Every new Amarok is fitted with four airbags, an Electronic Stabilisation Programme and Volkswagen’s award-winning Automatic Post-Collision Braking System which can reduce the chance or severity of a secondary accident in the event of a collision.
1. Safety features
On top of its inherently safe structure, every new Amarok has a high level of safety equipment, starting with twin front and side airbags. Special sensors in the front of the vehicle and side of the body reliably trigger the protective devices in any scenario, including staggered impact. The telescopic steering column is designed to absorb energy, thus reducing the risk of injury to the driver in the event of an accident. Three-point safety belts, seatbelt pre-tensioner and height-adjustable head restraints are, of course, included as standard. In addition to this, the 165kW engine has disc brakes: 17-inch discs on the front axle and 16-inch discs on the rear axle, while the derivatives with 103kW and 132kW engines have 16-inch discs at the front and drum brakes at the rear.
The cab’s stability comes from the generously sized cross-sections of the A and C-pillars. The decoupling of the cab and frame also results in optimum torsional flexibility. This is particularly important for how the vehicle handles on rough terrain and for the level of noise inside the cab. The front axle consists of a double-wishbone structure with cast pivot bearings. The long spring travel gives the Amarok very good off-road characteristics as well as allowing a high load-bearing capacity, optimum driving dynamics and driving comfort. Amarok has seven cross members along its ladder frame which is the most in the segment. This gives the Amarok the most rigid and robust chassis in the pick-up segment.
2. Automatic Post-Collision Braking system
A new standard feature in the is the Post-Collision Braking System combined with Electronic Stability Control, which also comes as standard. Nearly a quarter of all accidents involving injuries are collisions with more than one obstacle. Volkswagen’s multi-award-winning Post-Collision Braking System can help to avoid such follow-on collisions or to reduce their severity. Within the limitations of the system, Post-Collision Braking automatically applies the brakes after any collision, even before the driver is able to react. The severity of any subsequent accident can thus be reduced and, ideally, avoided. The driver is able to take back control of the vehicle at any time.
3. Electronic Trailer Stabilisation
Electronic Trailer Stabilisation is another sub-function of ESC. The system recognises any vehicle instability caused by a trailer being towed at excessive speed. As a result, the brakes are applied to individual wheels and the engine’s power output is reduced in order to stabilise the vehicle and trailer again. This allows up to 3,300 kg to be towed with maximum safety with a braked and 750 kg with an unbraked trailer with a tow bar load of up to 130 kg.
4. Hill Descent Assist
When driving on rough terrain, the engine management system with Hill Descent Assist ensures that the Amarok drives downhill in a controlled, safe manner by reducing engine speed and, if necessary, applying the brakes. Hill Descent Assist enables the Amarok to cope with extreme gradients safely and with ease. Taking the burden off the driver, it automatically keeps the vehicle’s speed at a constant walking pace. What’s more, new optional underbody protection ensures that if the front of the vehicle touches the ground, it simply slides over the obstacle.
5. Off-road ABS
The off-road function can also be used to activate the off-road ABS: the braking distance is significantly shortened by the longer braking intervals than in normal mode on unpaved roads, as the ground material forms additional wedges in front of the wheels, and the Hill Hold Assist, which is also fitted, holds the vehicle when the foot brake is released to provide comfortable starting-off without rolling back.
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