First a little background: I have been looking to replace my KR F150 Powerboost for something a little smaller but still had towing capability. I had been looking at the 110/130 LR Defender, but my wife and son saw a Grenadier in a parking lot and came home and told me about it. Did some research and found the facebook page and came across some people in the Nashville area, with one of them being @six1five . He was kind enough to meet me so I could see one in person and let me drive his great looking Trialmaster. After getting over the shock of the first turn, I was hooked. So I started calling all the dealers in a 10 hour radius of my home to see what "rejects" they had on their lots (5 Different Dealerships) as I did not want to wait 8-12 months to build one.
I finally found one that had everything I was looking for and more at Sewel in Dallas (Sela Green, Scottish White Roof, Tow, Heated Seats, Safari Windows, 17" Steel, Reflective Glass, Utility Trim) Flew down there Friday night and was at their facility Saturday morning and took a test drive. That's when I encountered the over speed clicks. If that could not have been turned off, I would have flown back home. Of course it can and Sewel programed the FAV button. My sales guy said they had been on a call with Ineos to provide customer feedback and this was brought up and that Ineos is working on having the on/off selection be static. Sales guy also said that the current production had been on an order date basis, but soon will be on a color/option basis. Meaning that all Greens with Safari and Tow will be built this week, Grey without Safari but with Tow next week. He said this will cause some frustration for people that placed their orders ~1 year ago not receiving their order before someone that recently just placed an order.
The Grenadier had 75 miles on it when I picked it up and I jumped straight on the highway for a 9 1/2 drive home. With in the first hour, I was wondering what is the Texas return law as the driving was horrible. Coming from my F150 , I pretty much knew what to expect, but damn, this ain't it. Two hands at all times, no road feel, having to pay 200% attention at all times because I was in Dallas traffic . As I thought about it, I decided to check my PSI and found they were between 45-46 PSI on the KO2. That seem pretty high, so when I got my first of 3 fill ups, I checked the boards and saw what PSI everyone is running which turned out to be 36 psi. As I had just bought the Grenadier, I did not have a tire gauge with me to deflate them, so I had to go into the QT and buy the worst made Chinese gauge for $5! Got them deflated and then back on the road. Handling was immediately better and inline with what I was expecting. You DO have to actually drive it (sorry Telsa crowd), but can do so with 1 hand. The next issue that popped up was the under pressure warning lights. Yes, lights. So not only do you get a warning light on the cluster in front of the steering wheel, but you also get a message that comes on for 12 seconds and goes off for 12 seconds on the main screen and DOES NOT STOP! Now I have no idea why an engineer decided someone need to know that their tires were over/under inflated every 12 seconds. So on the 2nd fill up stop, I researched the boards again, saw how to reset the TPMS and was able to get that cleared up. The next day when the tires were cold, I get an underinflated warning.
Positives:
- After driving it for ~700 miles, I will say it is a great driving truck!
- The seats are outstanding (only after 10 hours of driving did I start to feel a little sore).
- The overall noise is a little worse than my F150 but miles ahead of my DS Wrangler. You can actually have a bluetooth call. They will hear some noise on their side.
- The safari windows make the truck in my opinion. They do add to the road noise (along with the KO2s), but just being able to see above and in front of you is fantastic in my opinion. I never did use by sunroof in my F150, but this is a different experience.
- Now the engineer that designed the heated seats must have been a HUGE fan of Dante's Inferno and wanted to create the temperature in the Ninth level. I had it on high for 3-4 minutes, went immediately to low and then off. To say they work better than my F150, my DW X5, the JL, a Mustang, Q7, V70 (just keep naming any vehicle you ever had or has ever been made) is still an understatement.
- The transmission is extremally smooth, much better than my F150.
- Good, not great, rear storage space. Would have like a little larger space, but I believe that would have changed the departure angle to something unacceptable.
- This one is a personal one, but the Sela Green color. I have wanted a 1945 MG-TC in British Racing Green since I was about 12 years old. This somewhat fulfilled that desire, but still hope to acquire a MG one day.
- Headlights and brakes are great.
- Sound system - I know there are many, many threads stating how bad/system needs upgrading, but to me it is fine. Not the greatest, but not on my to do list. The one minor complaint I do have is the volume increase between level 6 and 7 is far to great of an increase.
- The exterior grab handles are a great feature,
"Negatives"/Oddities/Pet Peeves (Overall, this are small and to be expected with a new build vehicle, but I would have thought some of them would have been flushed out during testing):
- Rolled the drivers door window up and down at highway speed. The window shakes back from side to side. Seems to be anchored very poorly. Will keep an eye on it.
- Why they didn't put the front handle on the drivers as standard, I don't know. Fail on Ineos part. Would probably not have cost $5 to make that standard.
- I guess "Mrs. Jim Radcliff" did not go on any test drives, otherwise there would have been a lighted mirror on the sunvisors. I know they were going for uncomplicated, but they could have put battery powered ones on. Low cost.
