Finally here! 100 Miles first impressions...

Finally my turn for one of these threads! After patiently waiting almost a year to the day (ordered my Gren in November, 2023) my rig has made it home.

Trialmaster, Shale Blue with White roof, Winch, Aux Battery, heated seats, Slick-Top (Safari Window Delete)

The dealer offered me a $2K accessory credit too. Went with the side steps- which I was not a big fan of in the pictures I had seen but in person they aren't so bad. Also got the rubber floor mats, and the rear seat cover which I think fits really nicely and looks great. Wanted to keep the dog hair off the cloth seats as much as possible in the event we get another pup...

Still getting used to the drive- the steering is no issue for me. It drives a lot like my 1970's vintage Range Rovers so I'm pretty used to it- though it was comical watching my wife drive it for the first time and be surprised she had to help correct it back to center.

The ADAS speed click which was my biggest worry isn't so bad either. Have the FAV button mapped so easy to disable and feathering the accelerator will also silent the alerts which is great when I forget to disable it.

My Grenadier did seem to ride a bit harshly on the drive home- I checked the tire pressures and the dealer had them pumped up to 46 PSI. Dropping them to 36 per the manual greatly improved the ride quality on my journey today.

Minor annoyance: The speed camera not available message likes to pop up often- especially in parking lots and on the military base I frequent which is kind of annoying. I guess being a pilot I am not a big fan of warning and caution messages staring me in the face- especially nuisance ones.

Major annoyance/ safety issue: The damn Auto Stop/ Start actually scared me today. I stopped for a quick errand and when I got back in and restarted I forgot to disable it. I pulled out on the main road which was on a significant uphill slope. I had the tunes cranked and didnt realize the engine had shut off. When the light turned green I let off the brake to hit the accelerator and the truck rolled back about a foot- as if it was in neutral. There was a pretty significant delay before the truck restarted automatically. There was a car behind me too who I'm sure wasnt pleased either. I slammed the brake to stop the roll back disabled the damn thing and went on my way. You would think that function would automatically be disabled if the car senses its not on level ground (it has a damn tilt sensor on the off-road display so it should be able to read off that) - especially since there is no automatic brake hold that delay in restart definitely causes roll back.

I know that I am beating a dead horse with that complaint- but I really wish Ineos would allow that function to be kept off. I think I read a thread here about someone fashioning a shim to slip into the switch gap which leaves it pressed in. Gonna look into rigging something like that up.

Beyond the stop/start shenanigans I am really happy with the truck so far. Looking forward to placing more miles on it and once the bank account recovers a bit from the initial purchase looking into some goodies (light bar), and I think I would like to have the steelies powder coated white to match the roof.

Thanks for reading my blog post- Happy to finally be able to contribute as an actual owner!

I agree with you on the roll back because it doesn't restart quick enough. It really is a safety hazard and some day one of us is absolutely roll back into a car behind us. Besides, the damn thing turns off the instant you come to a stop. Most cars give you a few seconds to see if you are going to immediately accelerate again. I'll add that BMW uses a special coating on the rod bearing to offset wear caused by the auto start/stop function. I'm sure they have engineered for it but I really wonder how much start/stop actually helps.

Agreed on the stop start. In an ideal world it would make use of the tilt sensors and radar to do a better job of knowing when to keep the engine running or start it.

Being a pilot you will get used to doing pre checks on the Grenadier. My wife laughs every time I get in because of all the buttons and dials I hit prior to and just after start up. I'm used to it now. The only annoyance is the HVAC failure that happens a few times a month but hopefully Ineos gets that sorted out soon.

Yes there are a few little niggles and as Kevin said he is used to his pre checks as my wife and I are...She to found the steering or centreing quite odd but now is OK...Love the look and condition of your old girl RR...and think that the white rims art the way to go...brilliant

Regarding the minor annoyances and niggles: I just picked up a ‘24 Tacoma. I’ve had it for about a week. I could easily lay out a laundry list of technology annoyances in the Tacoma. These ridiculous safety monitors are now standard with every new vehicle.

For those under the assumption that these things are strictly Ineos, you could not be more wrong. They all operate the same. However, I was able to permanently disable the over speed warning in the Tacoma. But I have not figured out how to permanently disable the maddening lane assist function. When the computer grabs the steering wheel, it will definitely get your attention.

As for auto-start/stop, camera brakes, lane sensors, speed warnings, “take a break” warnings and various lights flashing- Ineos is not alone.

@S52 - congrats! What a great looking combo. Lincoln Green(?)... and Shale make a great pair. Shale is quickly becoming my favorite - possibly over my own Eldoret.

I wonder if the Grenadier will ever land an example in the Louvre? Like the 2-door RRC??

vtgrenadier said:

@S52 - congrats! What a great looking combo. Lincoln Green(?)... and Shale make a great pair. Shale is quickly becoming my favorite - possibly over my own Eldoret.

I wonder if the Grenadier will ever land an example in the Louvre? Like the 2-door RRC??

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Yep thats my Lincoln Green 1975. Imported from Spain! I wasn't sure if the Gren would fit in my garage- very close. Just verified it does- barely.
Makes the RRC look like a toy in comparison!

Kevin Mokracek said:

Being a pilot you will get used to doing pre checks on the Grenadier. My wife laughs every time I get in because of all the buttons and dials I hit prior to and just after start up. I'm used to it now. The only annoyance is the HVAC failure that happens a few times a month but hopefully Ineos gets that sorted out soon.

Click to expand...

LOL, so true - even without being a pilot.
My Grenadier's my grandkid's favorite vehicle - whenever he's with us, he spends at least half an hour every morning in it. I know that I have to "remap" everything switchable and tweakable once I get in.

S52 said:

Yep thats my Lincoln Green 1975. Imported from Spain! I wasn't sure if the Gren would fit in my garage- very close. Just verified it does- barely.
Makes the RRC look like a toy in comparison!

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Beautiful RRC you’ve got there congrats! Likewise, I have my 1995 RRC 25th Anniversary tucked up next to the Grenny to keep it company as well. I just love the contrasts and odd similarities between these two vehicles as it keeps things interesting.

C-Mack said:

Beautiful RRC you’ve got there congrats! Likewise, I have my 1995 RRC 25th Anniversary tucked up next to the Grenny to keep it company as well. I just love the contrasts and odd similarities between these two vehicles as it keeps things interesting.

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That's one of 95 Classics we keep around.
Another I drive to work daily, intermittently with the Grenadier; objectively, it is a better highway vehicle and a better off-roader than the Grenadier, but maintenance gets old at 387 k miles.

pmatusov said:

View attachment 7877180
That's one of 95 Classics we keep around.
Another I drive to work daily, intermittently with the Grenadier; objectively, it is a better highway vehicle and a better off-roader than the Grenadier, but maintenance gets old at 387 k miles.

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Very nice indeed! I spent about four years restoring mine rebuilding just about everything mechanical now I just need to keep maintained as it’s in mint condition both inside and out.