VW Amarok Put to the Test: World Heritage Site and «Mountain Mint»
For us, the VW Amarok is often used more as a lifestyle statement than as a workhorse. The 5.35-meter-long pickup really shows what it’s capable of on an adventure tour through Morocco’s Rif Mountains.
Neatly lined up, their chrome parts glinting in the blazing sun, the Amaroks stand at the VW dealership in Tangier—the Moroccan port city on the Strait of Gibraltar—ready for a great adventure. From here, we plan to drive the pickup trucks about 170 kilometers south to push these four-wheel-drive vehicles to their limits for once in the rugged Rif Mountains and Talassemtane National Park.
At first, we’re driving the imposing 5.35-meter-long pickup on well-maintained paved roads, and in the luxurious cockpit and on the comfortable leather seats, we seem to be towering above the rest of the traffic. Amid a mix of French models from the early 1980s, the often boldly loaded— yet indestructible commercial vehicles from the 1960s, and newer Dacia models built here, we’re glad to have the VW Amarok’s powerful 3-liter diesel engine. Thanks to 177 kW/240 PS and a whopping 600 Nm of torque, we don’t have to crawl along behind other vehicles for hours on end—instead, we can easily pass them.
On the slow but steady climb to Chefchaouen, we also enjoy the Amarok’s almost limousine-like comfort, with its precise steering and smooth 10-speed automatic transmission. We decide to give the selectable all-wheel drive with low-range gearing a break for now on the way to Chefchaouen, which is also known as the «Blue Pearl of Morocco» because of its labyrinth of blue-tinged old-town alleys.
It wasn’t until the next day, as we made our way meter by meter up the winding gravel roads—which, however, often resembled washed-out stream beds— meter by meter up the mountain range behind the city of 46,000 inhabitants—which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2013—do we come to rely on the four-wheel drive, the massive 18-inch all-terrain tires, the 30-degree approach angle, and the VW’s excellent articulation.
Despite the sweltering Moroccan heat, we never really break a sweat in the spacious and perfectly air-conditioned double cab. The VW makes its way confidently higher and higher toward the mountain pass and the national park. Spanning nearly 600 square kilometers, the park is home to more than 50 rare mammal species, such as Barbary macaques and golden cats, as well as more than 100 bird species, including golden eagles.
Where the view of the wild and romantic mountain landscape is breathtaking, but the road—lacking guardrails—seems to vanish into the dust kicked up by the Amaroks ahead, we ease off the gas briefly for safety. And if necessary, the selectable driving modes easily come to the rescue on particularly tricky stretches. We quickly snap a photo in front of the national park sign—which is already quite rusty and standing crookedly among the rare Moroccan fir trees that grow only here—then we’re off again.
To our surprise, shortly after reaching the top of the pass, we suddenly discover, nestled among the towering pines and cedars, beautifully tended and irrigated terraces where «mountain mint» is quietly and discreetly cultivated. We wouldn’t have expected to find hemp plantations here, but they provide the farmers in this rugged landscape with an important source of additional income. Nevertheless, the VW Amarok—which starts at 68,362 Swiss francs in our country—will always remain a dream for the locals around Chefchaouen.
