So last night we finally rolled in from our 2 week trip through Europe. We passed through 9 countries, staying in 7 of them for at least one night.
The Grenadier performed fantastically. It was equipped with some eBay thule roof bars, an ARB roof top tent, my 33"muds, and all our camping gear.
We did the famous Theth loop in albania, as well as some other smaller little tracks here and there, but were mostly on road for the rest of the time. Unfortunately weather wasn't on our side, and we bore witness to some amazing storms, but a great time was had none the less. We found some great campsites, and met some brilliant people along the way.
As for the car, I'm very pleased with it. We got so many questions about it, loads of compliments, and one Italian guy in Naples who said it was ugly
It ran flawlessly for the whole trip, besides the odd screen warning glitch that we've all become used to. 6 hours of hard offroad track didn't create a single rattle. We hit the rear skid plate on one particularly rocky water crossing, denting it slightly (doing its job!)
The transfer case changed from H to L to Locked with ease. Never had a chance to try out the F/R lockers as they were never needed (though I've tested them before with no issues)
Mpg wasn't great at highway speeds, but much of this was wind resistance and the tent. It seems to me the grenadier is geared very low, and for this reason almost needs a 9th gear to drop rpms when at 70mph. At 50mph on coastal roads, we achieved 27mpg even with the tent on, so I think the aero (or lack thereof) really comes into play above 60
Overall we averaged 23mpg on the entire trip, so I can live with that for the performance it gives
I ran the fridge off the dual battery, which worked a treat. I have a 50l dometic CFX3, and we left it for 2 days in 30° heat, and the battery dropped to 70%
All in all great trip, and great vehicle. For those on Imstagram, I'm @grenadier.adventure and have lots of pictures, but will try get some on here as well.
The Grenadier performed fantastically. It was equipped with some eBay thule roof bars, an ARB roof top tent, my 33"muds, and all our camping gear.
We did the famous Theth loop in albania, as well as some other smaller little tracks here and there, but were mostly on road for the rest of the time. Unfortunately weather wasn't on our side, and we bore witness to some amazing storms, but a great time was had none the less. We found some great campsites, and met some brilliant people along the way.
As for the car, I'm very pleased with it. We got so many questions about it, loads of compliments, and one Italian guy in Naples who said it was ugly
It ran flawlessly for the whole trip, besides the odd screen warning glitch that we've all become used to. 6 hours of hard offroad track didn't create a single rattle. We hit the rear skid plate on one particularly rocky water crossing, denting it slightly (doing its job!)
The transfer case changed from H to L to Locked with ease. Never had a chance to try out the F/R lockers as they were never needed (though I've tested them before with no issues)
Mpg wasn't great at highway speeds, but much of this was wind resistance and the tent. It seems to me the grenadier is geared very low, and for this reason almost needs a 9th gear to drop rpms when at 70mph. At 50mph on coastal roads, we achieved 27mpg even with the tent on, so I think the aero (or lack thereof) really comes into play above 60
Overall we averaged 23mpg on the entire trip, so I can live with that for the performance it gives
I ran the fridge off the dual battery, which worked a treat. I have a 50l dometic CFX3, and we left it for 2 days in 30° heat, and the battery dropped to 70%
All in all great trip, and great vehicle. For those on Imstagram, I'm @grenadier.adventure and have lots of pictures, but will try get some on here as well.
