Doug Demuro reviews the Grenadier

[RobP]

I haven't watched it yet but was hoping he'd do a review!

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GwKro4JglQY

 

[[ Adam ]]

I can't listen to his voice. Grating.

 

[DaveB]

I haven't watched it yet but was hoping he'd do a review!

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GwKro4JglQY

A typical Doug review.
So much detail and true understanding of vehicles.
I think he would have really liked the diesel variant and the Safari windows.

 

[Tom109]

When I read the title my mind thought Doug Domokos, The Wheelie King, #Legend.

This YouTuber is a wanker.

 

[MileHigh]

View: https://youtu.be/GwKro4JglQY?si=5wKeh6JNfZza7bj1


Doug gives it Doug Score of 59. Fairly low, but he does defend it for being what it is, and not hating on it for what it isn't...

Kind of interesting that he goes through the buttons and quirks like he usually does, but we have seen most of it before.

He says that the passenger side turn signal light is on the 'snorkel' and not the mirror, or is on the passenger mirror and the snorkel?

 

[FlyersFan76]

I can't listen to his voice. Grating.

It is like watching those inflatable tube man ballons at car dealers, etc.

I'm looking forward to the review that Shmee does. lol

The comments of on Doug's video are funny though.
"brebmann4 hours ago (edited)
5:37 “you don’t want just all buttons and switches because if you did, it would end up looking like an aircraft control panel. 'That’s exactly what I want.'"

 

[Trialmaster]

I can't listen to his voice. Grating.

I'm glad I am not the only one. Unwatchable.

 

[ChasingOurTrunks]

"It's a new SUV for people who think all the other SUVs are a bit too soft".

That's about as succinct a summary of the owners of the Gren as I can imagine!

Edit: Not withstanding that some folks don't like him, I like that Doug has done a review as it allows us to better see apples to apples - he's done one of the new Defender as well, and he was quite pleased with it (as he should be), so hearing his reviews gives new buyers yet another window into the quality and quirks of the Gren vs everything else.

 

[bakepl]

Have driven this vehicle over 10000klm now and before all the media jumped on this steering self centre issue I wouldn't have noticed, like who takes their hands off the steering to straighten up after a corner? From my perspective drives superb off road and is very nice on road. Does it have sports car handling? No, but hey, it's not a sports car and it's not an SUV. Perhaps they could also mention axle loads, tow and load capabilities out of the box compared to rivals as they are up there with the best. If I have any negative it would be fuel capacity (although there is a 68 litre aux tank now available aftermarket) and the TPMS which is not suitable when towing heavy loads in hot weather as rear over high pressure alarm will be unavoidable given the limitations the cold pressures settings that dictate both high and low pressure. Hoping for a future software fix.

 

[ChasingOurTrunks]

I watched the whole video (Well, listened to it in the background). I think Doug's review is actually pretty spot on. The big takeaways - this is a niche vehicle for a small market of users who wanted the Old Defender-style of rig. He's exactly right.

Someone wanting a modern rig will be disappointed by the quirks of the Gren, which for most of the folks in this community are features, not bugs.

I found his Doug Score interesting because it highlights both his bias and the way the Gren stacks up. It's better than the Bronco and Gladiator. It is lesser than the Defender, Lexus and G-Wagen.

That's exactly what I think a lot of us hoped the Grenadier would be - the Bronco and Gladiator are off-roaders, with that classic truck feel, and Doug's score puts the Grenadier as the "best in class" for those rought-and-tumble adventure vehicles. When you stack it against the "Luxury Bloat" class of the Merc and Lexus, it comes in at the bottom - I think we'd be upset it if didn't, because it's not meant to be that kind of car.

Now if only it wasn't over $100 grand

All in all I think a very fair review by Doug - if his review makes a person avoid buying it because of how he scored it or spoke about it, then I would suggest that person was looking at the wrong car to begin with. If you know what you need in a car, his review will tell you - 'This is the car for you' pretty clearly.

 

[AngusMacG]

“Now if only it wasn't over $100 grand”. Those Canadian Dollars are just getting worse and worse…

 

[LC0013]

Accel is a "1"? Did not listen to the entire video but is the "Accel" for acceleration? If so, seems too low to me unless racing against those reviewed. However, in general acceleration is better than fine to me.

