Ranger/BT-50 or Amarok

Fish Tank
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Ranger/BT-50 or Amarok

Post by Fish Tank »

it's time to let my 19 year old 4-runner go, loosen the purse strings and get a new ute. After carefull consideration and research its come down to the Ranger/BT-50 or Amarok. Anyone have one of these and care to review?

How's the Amarok's 2L twin turbo engine for boat ramps and off road? Does it have enough power down low when retriving boats at lower revs? I have taken both for a test drive and the Amarok is nicer to drive around town, but the proof will be when its pulling a 1.4 ton boat out of sh..ty ramps ... and they won't let me do that on a test drive. :D


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craig308
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Re: Ranger/BT-50 or Amarok

Post by craig308 »

there is a reason the ranger and bt50 are sell like hot cakes. class above the rest in all areas
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Re: Ranger/BT-50 or Amarok

Post by Scottie5.3 »

Mate I've been a mechanic for 10 years now and wouldn't p..s on a Amarok if it was on fire. Just my opinion but the ranger/bt50s are a good car. I had a ranger as a work ute and give it a absolute flogging and she's still a1.
Can't beat a Toyota but a ranger/bt50 isn't a bad option really
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Re: Ranger/BT-50 or Amarok

Post by wally gator »

bt 50 fantastic ute same as the ranger, both made by mazda anyway, tojos just aint what they use to be :(
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Re: Ranger/BT-50 or Amarok

Post by jersy »

Yep. .BT/Ranger. Great utes
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Re: Ranger/BT-50 or Amarok

Post by Fish Tank »

Scottie5.3 wrote:Mate I've been a mechanic for 10 years now and wouldn't p..s on a Amarok if it was on fire. Just my opinion but the ranger/bt50s are a good car. I had a ranger as a work ute and give it a absolute flogging and she's still a1.
Can't beat a Toyota but a ranger/bt50 isn't a bad option really

Whats the problem with the Amarok?
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Re: Ranger/BT-50 or Amarok

Post by Fish Tank »

wally gator wrote:bt 50 fantastic ute same as the ranger, both made by mazda anyway, tojos just aint what they use to be :(
Yeah until they bring out a new generation Hilux, Toyota have been left way behind. Pitty though I've always owned Toyotas but they just can't compete with these new generation utes.
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Re: Ranger/BT-50 or Amarok

Post by balou »

My mate bought an amorak last year top of the range with leather seat warmersetc .Drive likes a European luxury car with fast acceration for a 4wd. He raved about it and I was fairly impress with except for its looks.

A couples months ago it died on the side of the road while he was preping to launch at shady. Dead as a door nail complete shut down. Got it tow band fixed under warranty something to with computer. It dead a second 2-3 later in town once again fixed.

He doesn't rave about it anymore and lost all confidence init.
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Re: Ranger/BT-50 or Amarok

Post by nomad »

I’ve had the top of the range BT50 for nearly 2 years and can’t fault it. I’ve always owned Toyotas til now but it’s like chalk and cheese to me
I'm no mechanic but a little engine has to do a lot more work than a bigger one.
I did have to upgrade the suspension with a 2 ½ inch lift kit but that’s mainly to keep it out of the salt water at Shady.
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Re: Ranger/BT-50 or Amarok

Post by Scottie5.3 »

There's a few problem with a the amaroks fish tank. The shutting down fault with ecu is the main one as already mentioned, seen at least 4 do it. European cars belong in Europe and should stay there, they aren't made for our conditions and don't handle the heat well at all, everything from electrics to how they are made I'm not a fan of.
And Toyotas are still better then any other manufacturer out there, Mazda and rangers I rate as they are decent cars but I'll take a Toyota any day of the week over both, same technology in both cars (common rail). Can't see how you can say toyota have been left behind? They are market leaders for a reason. By the way, Mazda and ford build there own cars just because they share the same basic platform doesn't mean they are identical or run the same parts, same are, others aren't. I would take a Mazda over a ford due to fords inability to make decent coolers.
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Re: Ranger/BT-50 or Amarok

Post by cunno »

Can vouch for the ranger. Have a 2013 XLS manuel with 11,000kms. Only new, but pretty happy so far. the Ford worked out cheaper then the Mazda as they didn't offer a mid-spec at the time to match the XLS, and I wasn't a fan of the looks. We did the Gibb River Road over Easter and no issues, couldn't fault performance. It boiled down to a Ranger or Hilux. The range won out in the end due to the bigger interior and noticeably more powerful engine. Other than that the Hilux was neck and neck.
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Re: Ranger/BT-50 or Amarok

Post by Sweaty »

I drive both the Toyota hilux and land cruiser for work and defiantly don't rate them anymore..
They have just fallen behind in every aspect from performance, comfort everything, the land cruiser still performs like a champion but 70k for a dual cab ute that hadn't had the inside updated for years and years... stuff that!

The ranger and the 3.2ltr are brilliant engines, the electronics are a little tricky in relation to adding a second battery and options but can work around that, apart from that every other aspect is better besides resale. Unfortunately idiots keep selling Toyota for more then they are worth and more idiots pay it lol.
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Re: Ranger/BT-50 or Amarok

Post by Scarey »

Owned a Ranger 3.2 since 2012. Wasn't shopping for a ute originally, went and drove a Ranger for the hell of it and felt it handled better and went a lot harder than the Prado/Pajero I was looking at.

If you're up to wait a few months, there's an SUV version coming called the Everest as well as an updated Ranger.
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Re: Ranger/BT-50 or Amarok

Post by Fish Tank »

BT-50 have the advantage of 3.5t towing and 800mm fording height. Where as the Amarok is 3t tow and 500mm fording, but gee they're nice to drive. The ECU dying thing has me worried as reliability is my number 1 consideration.. Also it seams as though the Amarok is a dealer only fix and service. what happens if it s...ts itself a long way from a VW dealer and no one know how to fix it? Hmmm maybe the decision is made ... but they're so nice to drive.
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Re: Ranger/BT-50 or Amarok

Post by Fish Tank »

Scarey wrote:Owned a Ranger 3.2 since 2012. Wasn't shopping for a ute originally, went and drove a Ranger for the hell of it and felt it handled better and went a lot harder than the Prado/Pajero I was looking at.

If you're up to wait a few months, there's an SUV version coming called the Everest as well as an updated Ranger.
Thanks mate not after a wagon/SUV need something I can chuck the dog in the back and carry shite around in.

Does anyone know when the updated Ranger or the new model Hilux is coming out?
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