Brisbane Drive Day

[DaveB]

I received an email the next day. I'm 3pm.

Can I recommend going early
In Perth I went a couple of hours early and after talking with other customers I was invited to ride in the back seat a couple of times before my drive.
I also got to talk to the Ineos guys
Unfortunately there wasn't a spare vehicle to just look over
At Tamborine drive I got there 40 minutes early and saw both vehicles empty so asked if my daughters partner could drive one while I drove the other.
The next drive slot wasn't for 20 minutes so off we went.
We then spent 30 minutes looking over the static vehicle.

 

[grenadierboy]

plus free food and drinks!

 

[DesertGecko]

Can I recommend going early
In Perth I went a couple of hours early and after talking with other customers I was invited to ride in the back seat a couple of times before my drive.
I also got to talk to the Ineos guys
Unfortunately there wasn't a spare vehicle to just look over
At Tamborine drive I got there 40 minutes early and saw both vehicles empty so asked if my daughters partner could drive one while I drove the other.
The next drive slot wasn't for 20 minutes so off we went.
We then spent 30 minutes looking over the static vehicle.

Ooops.. too late now. All the early slots were gone when we tried to book.

 

[DaveB]

Ooops.. too late now. All the early slots were gone when we tried to book.

Just go anyway
They will try to slot you in if they can


Sadly I now have to drive to Brisbane to go to my office.
Waste of time, fuel and energy

 

[DesertGecko]

Just go anyway
They will try to slot you in if they can


Sadly I now have to drive to Brisbane to go to my office.
Waste of time, fuel and energy

I just hope no one breaks the car before it's our go.

So personally - if it was me .. even though the Grenadier is probably an ideal highway car.. I'd use something else for that commute. Of course as you say.. what a waste of resources.

 

[DaveB]

I just hope no one breaks the car before it's our go.

So personally - if it was me .. even though the Grenadier is probably an ideal highway car.. I'd use something else for that commute. Of course as you say.. what a waste of resources.

It took me 1 hour 25 minutes to get there, I did very little work and left at 11 am.
Waste of a day

 

[trobex]

Sent Global an email I want my test drive (2nd one)!!! The wife was going to go to this one.

 

[trobex]

Well today was day 1 of 3 for test Drives at Cornubia? - hoping for some shared content!!! Im going on a 2nd drive Sunday

 

[Rooballer]

I’m in for Sunday - hopefully get a run on the bitumen at some decent speed.

 

[Wayneos]

Well today was day 1 of 3 for test Drives at Cornubia? - hoping for some shared content!!! Im going on a 2nd drive Sunday

 

[bigleonski]

I’ll be there tomorrow- hoping to get a blacktop drive as well as the 4wd curcuit.

 

[dime80]

Is there any feedback from Brisbane drive day.
- what variants
- how long is the drive
-Is there bitumen driving.
I’m in for tommorrow, any feedback would be appreciated.

 

[Solmanic]

Is there any feedback from Brisbane drive day.
- what variants
- how long is the drive
-Is there bitumen driving.
I’m in for tommorrow, any feedback would be appreciated.

Same group of PT models that were at the Mt Tambourine drive day. No bitumen driving due to RACQ rules preventing public driving “prototype” vehicles on the track. But the off-road course is better than the Mt Tambourine one with a nice 400mm wading section and some decent gnarly climbs & descents with plenty of ruts, rocks and tree roots.

 

[bigleonski]

Ok, my take on a second drive.
No tarmac . Spoke to a couple of the boys who had driven them to Townsville and back on the highway (2,700km return) and they were really happy with the road driving. One stretch from Melbourne to Brisbane non stop of 19 hours in the seat (shared driving) and the seats are great. They also mentioned you can push them a bit into the corners and they hold stability surprisingly well given what they are. Again assured me we’d be happy with their capability as long distance tourers.

Australian cars will come with rear nato plug and 13pin Euro trailer connectors.

The 4wd track at Mt Cotton was much better than Mt Tambourine. Not particularly difficult really although a little slip and slide, but more representative of the offroading most would do here.
One great steep down hill decent with a bend mid way that was done in centre locked 1st low range. Done with no acceleration and no brake it decended at about 5-6km/hr and whilst it wasn’t as good as a good manual 1st gear it was pretty close. Impressive and better than my 200 auto in terms of holding speed.

In low auto uphill and flat I was surprised at how well it held the lower gears and didn’t try to hunt up and down all the time. When driving with minimal acceleration (which was great by the way and not jerky at all) it maintained 1st and 2nd well without getting into a higher gear prematurely. But at the same time it didn’t rev itself unnecessarily either.

In low range traction control etc is disconnected .

