Can a tuned dual-cab take on a box-fresh hot hatch at the drags?

The sales charts suggest that Australians have gone dual-cab mad! But does that mean you have to give up hot hatch performance at the traffic lights?

To find out, we’ve brought along a couple of Volkswagens to line up at the drag strip: a box-fresh 2021 Golf GTI and an Amarok.

It’s not your normal Amarok, though. This one’s had the ‘Stage 2’ magic wand dusted over it thanks to Evolve Technik in Melbourne, and now pumps out a stout 240kW/700Nm which – they say – is good for about 6.5-seconds 0-100km/h.

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That puts it squarely in the sights of the brand-new eighth-generation Golf GTI. Rated at 180kW/370Nm, the hot hatch is down significantly on power and torque. Crucially, however, it’s also down on kilos. 887kgs, to be exact; weighing in at a lithe 1463kgs compared to the dual-cab’s lumbering 2350kg kerb weight. Volkswagen claim it’ll do 0-100km/h in 6.4-seconds.

Sounds like the two should be close, then. To make the most of our curious comparison, we teed up a number of scenarios to throw at our two class-crossing contenders. First up would be a maximum attack launch control start, followed by a conventional comfort mode street start, closed out by a roll race.

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Race Start

The first contest saw the Amarok’s mountain of torque and superior traction rocket the dual-cab away from the front-pawing hatch on launch, quickly establishing a significant multi-car lead.

Once the scampering hatch found its footing, however, the chase was on. Past the halfway mark and the Golf is making ground fast as the heavily-tuned diesel V6 began running out of breath.

The Golf scurried past the dual-cab as the finish line loomed, registering a 14.4-second pass compared to the dual-cab's impressive 14.6-second timeslip.

A second run was performed as Alex Inwood in the Golf experimented with his launching methods. It didn’t pay off as the Golf bogged down off the line, leaving more time on the table as the Amarok began to run away. The Golf’s top-end stamina saw it make up for lost time, with the two cars virtually lineball as they crossed the finish line. A true photo finish win for the hatch, by a whisker.

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Street Start

Flicking both cars back into their default/comfort modes, our street start race replicates the impromptu traffic light grand prix. With no time to engage launch control or switch driving modes, we simply want to know: when the lights go green, and the pedal is flattened, which car gets to the end first?

This scenario plays well into the lighter and smaller Golf’s hands, as the heavier Amarok is slow to set off with no boost pressure to lean on. The Golf, although prone to wheelspin, quickly sniffs out traction and is gone and away by the time the Amarok’s meaty torque band comes into play.

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Roll Race

The final roll race exercise may provide some redemption for the big workhorse, with pre-established rules of engagement stipulating chassis modes were to be set in sport and gearboxes in manual – allowing the Amarok to stay plugged in to its comparatively-narrow torque band.

Again, the Amarok lunges ahead from the starting marker thanks to its monstrous outputs; however, any ground advantage is quickly recouped by the lighter Golf which has an easier time putting its power down on the move.

The lighter hatch quickly displaced the lumbering dual-cab, convincingly crossing the line victorious.

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Results

In the end, the hot hatch won - as you probably expected it to. By the day’s end, the Golf GTI actually bested its factory 0-100km/h claim of 6.4-seconds, with a best sprint time of 6.2-seconds registered.

It cleared the quarter-mile strip in 14.3-seconds at 164.0km/h.

Evolve Technik’s Stage 2-tuned Amarok boasted an impressive initial launch phase, and actually beats the Golf to 80km/h. But a best time of 6.7-seconds from 0-100km/h, and 14.9-seconds across the quarter-mile see the big work ute trail the smaller and more agile Golf by half a second.

Did the Amarok surprise you? Watch all the action up top and let us know in the comments below!