2025 Volkswagen Amarok 10 Deserts Edition: Quick drive

You can’t get a Walkinshaw-fettled Volkswagen Amarok just yet – one is coming in the new year – but the newly unveiled Volkswagen Amarok 10 Deserts Edition contains many of the same enhancements and carries a similar spirit.

It’s designed to commemorate Volkswagen Australia’s Guinness World Record in which three drivers crossed Australia’s 10 deserts in six days and 17 hours behind the wheel of an Amarok Style TDI600.

Curiously, the unique tribute isn’t based on the same car that completed the record. Instead, Volkswagen said the lower-spec Amarok Life TDI500 has been favoured for its reduced weight and more attainable price point.

It uses a bi-turbo four-cylinder engine in place of the Style TDI500’s single-turbo V6.

The special edition is limited to 300 units Australia-wide and will go on sale from the second quarter of 2025 (April to June inclusive).

The Volkswagen Amarok Life TDI500 10 Deserts Edition, to give it the full name, doesn’t have a price tag yet, with that information still to come closer to the variant’s launch. However, the brand says it will carry an RRP between the $59,490 Amarok Life TDI500 and $69,740 Amarok Style TDI500, both before on-road costs.

Importantly, the 10 Deserts Edition is no sticker-pack special. There are tangible upgrades in the form of a 40mm suspension lift to a total ground clearance of 275mm, in addition to a set of 17-inch black alloy wheels wrapped in Continental CrossContact all-terrain tyres.

That’s not all – the underbody features Volkswagen’s in-house driveline protection, a black tonneau covers the tray, and the interior features a set of all-weather floor mats.

Its looks are differentiated to a regular Amarok Life TDI500 thanks to ’10 Deserts’ graphics on the exterior and a black-and-white colour scheme – all examples get the same colourway.

Volkswagen says it will offer a more aggressive mud-terrain tyre as a no-cost option.

There are no updates to the familiar 2.0-litre twin-turbo four-cylinder diesel engine, which continues to output 154kW and 500Nm through a selectable four-wheel-drive system and 10-speed automatic transmission.

In practice, this engine has proven itself under the bonnet of the Volkswagen Amarok and related Ford Ranger previously. It’s smooth, it’s quiet, and it provides more than a solid shove when you lean into the throttle.

It mightn’t be the most popular choice for those who’ll use the Amarok for extended touring or towing, but the engine fared well during the off-road tests we threw at it throughout our launch drive.

It’s also nice and refined – there’s very minimal driveline chatter that makes its way through to the cabin and noise levels are kept to a hush.

Switching the driveline between configurations, to four-low for example, is simple thanks to a prominent dial on the centre console, while buttons for the rear diff lock and hill descent control are immediately below.

At times, especially on the road, the 10-speed automatic transmission can be delayed in serving up the right ratio, though for off-road use there’s good pick-up and steady delivery.

The Amarok’s ride comfort is comfortable across the board. It’s a damped quality for impact absorption over big rocks and bumps, while maintaining composure for cornering or directional changes at higher speeds.

Arguably, the best modification that Volkswagen has introduced for the 10 Deserts Edition is the 40mm raised ride height. It sits right up there with tall utes like the Ford Ranger Raptor; in fact, its ground clearance is 3mm higher than the Raptor.

Practically, it means that the Amarok 10 Deserts Edition can ramp over all kinds of terrain and tackle some incredibly tricky trails. The approach angles were such that there were no instances of the car’s body striking the ground, while the departure angles were similarly impressive. It was only the optional tow bar that occasionally struck the ground after levelling out.

The all-terrain tyres go a long way to aiding traction off-road, though serious off-roaders should strongly consider selecting the optional mud-terrain tyres if they do become a no-cost extra – this is a dedicated off-road variant after all.

It’s a shame that there are no additional enhancements to the interior. While the special floor mats are super effective at keeping the floors clear of mud and dirt, some extra badging would have gone a long way to liven up the interior.

This specification does sit at the entry level for Volkswagen’s Amarok line-up (aside from the base spec Core), and although the brand has fitted leather touchpoints for the steering wheel and gear selector, the rest of the space is without flair.

Unfortunately, the air-conditioning functionality is placed within the 10-inch screen with thick black borders. It can be tricky to adjust the air settings on the move, and I far prefer to twist a simple dial for changing temperature, like the arrangement you get in the Ford Ranger.

All other controls fall to hand easily – I even like the interesting door handles that are placed within the door panel grips.

Though it’s not the same Amarok that Marius Biela, Rainer Zietlow, and Brad Howes piloted across Australia’s 10 deserts in a record-breaking six days and 17 hours, the Volkswagen Amarok 10 Deserts Edition is a handy addition to the Amarok line-up, before the all-out Walkinshaw version arrives.

The showroom-ready nature of the Amarok 10 Deserts Edition will find wide appeal with the dedicated off-road crowd, and it provides a strong base for further modification.

We don’t know the price just yet, so our ultimate judgement will be reserved until we can get a car to properly test next year. However, from what I’ve seen so far, the Volkswagen Amarok 10 Deserts Edition is a worthy tribute to a stand-out achievement.