Overall a much better test to get a feel for how it goes offroad. I didn’t get any wheels off the ground at any stage (that I recall) but it felt tight everywhere I pointed it despite intentionally getting off line as often as I could.

Tyres. Pic below- I’m doubtful you could put a 33” tyre on the spare and open the door - there’s probably only an inch of leeway to work with. So adjusting the location of the spare somehow would be needed.

Colour. In overcast skies the silver seems very blue. And whilst the Scottish white is very creamy, I really like it in the flesh and will change colour from Silver to White if I’m able to.

Will add more as I remember. Off to play putt putt with my granddaughter now.

 

[Michael H.]

Ok, my take on a second drive.
No tarmac . Spoke to a couple of the boys who had driven them to Townsville and back on the highway (2,700km return) and they were really happy with the road driving. One stretch from Melbourne to Brisbane non stop of 19 hours in the seat (shared driving) and the seats are great. They also mentioned you can push them a bit into the corners and they hold stability surprisingly well given what they are. Again assured me we’d be happy with their capability as long distance tourers.

Australian cars will come with rear nato plug and 13pin Euro trailer connectors.

The 4wd track at Mt Cotton was much better than Mt Tambourine. Not particularly difficult really although a little slip and slide, but more representative of the offroading most would do here.
One great steep down hill decent with a bend mid way that was done in centre locked 1st low range. Done with no acceleration and no brake it decended at about 5-6km/hr and whilst it wasn’t as good as a good manual 1st gear it was pretty close. Impressive and better than my 200 auto in terms of holding speed.

In low auto uphill and flat I was surprised at how well it held the lower gears and didn’t try to hunt up and down all the time. When driving with minimal acceleration (which was great by the way and not jerky at all) it maintained 1st and 2nd well without getting into a higher gear prematurely. But at the same time it didn’t rev itself unnecessarily either.

In low range traction control etc is disconnected .

Overall a much better test to get a feel for how it goes offroad. I didn’t get any wheels off the ground at any stage (that I recall) but it felt tight everywhere I pointed it despite intentionally getting off line as often as I could.

Tyres. Pic below- I’m doubtful you could put a 33” tyre on the spare and open the door - there’s probably only an inch of leeway to work with. So adjusting the location of the spare somehow would be needed.

Colour. In overcast skies the silver seems very blue. And whilst the Scottish white is very creamy, I really like it in the flesh and will change colour from Silver to White if I’m able to.

Will add more as I remember. Off to play putt putt with my granddaughter now. View attachment 7802371View attachment 7802372

Great report. Thank you.
You said that ..

In low range traction control etc is disconnected

It makes sense that ESC (stability control) would be disabled, but I’m wondering if ETC (traction control) would be active (perhaps with modified parameters) in low range. I’ll check when I have my test drive next weekend in NSW.

 

[ECrider]

Guessing both off as you would want the ability to spin (mud release) in low range, or perhaps you need to select the 'off-road' button for that.

 

[bigleonski]

Great report. Thank you.
You said that ..

It makes sense that ESC (stability control) would be disabled, but I’m wondering if ETC (traction control) would be active (perhaps with modified parameters) in low range. I’ll check when I have my test drive next weekend in NSW.

Only problem is the Pt02’s don’t actually have traction control- so you’ll have to ask another driver the same question and see if you get the same answer.

 

[DenisM]

Great write-up! Thank you also for confirming the details regarding the 13 pin euro trailer connectors and NATO plug for the high amp output, and the Ineos drivers' positive response regarding the comfort level of long distance driving.
I was pleasantly surprised at the "hue" of the Scottish White" in the photograph which I ordered simply because of the Qld climate!

 

[Michael H.]

Only problem is the Pt02’s don’t actually have traction control- so you’ll have to ask another driver the same question and see if you get the same answer.

If I see Scott (Technical Supervising Engineer) next weekend I’ll check with him.

 

[bigleonski]

Radio.
Hooked up to Spotify and played a few classics. Sadly it’s very tinny in the higher frequencies and not particularly good up loud, so I’m thinking a trip to your local car audio for some focals or similar will be in order if you like your music.
UHF
They see that as a bit of a question mark - most users will want one, but not real sure where they think it might go as there isn’t much room under dashparts etc.
Leather
Black leather looks awesome.
Steering
Definitely more turning required due to the live axles, and I for one will need to remember to start my turns in the tight stuff much earlier than with the LC200.
Rhino Rack
Very chunky side bars so I’ll wait to see what Frontrunner etc come up with before I decide on that.
Bullbar
Would love to investigate whether fitting a few spacers to bring it away from the vehicle a cm or two would be feasible, legal, or cause issues with safety management re airbags etc. It really is very close to the grill / bonnet.