So where are all the first impressions? (right here)

TimP said:

Noticed on the steel wheels the three circular cut-outs opposite the valve are smaller than the remainder. I think to offset the valve and TPMS sensor weight. Nice touch.

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DCPU said:

That's interesting, going to have to check that out on mine when it's light.

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ECrider said:

Just had a look and by jove he's right.

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TimP said:

Summary first impressions...

Collected from 4x4 Garage Canberra (Australia) last Friday, 1 September. The process for payment and collection was smooth and the car was very clean and well prepped.

Overall impression is the package is a lot more cohesive than I was expecting. Feels tight and well integrated.

Random thoughts/comments...

VIN – ending in 21**. Petrol. Only on-road so far.

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The steering reminds me of my old earl fork BMW motorcycle (or the newer r12xxgs type) in that it does remove the driver a little from the wheels are doing, but not in a bad way.. just a little remote feeling. 'Wafty' almost. Once used to it is totally fine and given the car’s design parameters I think fully justified.

Steering is light and I find tracks well enough at all speeds. One handed driving is fine. Turning circle is OK. I have had it in a tight carpark and it required a little manoeuvring but we got there (and fit in a 2.2m posted underground Aldi carpark with full roof rack fitted).

On exiting a turn it does require a light hand to manually return to centre but this is easy to adapt to and not something I consider a problem. After a few days it's already loaded into my motor memory. Handles very well at speed. Confidence inspiring.

Suspension is solid and quite firm. There's very little roll on cornering. You can feel the weight of both the vehicle and the un-sprung mass but it handles it very well.

The car is large, but not ungainly so. You sit high. I don’t feel like the footprint is that large though and it drives easy on quite narrow motorway lanes and suburban streets. Good visibility of the corners up front.

I do find rearward vision not great and the rear camera isn’t as broad focussed as I may have liked. Workable but need to take a second to check all angles behind. Mine came with two taller rear seat headrests either side of the smaller one in the middle.

I quite like the way the BMW shifter works. After a week I find myself shifting (D/R/N/P) without any visual check.

Hump in RHD is a non-issue. Can't say I notice it at all.

Rock sliders do not afford a step for entry or exit. I’m 5/11 and find I can get in/out with some shuffling without too much hassle. I may have to look for something to attach to them to help passengers.

I haven’t played with the front and rear lockers but the centre diff engaged low range and locking functions with a little jiggling and feels solid. As a mechanical interface (you can feel the parts moving as you move the lever) I’m sure it will loosen up in time.

Driving noise is fine. Radio and other on screen doo-dads appear to work well enough. Screen is easy to read. The onscreen display provides good level of information without being silly. Minor annoyance is the volume control isn't as granular as I would like - but that's very minor and being very picky.

I find I don't need the sun visor much due to the roof line... which is good as I have to lean forward to reach it. It is super solid visor and adds to the overall feeling of quality. I don't have the safari windows (full roof rack) and don't think I will miss them. Never use them on any other cars I've owned and I like to keep the sun (heat) out as much as possible.

Android Auto on an older Samsung Note8 works when connected (usb c - usb c cable) but does drop out every now and then. Yet to work out why. I feel it may be a setting issue. It seems to self correct after a few minutes. Not sure if I can get it to work wirelessly but I like to charge the phone anyhow so plugging in is fine.

I have had a few alarms (beep/wands) from centre console (TPMS, power steering, rear seat belt) as reported elsewhere. They're not common - perhaps occurring once in every 4 drives - and none that don’t go away after a few seconds except one rear seatbelt alarm I had to restart the car to deactivate (following my son leaving things on the seat when he got out which I think triggered it). No issues with parking sensors which appear to work fine. There is an option in the car’s setting to lower the alarm volume (High/Medium/Low).

Consumption (Petrol – from brand new, with roof rack) in first 500km (300km at 110km/h and rest suburban) is ~15ltr per 100km. Reasonable for what it is.

Power is solid. Haven’t pushed it but gets off the mark when required and handles well at speed. Gearbox to me seems to work hard but is smooth and unobtrusive and well suited to the purpose. I'm used to a 5 speed auto so probably why I notice the more regular shifting.

The owner's manual/book is nothing special (I think it’s the same as the soft copy doing the rounds here) and for the car’s purpose need to be supplemented with proper schematics and more detailed instructions. I really hope Ineos stick to their word on this as the car deserves to live up to the intent.

