Drove to dealer today to see for myself…

[Bruce B]

After keeping an eye on the Ineos Grenadier for a year now, after seeing pictures of friend’s new Grenadier, after consuming many hours of YouTube videos, after many online reviews, after reading forum posts and facebook posts, I decided that the only way to get a handle on the vehicle was to visit the dealer.
As a bit of background, I have owned 3 “vintage” Land Rovers in my life. One, a 1962 Series 2a 88 was one of my favorite all time vehicles. I have driven pickup trucks for the majority of my last 300,000 miles. I spent a lifetime in the business of European auto repair and maintenance. I have owned an awful lot of vehicles and I have loved something about many of them.
I drove just over an hour today to Framingham MA to Ko Ineos Grenadier. My new buddy Pedro spent about 3 hours letting me crawl on, in and under their vehicles. He put me behind the wheel of 2 vehicles and let me drive on highways, city streets and back roads. He answered all of my questions, some more than once and he never once made me feel unwelcome.
Especially after some of the video reviews, I was probably predisposed to believing that I would not like the steering or some of the electronics.
I will admit that I wanted to like the Grenadier. I am really bored with my truck these days and I have been looking for “something else…” The surprise is that I was in no way ready for just how much I loved it!
Steering??? It feels just like my last Ram 2500. Recirculating ball steering is different than rack and pinion and I thought the Grenadier steering was just fine. I could (and will!) live with this system without giving it another thought. The suspension seems just fine too. I’d say it is just firm enough, dampened nicely and again, very live-with-able. It is a much nicer calibration than my 2022 F-150 King Ranch! Speaking of my F-150, it has a larger turning radius than the Grenadier and I’ve been just fine with that. The engine delivered a nice blend of low end torque and power. It felt much quicker than I thought it would. The ZF 8 speed was as it is in so many vehicles, about perfect. The build quality was obviously high with no rattles and the often mentioned solid doors close with a wonderful feel. The chassis is finished beyond anything I have seen. Welds looks clean and the powder coat looks great. I liked seeing consistent velocity joints in the front and rear drive shafts. The seats were incredibly easy to get my 6’3” body comfortable in. The vehicle was especially quiet with the all season tires and not actually too loud with the off road tires at speed.
I saw most of the colors, most but not all of the options, I sat in all of the seats, I liked the payload and towing numbers… and I was really impressed! Even the premium stereo was just fine although a little “boomy” as adjusted by the factory. A turn of a knob on the sub woofer will fix that.
OK, the software in the “infotainment system” seems to be really slow to respond. The climate control is a little quirky although it was easily able to cool a dark colored vehicle quickly after sitting in temperatures in the upper 80's. Although I am able to easily get up into this tall vehicle, I can see the need for a set of Side Runners so my 5’ tall wife can get into the vehicle. The center rear view mirror is a little restricted by the rear doors and spare tire but… it was liveable. I am now deciding on a last few details and I am 100% ready to order one for delivery next spring! We will use this as my daily driver and as our Airstream tow vehicle. Can’t wait for next spring…

 

[BenTN]

...
I will admit that I wanted to like the Grenadier. ... The surprise is that I was in no way ready for just how much I loved it!

This was fun to read. Reminds me of the feeling way back in January when I first drove mine. I think I love it more every month I own it.

Now try to enjoy anticipating delivery!

 

[Michael_in_Baja]

It's an interesting comparison to the Ram I've had a couple of Dodge Trucks and a Ramcharger and presently a 1991 F-250 460 4x4 and the Grenadier's steering / turning radius is similar although a bit tighter due to the shorter wheel base. I loved them all and love the Grenadier more.

 

[CrazyOldMan]

After keeping an eye on the Ineos Grenadier for a year now, after seeing pictures of friend’s new Grenadier, after consuming many hours of YouTube videos, after many online reviews, after reading forum posts and facebook posts, I decided that the only way to get a handle on the vehicle was to visit the dealer.
As a bit of background, I have owned 3 “vintage” Land Rovers in my life. One, a 1962 Series 2a 88 was one of my favorite all time vehicles. I have driven pickup trucks for the majority of my last 300,000 miles. I spent a lifetime in the business of European auto repair and maintenance. I have owned an awful lot of vehicles and I have loved something about many of them.
I drove just over an hour today to Framingham MA to Ko Ineos Grenadier. My new buddy Pedro spent about 3 hours letting me crawl on, in and under their vehicles. He put me behind the wheel of 2 vehicles and let me drive on highways, city streets and back roads. He answered all of my questions, some more than once and he never once made me feel unwelcome.
Especially after some of the video reviews, I was probably predisposed to believing that I would not like the steering or some of the electronics.
I will admit that I wanted to like the Grenadier. I am really bored with my truck these days and I have been looking for “something else…” The surprise is that I was in no way ready for just how much I loved it!
Steering??? It feels just like my last Ram 2500. Recirculating ball steering is different than rack and pinion and I thought the Grenadier steering was just fine. I could (and will!) live with this system without giving it another thought. The suspension seems just fine too. I’d say it is just firm enough, dampened nicely and again, very live-with-able. It is a much nicer calibration than my 2022 F-150 King Ranch! Speaking of my F-150, it has a larger turning radius than the Grenadier and I’ve been just fine with that. The engine delivered a nice blend of low end torque and power. It felt much quicker than I thought it would. The ZF 8 speed was as it is in so many vehicles, about perfect. The build quality was obviously high with no rattles and the often mentioned solid doors close with a wonderful feel. The chassis is finished beyond anything I have seen. Welds looks clean and the powder coat looks great. I liked seeing consistent velocity joints in the front and rear drive shafts. The seats were incredibly easy to get my 6’3” body comfortable in. The vehicle was especially quiet with the all season tires and not actually too loud with the off road tires at speed.
I saw most of the colors, most but not all of the options, I sat in all of the seats, I liked the payload and towing numbers… and I was really impressed! Even the premium stereo was just fine although a little “boomy” as adjusted by the factory. A turn of a knob on the sub woofer will fix that.
OK, the software in the “infotainment system” seems to be really slow to respond. The climate control is a little quirky although it was easily able to cool a dark colored vehicle quickly after sitting in temperatures in the upper 80's. Although I am able to easily get up into this tall vehicle, I can see the need for a set of Side Runners so my 5’ tall wife can get into the vehicle. The center rear view mirror is a little restricted by the rear doors and spare tire but… it was liveable. I am now deciding on a last few details and I am 100% ready to order one for delivery next spring! We will use this as my daily driver and as our Airstream tow vehicle. Can’t wait for next spring…

