Many may have mocked Volkswagen when it entered the competitive double-cab bakkie segment with the Amarok, but can the ridicule continue now that the second-generation model is a technical twin of the Ford Ranger, the second best-seller in the niche?
Bakkies, especially the lifestyle niche, are going through their biggest renaissance. An increasing number, like the new Volkswagen Amarok on test, are now million-rand buys, able to juggle mule work and being used as luxury family wheels.