Noticed on the steel wheels the three circular cut-outs opposite the valve are smaller than the remainder. I think to offset the valve and TPMS sensor weight. Nice touch.

Love the magic mushroom colour. As does the missus. The paint is superb.

I got mine on the original price before any rises and for the car I think it's great value. It's something different and I think that's worth something unto itself.

I haven’t done the poll on this site as yet, I'll give it a few weeks, but at this point would say – “Minor problems not affecting day to day driving, can be dealt with at next service”. Not quite 100% but close and very happy.

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DCPU said:

Some sofa surfing:
View attachment 7825960

@TimP ~ that's my post of the day, before it's even started.

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Bobby Mac said:

Yesterday I met with an old friend to show him my new toy. He’d never even laid eyes on a Grenadier before. He is a very experienced 4x4 driver having covered all of Aus in Hi Lux or D Max vehicles. I invited him to take the Grenadier for a drive and I thought I’ll keep my thoughts, and others comments so far, to myself until I hear his reactions.
I was so surprised when his first couple of comments were - “I really love this steering” and “That left hand footrest is so good - nice and wide too”. (He is 6 foot tall).…. and these are the very things so many have negatively commented on.
He was highly impressed with the vehicle overall.

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rovie said:

Hi guys, after having the car for 5 months now and having driven about 4500 mls, I would like to summarize my impressions again.
I have not had any error messages for more than 2 months. Even the message regarding the rear seat belts, which remained until last, has disappeared. I turn the key to start and I'm done. Just like the start button in my Disco 4 does.
As many of you report, the vehicle pulls slightly to the left when driving straight. However, this is not dramatic for me. My dealer and I don't think it's the track setting. He knows the phenomenon for years also with the Mercedes G. We will look at it on occasion.
I also have water collecting between the lower door seals and it also drips in at the rear door when the car is up front. Ineos wants to use a different type of seal, but doesn't have it yet. Not a problem for me. I have the doors open in the garage, so it can dry out.
I stopped the noise from vibrating underbody panels by bending the panels slightly.
The somewhat rougher running due to the natural frequency at about 1800 rpm has improved in the meantime, so that I no longer have any significant problem at about 60 mls per h on country roads.
I still find the operation of the multi-display terrible, as well as the radio. I listen almost only via USB stick, which is now and then suddenly no longer recognized. The solution is simple: pull out, wait a few seconds, plug in. Miraculously, the music continues to play where it left off.
My average diesel consumption is now displayed at 11.1 liters. I drive with foresight, but also in a way that makes it fun. However, mainly country roads.
From my point of view, the ventilation and air conditioning control does not work as I would expect. I am currently in the process of analyzing this in more detail. The fact that the windshield fogs up when the air conditioner is set to auto is not okay, but I am not surprised when the flaps are opened and the temperature is appropriate.
In summary, I am satisfied with the Grenadier. I knew what I was getting into. In the past, I had also always waited the first few years after a vehicle came on the market. By then, the biggest problems had been eliminated. With the Grenadier, I simply wanted to have the first car delivered to a dealer in Germany, and now it's sitting with me. Emotions are more important to me.
To all those who have ordered it, I can only say, look forward to it. Don't be unsettled by any slogans. Yes, you will get topics that you don't like. But put them in perspective and do your thing! We have a great forum here with many experienced people who want to help and can. Together with our dealers (the experienced ones and the dedicated ones too), we'll get a handle on things!

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muxmax said:

For the statisticians among us: ordered 21 March 2023, went into production 11 May 2023, contract came 10 July 2023, collected the vehicle on 31 August 2023. VIN ...3918.

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muxmax said:

The first tank is almost empty and so I thought I'd share my first impressions with you. To be honest, I bought the Grenadier to scratch an itch. I don't really need it and mostly use it for everyday driving to the office and back. My offroad experience is and will be limited to some more or less well maintained dirtroads in the forest and a hunting trip to the Alps every now and then. The one thing I still want to achieve is to get a little more freedom to move by installing a remote office. Unfortunately my thread regarding that has somewhat died out without really producing helpful results. That being said, the vehicle is all that I had hoped for and more. It does have character, the air of timelessness, solidity and beauty and feels just right in these crazy times where everything that you thought was tried and trusted is being questioned in every aspect of life. It just feels good to turn the engine on when my electrified neighbours are still asleep. On top of that, driving the Grenadier for me is what I imagine a yoga session to be: it calms me down. I would describe myself as rather an assertive driver and I sure love to fly down the Autobahn with 250 km/h. But in the Grenadier, there's nothing of that. Sitting in that solid tank (as my oldest sons call it) just asks for some good music and going with the flow. The steering is of course different than that of an Mercedes E 63 S, but it is exactly how I would want it for such a car. As many before me wrote, I got used to it after a few minutes. Even my wife now loves the car and I must say, there is definitely a sex appeal factor to it when she jumps off that machine in a pretty dress.

