move this or tow that.

I seem to be that chap at the moment, obliging asks with all manner of tasks, but you know what? I like it. Chalk it down to some type of motoring ubuntu. Me and this white Amarok 2.0 TDI seem to be associated as a dependable pair and, after all, nobody takes custodianship of a pickup without the intention of putting it to work.

More recent tasks of goodwill included helping an industry colleague when the tracking vehicle needed for a feature was rendered out of commission at the last minute.

The manual diesel double cab was availed for a mission to Dullstroom and back, handling a camera crew and stints on dirt. Then last week, a fellow motoring staffer (and Mercedes-Benz W123 lover) in the building used the wide load-bin to shift an appliance. No sweat for the Amarok.

Both colleagues who drove the vehicle were surprised at how pleasant the manual gearbox felt, despite being more accustomed to the 10-speed automatic that featured on every Ranger or Amarok we tested since introduction two years ago.

At some point during this six-month test I have plans to put the full 1,125kg payload of the Amarok to the test and possibly its braked and unbraked towing capacities of 750kg and 3,500kg.

This month, however, it faces a healthy chunk of mileage across South African national routes. My trip itinerary sees me heading from Johannesburg to Strand in the Western Cape, then to Gqeberha and back to Johannesburg — more than 3,000km. It's a mission which should help me achieve the goal of getting the bakkie to its first 15,000km service before it returns to its owners at Volkswagen Group Africa in April next year.

In preparation for the trek, the tank was topped to full on Thursday. The fuel gauge readout, with its illuminated bars, showed just below the halfway mark before my trip to the filling station. It took about 48l of 50PPM at a cost of R1,054.90 to reach that first click and a satisfying feeling it was seeing those bars rise all the way to the top.

It should also be interesting to see how low fuel consumption can go on the open road. Already, the manual 2.0 TDI has proven superiority over the automatic. Its average is 7.8l/100km — the 10-speed Ranger XLT we ran as a long-termer in 2022 averaged 8.8l/100km over a six-month period. Not a large number, but probably meaningful over years of service where fleet operation is concerned.

Volkswagen provided two options for coverage over the loading area: a canopy or roller-shutter. The latter more discreet configuration seemed the smarter choice.

It is a manually-operated, lockable cover made of aluminium. Much better at protecting luggage from the elements (and thieves) than a flimsy plastic tonneau sheet.

LONG-TERM UPDATE 3 | VW Amarok 2.0 TDI manual

ODOMETER ON DELIVERY: 1,400km

CURRENT ODOMETER: 3,800km

PRAISES: Mental freedom of being able to haul just about any load.

GRIPES: Nothing new since last month's pair of observations.

AVERAGE CONSUMPTION: 7.8l/100km