2023 Volkswagen Amarok vs Ford Ranger: What's different?
The new Volkswagen Amarok and Ford Ranger are twins under the skin, developed in partnership. Which parts do they share – and where do they differ?
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The new Volkswagen Amarok 2023 is a “pure Volkswagen”company executives have been reassuring, though the ute shares a lot of structure and mechanics with the new Ford Ranger.
As reported, the Volkswagen Amarok and Ford Ranger are products of an alliance between Volkswagen and Ford, sharing most of the floor panels, engine, transmission, and key technology and safety features – and are mostly distinguished only through exterior and interior styling.
Speaking to global media, VW executives refuted the notion that the new car is simply a rebadge of its Ford twin – but rather, that almost every part customers see at the Amarok is unique to Volkswagen.
“Glass, where you look through – there we say ‘OK, let’s do it together’. Outside mirror and handle [door] handle, [they are] really mass production [parts] – [so] we took it off the shelf,” a VW executive told the media.
“But everything else … every tool is unique. We have a pure Volkswagen.”
Beyond the bespoke exterior – which includes most of it, from the hood to the door stamps – the interior is unique to Volkswagen, with the dashboard, seats, steering wheel and many controls designed by the German automaker.
While the Amarok shares its instruments and infotainment screen with the Ranger – and runs the Ford Sync 4 multimedia system – the graphics are Volkswagen-specific, with displays mirroring the brand’s latest models, including the Golf hatch and Caddy van.
But beneath the skin, the VW Amarok and Ford Ranger are closely related, sharing a 3270mm wheelbase, box-section ladder frame, four-cylinder and V6 engines, manual and automatic transmissions, and a choice of two four-wheel drive systems.
It’s worth noting that Volkswagen did receive its own steering tone for a unique feel – and the flagship Amarok Aventura also gets unique springs and dampers, designed to create a different feel on the road to other Amarok or Ranger variants.
The Amarok’s list of advanced safety technologies and up-to-date technology features also mirrors that of the Ranger (with a few notable exceptions) – although they were re-skinned and renamed where applicable to match the Volkswagen brand.
Volkswagen says common elements are engineered and refined by both brands – with VW Commercial Vehicles board member for marketing, Lars Krause, explaining to Drive earlier this year the Volkswagen-Ford partnership was “a logical step for both parties”.
“A lot of what Ford has planned for the Ranger is what we’ve talked about internally at Volkswagen for the Amarok. Everyone agrees it fits,” he said.
The executives explained last night, explaining the joint development arrangement ensures the Amarok will still feel like a Volkswagen – while, as previously reported, keeping costs down to allow the entire project, because without Ford there would be no new Amarok.
“We looked when we started the project, who our other competitors were and and who brought in the right materials – and we found a parallel partner to actually put out … a joint product that took it to the next level,” a VW Commercial Vehicles representative said. explain.
“And the most important thing for us is eye level, but also the platform that we developed together, [which] brought the right ingredients to make a new Amarok that is unique to us. And I think with this partner we found and made the right choice to … move forward”.
Volkswagen is no stranger to platform sharing – though usually within its own Group, using the MQB small car, MLB medium or large car, and the MEB electric platform to support dozens of vehicles from as many as five brands at once.
“At Volkswagen, we are very used to having the same platform, and different cars on it. If you take the example, ID.4 [electric SUV] and the ID. buzzing [electric van]everyone will definitely say this is a different car, but on the same car [MEB electric] platform,” a VW executive told the media.
“So what’s the beauty of the idea? [It] is that we lower costs through scale. But on the other hand, we can design our own vehicles. What’s important to us is [that] … we wanted to have the look, feel, touch, dynamics of a Volkswagen, we wanted to have a Volkswagen design.
“We want to have a Volkswagen ecosystem, we want to have a Volkswagen service. We want to have Volkswagen haptics and qualities, and all of this is what we have designed it to be [the Amarok]. So it’s a very different car on the same technical platform.”
“We [put in] a lot of effort … even in details like HMI [human-machine interface, e.g. infotainment] that everything is pure Volkswagen, and we have our USP… [and] that clear product.”
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