There are a few minor issues that still need some attention and will hopefully be fixed soon. Not too many bings and bongs, but the seat belt warning did go off two or three times now without any apparent reason. My only bings-and-bongs-going-mad-experience was yesterday, when I had stopped the car and wanted to turn the ignition back on so that my children could listen to the radio. I had the door open and apparently the car doesn't like that too much . I got all sorts of warnings up to the request to push the brake pedal. This, I hope, will be sorted with the software update. Besides that there is a noise when rolling down one of the rear windows, a loose screw rolling around somewhere under the flooring, the windscreen fogs up from time to time when AC is on, the buttons of the rear doors sometimes get stuck, switching from high to low is a bit tough, and the light sensor is too senisitive for my taste. I have adressed all of that with my dealer and we shall see what they can do about these things. Nothing of that worries me too much.

Four things I would say are a tiny bit annoying to me: first and foremost, I really cannot understand why INEOS made a car that relies on the customers to connect their phones and then be so stingy with the power outlets. The ones hidden in the middle storage box are ok, but if you want to use a magnetic cradle and not plug and stow away your phone for every ride, this is a nuisance. Especially since the cables have to be in the very correct position for the lid of the storage box to close. I understand and appreciate the concept of leaving as much as possible to the creativity of the customer, but one or two USB sockets around the front panel or dashboard wouldn't have hurt. The second thing that surprised me is the absolute lack of any storage space besides the middle box that deserves the name. Luckily, I don't need specs to drive, but if I did, I would not even know where to safely put those. The two spots on the dash and below the front panel are only good for peolpe who love their stuff to fly around through the car at the slightest turns. Well, and the glove compartment is really just for gloves (unless you have the manual in there; then its already full). My car is now full of molle rigs to create space for the little things I tend to carry around (like an oyster knife, you never know). The third thing are the reflections. When driving at night, rear and side vision really is not the best since the main display strongly reflects from the side and rear windows. I have dimmed it now and not driven in the dark since, but dimming the screen takes a couple of steps in the menu and is not something that you want to do too often. It would have been nice if the display (and the warning light smorgasbord in front of the steering wheel) would dim with the rest of the interior lights mechanically. Fourth is the turning circle. I know, I could have (and did) known that in advance, but it still is a bit more difficult than I hoped it would be. Pulling in and out of parking lots and garages can be a challenge and definitely is more difficult than with my VW T6 whith roughly the same dimensions. (Before anyone feels compelled to comment that, I know that the T6 ends about 50cm before my feet and thus is a completely different vehicle). Well, if I hadn't killed it already, the panic button would be No. 5. INEOS could have made that optional for the US market or at least program it so that it only goes off when you really want it to.

I had almost forgotten one thing: after a few too short drives on the first kilometres, I apparently interrupted the cleaning cycle of the particle filter. As a result, the radiator continued to run very loudly for several minutes. However, this has not happened since.

All in all, the positives far outweigh the negatives and I still catch myself making up reasons to take another quick trip with the car. Next week I'm going to drive a longer distance of a few hundred kilometres for the first time. I hope I can at least temporarily stop grinning then so I don't get a cramp in my cheeks.

For the statisticians among us: ordered 21 March 2023, went into production 11 May 2023, contract came 10 July 2023, collected the vehicle on 31 August 2023. VIN ...3918.

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Eric said:

Curious, ordered mine in August 22, 7 months before your order date, also signed my contract early July 23, and to the best of my, and dealers, knowledge still in build. Yours going into production 2 months before your contract signed as well. I wonder what IA are doing.

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Eric said:

Curious, ordered mine in August 22, 7 months before your order date, also signed my contract early July 23, and to the best of my, and dealers, knowledge still in build. Yours going into production 2 months before your contract signed as well. I wonder what IA are doing.

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