 

[evomind]

I actually like his videos.
He doesnt just blow sunshine up everythings tailpipe.
Hes entertaining without being over the top and is informative.

I dont care at all for Raiti, and I dont care much for schmee.
I remember when schmee looked like a disheveled Englishman till the YouTube money started rolling in.
Isnt he the one with the lisp?
Hes not quite as annoying as Raiti.

 

[Solmanic]

When I read the title my mind thought Doug Domokos, The Wheelie King, #Legend.

This YouTuber is a wanker.

That's a bit harsh. Doug is one of the straightest shooting reviewers there is and a genuinely nice guy. I admit, he has become a bit of a caricature of himself, but his reviewing is deep, detailed and impartial. He works entirely on his own with no camera operator or editing support and he rarely gets his facts wrong. I think the only detail he messed up on this Grenadier review was that he said the numbers in the compass dial were altitude and temperature, not altitude and direction. It's truly amazing that such a low-tech channel has nearly 5M subscribers and such a loyal following. I'm so glad he finally got around to doing this review.

BTW, he has recently sold his NAS Defender 90 and 200 series Landcruiser, so I wonder if he is preparing his garage for a Grenadier addition?

 

[Solmanic]

Accel is a "1"? Did not listen to the entire video but is the "Accel" for acceleration? If so, seems too low to me unless racing against those reviewed. However, in general acceleration is better than fine to me.

Agreed. But he rates each category on an overall scale so the Grenadier's acceleration is being compared on the same scale as a Veyron.

The "Doug Score" is a bit silly in my opinion. Many of the categories cancel each other out so he gets a LOT of scores that add up to the same number, give or take. The final number is pretty useless so you should just look at the individual scores for each category to get a better idea of relative pros and cons.

 

[NoMoTaco]

BTW, he has recently sold his NAS Defender 90 and 200 series Landcruiser, so I wonder if he is preparing his garage for a Grenadier addition?

I was initially thinking the same thing, especially as he is need of an East coast beach vehicle to replace his LC200. However, on his new podcast he touched on the review of the Grenadier, and when asked by his colleagues if he would buy one his response was a succinct "No"

 

[ChasingOurTrunks]

I was initially thinking the same thing, especially as he is need of an East coast beach vehicle to replace his LC200. However, on his new podcast he touched on the review of the Grenadier, and when asked by his colleagues if he would buy one his response was a succinct "No"

Yes it's not the kind of car he likes. He's actually a perfect customer for the New Defender and he loved it - did a cross-country road trip and declared it a perfect road trip vehicle. And he's right. For most buyers, the New Defender does on paper most of what the Grenadier can do, and it does it with more modern features that most people tend to like.

Serious folks buying the Grenadier are buying them for 10 years from now. The New Defender is not that kind of car.

“Now if only it wasn't over $100 grand”. Those Canadian Dollars are just getting worse and worse…

The exchange rate is rough - I was in Seattle two weeks back and nearly got charged $20 CDN for 115 ML of Pepto Bismol the morning after one too many pints in the pub at my conference.

That means that for just over 1200 pints of Pepto Bismol I could own a Grenadier.

I have no idea if that's a lot as this is a very odd metric to use as comparison but the main point here is Pepto is expensive and Canuck buying power is awful

 

[owl (Owl Outdoor)]

Doug does a good job and has shown interest in unique vehicles and good used car values, etc.

I feel the review was accurate based on his requirements of a vehicle that can function as a daily driver in an urban area.
He is not the target demographic of "hard core off-roader", but most these will be bought and used as "cars" by people cross shopping the G wagon, L663 Defender and maybe the new toyota/lexus thing.
I don't really think the guy is annoying at all, but I am not being forced to watch his videos.
I do think it is cool and admirable that he spends his YouTube windfall on car guy things like buying a Lamborghini Countach.....that is the dream occupation for car obsessed people.

 

[reauxheaux]

His conclusion was better than I thought it would be. He had been down on it in some previous mentions, so maybe the hands-on softened him some.

The IG might be something that scores better if he were to re-visit it in 10 years.

 

[parb]

It basically took less scores on acceleration and handling vs the top scoring vehicles. If that is important then that is fair.

overall i thought the tone of the review was fair. I think his complaint on the speed warning was hilarious. "yes i know i am speeding"...