- The gas gauge is weird. When you fill up, the miles to empty states >260 miles, like the computer can't calculate anything above that. Then when you hit about 100 miles to empty, the gauge still shows 1/2 full. You get a yellow light to refuel at 75 miles to empty and then the low fuel warning light at 50 miles to empty. Once you hit 35 miles to empty, the gauge shows - - miles to empty, but you still have about 1/4 of tank of fuel. Just a really weird set up.
- You can set up the screen to show the the XM station and song on the top bar while you are in the setting menu, but once you switch to Car Play, all it show is just the Source of XM Radio. Also, on all of my other vehicles, you can choose Live Sports (along with other categories) and it will show all the games that are on and the scores. Further, the Channel Logo is huge, the Channel Name is in huge font but the Artist and Song Name is about a small as can be. I really don't need to know the Station Name twice, but would like to know the Artist and Song without having to put on my glasses.
- The "bump" on the lever for the seat forward/backward adjustment hits me in the ankle if I pull my leg up while driving on cruise control.
- The lever for seat recline is a very poor overall design from the ergonomics to the placement. If you are driving, good luck operating it.
- The lack of storage in the front is almost non existent.
- I know this will probably cause the British to continue to laugh at us for our obsession with cup holders, but damn, at some time during the 1.1 Million Miles, someone, somewhere had to get a Big Glup or an XL from Buc-eees. I sure hope that someone makes an aftermarket replacement. And no cup holders in the back seat, come on (Yes I know that you can put it in to door.) My F150 had 12 cup holders!
- The dash tray is unusable. Some type of rubber insert to keep you items from sliding around would have been great. Come on aftermarket.
- The handle on the 60% door seems very cheap and feels like it will break with too much force.
- It would have been nice to for the warning light screen to have been an actual screen that you could have programed. i.e. Move the speedometer from the main screen to the second screen and to free up space for other items on the main screen.
- Some of the knobs/dials feel very cheap (thin plastic). I feel like some of them (the temp control dial) will eventually break/crack. Especially when using gloves and you can't feel the amount of pressure you are putting on the dial. With the metal around the knobs/dials, they could have made some of them out of aluminum.
- No physical dimmer for the interior lights. Need a better solution then have to go multiple screens to change it. This becomes an issue as the sensor seems to be in a place that it will pick up a shadow from the truck and think it is night time during the day.
- Gas/Tank - Really small for US driving. Would really be interested in an aftermarket solution.
- Not having any Service Only locations near me. Hopefully Ineos has something in the works before I need my first scheduled maintenance/Tow Package install.
- A USB port in the small tray area in front of the shifter so you could place you phone there and charge it without having a cord running from the center console. I would assume the wiring is underneath there for the Smokers. Pack, so I will look at adding one.
I can't wait to get it out on some trails to put it thru its paces.
I finally found one that had everything I was looking for and more at Sewel in Dallas (Sela Green, Scottish White Roof, Tow, Heated Seats, Safari Windows, 17" Steel, Reflective Glass, Utility Trim) Flew down there Friday night and was at their facility Saturday morning and took a test drive. That's when I encountered the over speed clicks. If that could not have been turned off, I would have flown back home. Of course it can and Sewel programed the FAV button. My sales guy said they had been on a call with Ineos to provide customer feedback and this was brought up and that Ineos is working on having the on/off selection be static. Sales guy also said that the current production had been on an order date basis, but soon will be on a color/option basis. Meaning that all Greens with Safari and Tow will be built this week, Grey without Safari but with Tow next week. He said this will cause some frustration for people that placed their orders ~1 year ago not receiving their order before someone that recently just placed an order.
The Grenadier had 75 miles on it when I picked it up and I jumped straight on the highway for a 9 1/2 drive home. With in the first hour, I was wondering what is the Texas return law as the driving was horrible. Coming from my F150 , I pretty much knew what to expect, but damn, this ain't it. Two hands at all times, no road feel, having to pay 200% attention at all times because I was in Dallas traffic . As I thought about it, I decided to check my PSI and found they were between 45-46 PSI on the KO2. That seem pretty high, so when I got my first of 3 fill ups, I checked the boards and saw what PSI everyone is running which turned out to be 36 psi. As I had just bought the Grenadier, I did not have a tire gauge with me to deflate them, so I had to go into the QT and buy the worst made Chinese gauge for $5! Got them deflated and then back on the road. Handling was immediately better and inline with what I was expecting. You DO have to actually drive it (sorry Telsa crowd), but can do so with 1 hand. The next issue that popped up was the under pressure warning lights. Yes, lights. So not only do you get a warning light on the cluster in front of the steering wheel, but you also get a message that comes on for 12 seconds and goes off for 12 seconds on the main screen and DOES NOT STOP! Now I have no idea why an engineer decided someone need to know that their tires were over/under inflated every 12 seconds. So on the 2nd fill up stop, I researched the boards again, saw how to reset the TPMS and was able to get that cleared up. The next day when the tires were cold, I get an underinflated warning.
