Hello from Brisbane, Australia

[bigleonski]

Hi there, great to have found this place.
Like many here, love the Grenadier cocept, but have so many concerns before pushing the buy button.
A Toyota man for the past 25+ years, I currently have a 200 Series. Have done extensive outback travel across some of the most remote country, and am planning on doing much more, so I’m down to the Grenadier v 300 Series cruiser choice at the moment.
The 300 is the easy choice but the Grenadier- nice.

 

[Davman]

What model LC300 are you looking at?

 

[bigleonski]

What model LC300 are you looking at?

Just a GX will probably do the trick. When I look at what else comes with the models up to sahara I don’t see the value in the extra bling anymore. I have a sahara now but don’t really need all the bells and whistles.

 

[Davman]

I bet you can hardly believe that a new Gx which is the bottom line model, probably costs similar model to what your top of the line Sahara did. My LC200 TTD VX only cost me $93k drive away.

At the GX 5 seat level the IG and the LC300 compete on pricing fairly well really, but you can get leather, lockers, bfg, tow pack for under $100k in the IG.

At the Sahara/GRsport level, the IG kills them on price being at least $50k cheaper.

However, park an IG and a LC300 next to each other at either the Bunnings carpark or the Pink Roadhouse carpark - and I guarantee no one will be drooling over the Toyota - she is one ugly beast.

 

[DaveB]

The Toyota looks like it was designed for the US market but isn't available there.
It's a big blobby thing with a huge shiny grill on the front.

 

[bigleonski]

My IG option is about A$110K drive away. All I need to spend then is driving lights, lithium set up, swap the standard tyres to 33’s and it’s good to go.
300 GX $96k and then $20-30k at ARB.
Big questions
Will IG be around in 5-10 years
If some idiot hits me will I be able to get parts to repair it in 10 years.
And what’s it going to be like to live with on the daily drive and the highway. Funny that none of the reviews vids etc to date have been on the blacktop. We know it’s going to be a good thing offroad, but no idea how it compares to the competition on it.

 

[DaveB]

My IG option is about A$110K drive away. All I need to spend then is driving lights, lithium set up, swap the standard tyres to 33’s and it’s good to go.
300 GX $96k and then $20-30k at ARB.
Big questions
Will IG be around in 5-10 years
If some idiot hits me will I be able to get parts to repair it in 10 years.
And what’s it going to be like to live with on the daily drive and the highway. Funny that none of the reviews vids etc to date have been on the blacktop. We know it’s going to be a good thing offroad, but no idea how it compares to the competition on it.

It looks like press vehicles are going to hit the road in the next few weeks.
Then we will probably get better reviews across a wider range of applications.
The latest drive with Lewis Hamilton is at speed on tar but who knows what the real result was or if they was a standard vehicle.
Either way I don't expect it to be as smooth onroad as a Landcruiser or a Land Rover.
Hopefully I will be pleasantly surprised.
This is the track I will be driving on next Thursday which has a fair bit of tar before you hit the offroad section.
Hopefully I will get to do a lap

 

[Davman]

And we are looking forward to your feedback Dave - we know it will be in depth.

 

[Davman]

My IG option is about A$110K drive away. All I need to spend then is driving lights, lithium set up, swap the standard tyres to 33’s and it’s good to go.
300 GX $96k and then $20-30k at ARB.
Big questions
Will IG be around in 5-10 years
If some idiot hits me will I be able to get parts to repair it in 10 years.
And what’s it going to be like to live with on the daily drive and the highway. Funny that none of the reviews vids etc to date have been on the blacktop. We know it’s going to be a good thing offroad, but no idea how it compares to the competition on it.

Well we aren’t going to know about the 10 year thing for quite some time.
On Road manners - I think we will be pleasantly surprised how well it goes, for a brick with wheels.

 

[grenadierboy]

Well we aren’t going to know about the 10 year thing for quite some time.
On Road manners - I think we will be pleasantly surprised how well it goes, for a brick with wheels.

I am very confident the on road aspect will be fine.

The 10 year crystal ball thing - it would be naive not to say this is an area of some concern/interest.

However, a few points to remember/consider: this is just the start of the Grenadier. There will be further models coming: cab with ute etc, then electric & hydrogen.

I suspect there may also be a "lifestyle" version of the Grenadier in 3-4 years where they strip out 200kg and add a bit of bling and then of course a second generation of the launched SW, Trial & Fieldmaster versions.

All of this to say that the deep pocketed owner of INEOS has a long term committment to the Grenadier concept.

Having said all that, when asked what his objective is he response was...."to make a profit"...so if the Grenadier fails to sell in sufficient numbers, to turn a profit, well....it ain't going to last.

INEOS commented that they need to sell 15,000 a year to make a profit. Looks like they will sell this in the FIRST YEAR!

Sir Jim said he wants to to be selling 50-75,000 of them after a few years.

So I am confident INEOS Automotive will last for sometime.

 

[bigleonski]

I suppose for me it’ll come down to whether it performs as well as a kitted out 200 or not. I have no intention of going backwards.
I will miss the V8 though, but that’s the case with the IG and the 300. Oh, and the extra 150nm of torque I’ll lose - that’ll hurt.
Every day I get closer to going IG, I suppose the crunch will come when I jump in one at the December drive day in Brisbane, whenever that ends up being. And assuming there aren’t 400 buyers getting in line before me.

 

[Davman]

Personally, I don’t think you are going to notice the 150nm less that the IG has - in real world driving. I think the 12 plus months they spent on tuning up the B57 to suit the usage of the IG will be bang on the money.
I have owned two LC200TTD - standard with 650nm, which I installed the DPCHIP and 3” exhausts to. Supposedly this took the car up to around the 750nm.
I have owned an Audi Q7 4.2lt TTD which I got tuned to around the 900nm mark.
I have owned many VW 3.0l V6 TDI which have a standard 550nm, some I have tuned up to around the 620nm, some I have left stock tune.
I now run the 3.0lt V6 550nm in the Amarok, which I now run a tune of around 700nm.
I am not an expert on engine outputs, but I have a bit of experience in the “seat of the pants” feel that various levels of torque provide you.
All of the above vehicles I have used to tow caravans of above 3000kgs.
In all honesty, the car that I would say was the most effortless in towing the large van was the V6 550nm that the VW Touareg had matched with the 8speed Aisin box. The next best experience I have had would be the current Amarok, and I would say that this is not to do with the torque it has, but how easily the ZF 8 speed utilizes the torque.
So, I think the 550nm at 1250rpm should be sweet. Here hoping the drive days prove this.

 

[Sam]

My 2c - there's lots of pros and cons for any car

... however no one really talks about desire

I sit in a Toyota and feel nothing. It's sterile to me. So regardless of pros and cons, and the fact that they make a lot of practical sense and are more ubiquitous than air, I can't bring myself to own one.

@DaveB please dont break the IG on Thursday, I want to drive it on Friday

 

[Davman]

So Leonski, did you get your order in today???

 

[bigleonski]

So Leonski, did you get your order in today???

No mate, I’m old school and clearly of Scottish stock despite my Irish heritage.
I’m going to touch it and feel it and know I’m getting value for money before I commit.
When I’ve driven it and fallen in love despite the 300 being a better thing, I’ll drop my coin and be happy with my choice.

The configuration page won’t let me check the price increase on my selection yet.

That might cost me $10k, but this will be a last car, 10-20 year thing, so I want to be clear and not make a decision on heart.
Make sense?

But thanks for checking in.

By the way, if people haven’t signed a contract, won’t they also be subject to the increase??

 

[Tazzieman]

My 2c - there's lots of pros and cons for any car

... however no one really talks about desire

I sit in a Toyota and feel nothing. It's sterile to me. So regardless of pros and cons, and the fact that they make a lot of practical sense and are more ubiquitous than air, I can't bring myself to own one.

Even if money was no object , I'm not sure what other solid axle 4x4 floats my boat , practically or emotionally.
Buying a Toyota is to me like buying a fridge. An expensive fridge.

 

[bigleonski]

Even if money was no object , I'm not sure what other solid axle 4x4 floats my boat , practically or emotionally.
Buying a Toyota is to me like buying a fridge. An expensive fridge.

I get that, but having been in some seriously remote and challenging country, I’ve always backed the toyo brand to get me home, bland as chicken soup, but they just get the job done.
I’ve been fortunate to have seen some country that most people would never have the chance to, and have had mates with other brands end up on flatbeds when we just kept on traveling. That sort of reliability breeds serious loyalty, despite being a “refrigerator”.
That sort of reliability I can depend on. If IG gives me that and some old fashioned character then that’s the golden egg right, but I need that trust to be won, and Toyota has given me that for well over 20 years.
I want to be convinced but without seeing it in the flesh, I’m going to cool my boots and see it first.
Make sense?

 

[DenisM]

For tarmac/dirt road performance, check out Sir Lewis Hamilton chauffering Sir Jim Ratcliffe in the IG..

 

[Tazzieman]

I get that, but having been in some seriously remote and challenging country, I’ve always backed the toyo brand to get me home, bland as chicken soup, but they just get the job done.
That sort of reliability I can depend on. If IG gives me that and some old fashioned character then that’s the golden egg right, but I need that trust to be won, and Toyota has given me that for well over 20 years.
I want to be convinced but without seeing it in the flesh, I’m going to cool my boots and see it first.
Make sense?

Yep. I had a used 60 series Toyo for 8 years then 2 new 80 series over a 15 year period. Totally reliable , utterly boring! At 60, I'm looking for adventure before dementia!
I've ticked the 1st risky box and will live with the consequences. But my gut feeling is that the choice is a good one.

 

[Davman]

Make Sense? Unfortunately, not to me.
I would've hedged my bets a bit more.
You could've whacked a refundable $5000 deposit down.
This would've bought you at least 6 months of decision making time, before you had to make up your mind.
After touching and driving the IG, and more hours spent on this forum reading guys driving experiences, you could've then made up your mind after a lot more research.

If you didn't like the IG, then you could get your $5000 back.
If you did, well you just saved yourself $10,000.

Each to their own though, it's a free world.