Positives:
- After driving it for ~700 miles, I will say it is a great driving truck!
- The seats are outstanding (only after 10 hours of driving did I start to feel a little sore).
- The overall noise is a little worse than my F150 but miles ahead of my DS Wrangler. You can actually have a bluetooth call. They will hear some noise on their side.
- The safari windows make the truck in my opinion. They do add to the road noise (along with the KO2s), but just being able to see above and in front of you is fantastic in my opinion. I never did use by sunroof in my F150, but this is a different experience.
- Now the engineer that designed the heated seats must have been a HUGE fan of Dante's Inferno and wanted to create the temperature in the Ninth level. I had it on high for 3-4 minutes, went immediately to low and then off. To say they work better than my F150, my DW X5, the JL, a Mustang, Q7, V70 (just keep naming any vehicle you ever had or has ever been made) is still an understatement.
- The transmission is extremally smooth, much better than my F150.
- Good, not great, rear storage space. Would have like a little larger space, but I believe that would have changed the departure angle to something unacceptable.
- This one is a personal one, but the Sela Green color. I have wanted a 1945 MG-TC in British Racing Green since I was about 12 years old. This somewhat fulfilled that desire, but still hope to acquire a MG one day.
- Headlights and brakes are great.
- Sound system - I know there are many, many threads stating how bad/system needs upgrading, but to me it is fine. Not the greatest, but not on my to do list. The one minor complaint I do have is the volume increase between level 6 and 7 is far to great of an increase.
- The exterior grab handles are a great feature,
"Negatives"/Oddities/Pet Peeves (Overall, this are small and to be expected with a new build vehicle, but I would have thought some of them would have been flushed out during testing):
- Rolled the drivers door window up and down at highway speed. The window shakes back from side to side. Seems to be anchored very poorly. Will keep an eye on it.
- Why they didn't put the front handle on the drivers as standard, I don't know. Fail on Ineos part. Would probably not have cost $5 to make that standard.
- I guess "Mrs. Jim Radcliff" did not go on any test drives, otherwise there would have been a lighted mirror on the sunvisors. I know they were going for uncomplicated, but they could have put battery powered ones on. Low cost.
- The gas gauge is weird. When you fill up, the miles to empty states >260 miles, like the computer can't calculate anything above that. Then when you hit about 100 miles to empty, the gauge still shows 1/2 full. You get a yellow light to refuel at 75 miles to empty and then the low fuel warning light at 50 miles to empty. Once you hit 35 miles to empty, the gauge shows - - miles to empty, but you still have about 1/4 of tank of fuel. Just a really weird set up.
- You can set up the screen to show the the XM station and song on the top bar while you are in the setting menu, but once you switch to Car Play, all it show is just the Source of XM Radio. Also, on all of my other vehicles, you can choose Live Sports (along with other categories) and it will show all the games that are on and the scores. Further, the Channel Logo is huge, the Channel Name is in huge font but the Artist and Song Name is about a small as can be. I really don't need to know the Station Name twice, but would like to know the Artist and Song without having to put on my glasses.
- The "bump" on the lever for the seat forward/backward adjustment hits me in the ankle if I pull my leg up while driving on cruise control.
- The lever for seat recline is a very poor overall design from the ergonomics to the placement. If you are driving, good luck operating it.
- The lack of storage in the front is almost non existent.
- I know this will probably cause the British to continue to laugh at us for our obsession with cup holders, but damn, at some time during the 1.1 Million Miles, someone, somewhere had to get a Big Glup or an XL from Buc-eees. I sure hope that someone makes an aftermarket replacement. And no cup holders in the back seat, come on (Yes I know that you can put it in to door.) My F150 had 12 cup holders!
- The dash tray is unusable. Some type of rubber insert to keep you items from sliding around would have been great. Come on aftermarket.
- The handle on the 60% door seems very cheap and feels like it will break with too much force.
- It would have been nice to for the warning light screen to have been an actual screen that you could have programed. i.e. Move the speedometer from the main screen to the second screen and to free up space for other items on the main screen.
- Some of the knobs/dials feel very cheap (thin plastic). I feel like some of them (the temp control dial) will eventually break/crack. Especially when using gloves and you can't feel the amount of pressure you are putting on the dial. With the metal around the knobs/dials, they could have made some of them out of aluminum.
- No physical dimmer for the interior lights. Need a better solution then have to go multiple screens to change it. This becomes an issue as the sensor seems to be in a place that it will pick up a shadow from the truck and think it is night time during the day.
- Gas/Tank - Really small for US driving. Would really be interested in an aftermarket solution.
- Not having any Service Only locations near me. Hopefully Ineos has something in the works before I need my first scheduled maintenance/Tow Package install.
- A USB port in the small tray area in front of the shifter so you could place you phone there and charge it without having a cord running from the center console. I would assume the wiring is underneath there for the Smokers. Pack, so I will look at adding one.
I can't wait to get it out on some trails to put it thru its paces.
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