Don’t worry about the slow software - it will give you time to complete the pre-flight checklist and gratuitously push some buttons and flip some switches. “Danger Zone” would be an appropriate soundtrack to complete the ambiance.

 

[Alex1118]

I am now deciding on a last few details and I am 100% ready to order one for delivery next spring!

So you were told 6-8 months or something like that?

 

[Asnes]

“We will use this as my daily driver and as our Airstream tow vehicle”

Curious what airstream you’ll tow?

 

[DoubleDoom]

OK, the software in the “infotainment system” seems to be really slow to respond. The climate control is a little quirky although it was easily able to cool a dark colored vehicle quickly after sitting in temperatures in the upper 80's. Although I am able to easily get up into this tall vehicle, I can see the need for a set of Side Runners so my 5’ tall wife can get into the vehicle. The center rear view mirror is a little restricted by the rear doors and spare tire but… it was liveable. I am now deciding on a last few details and I am 100% ready to order one for delivery next spring! We will use this as my daily driver and as our Airstream tow vehicle. Can’t wait for next spring…

The MY24s come with firmware different from the 23.5 or earlier. I thought the 23.5 software was sluggish to react but it appears a bit faster in the MY24. The HVAC issue is meant to be solved according to my dealer and he said he hasn't seen it occur on an MY24 yet. Again, the 23.5 we test drive didn't suffer the hot/cold issue but it would be slow to react to changes when you moved the setting. On our MY24, when you move the temp from say 20c to 21c it gives an immediately noticeable change in the fans (and no heat on cold etc).

I am 100% ready to order one for delivery next spring!

You should have the MY24s coming into the US by then. So, not a bad thing. However, stocks of 23.5 will likely be still available.

 

[Bruce B]

So you were told 6-8 months or something like that?

The salesman said that if I want a contrasting roof, it will be about 7 months to get a vehicle. That is perfect for my needs and I think I’m going to go with an Eldoret Blue with a white roof…

 

[Bruce B]

“We will use this as my daily driver and as our Airstream tow vehicle”

Curious what airstream you’ll tow?

We have a 2021 Airstream Globetrotter 25’. I currently tow with a 2022 F-150 King Ranch with a 5.0 Coyote engine. I’m thinking that the short overhang of the Grenadier will actually enhance my towing experience. My F-150 and the Grenadier have pretty similar payload ratings and the Grenadier actually has a higher towing rating.
We are using a ProPride hitch now and I may switch that for something a little lighter for the Grenadier.
Just for the record, I have towed 2 Airstreams about 100,000 miles using both F-150 and a couple of 2500’s both a Ram and a GMC. I am not in the “you need a 2500 to tow or you will die” club. I drank a big glass of that KoolAid and hated my ownership experience. Yes, modern Diesel 2500 trucks have gobs of torque but they are not fun to live with. I have found that our much lighter duty F-150 actually does really nicely as a tow vehicle. While the size of the larger trucks masks whatever the trailer is doing, you can still feel it. I actually prefer knowing if something is slightly less than optimally set up. Then once you adjust/correct everything is happy!
Happy is good!

 

[Bruce B]

The MY24s come with firmware different from the 23.5 or earlier. I thought the 23.5 software was sluggish to react but it appears a bit faster in the MY24. The HVAC issue is meant to be solved according to my dealer and he said he hasn't seen it occur on an MY24 yet. Again, the 23.5 we test drive didn't suffer the hot/cold issue but it would be slow to react to changes when you moved the setting. On our MY24, when you move the temp from say 20c to 21c it gives an immediately noticeable change in the fans (and no heat on cold etc).


You should have the MY24s coming into the US by then. So, not a bad thing. However, stocks of 23.5 will likely be still available.

Interesting about the climate control… I am sure that while most of the internet observations about the Grenadier are based in reality, it appears that many have been over hyped. I found nothing about the vehicle that I didn’t either outright love or at least could live with easily enough. For example, I actually like the steering.
I am wondering though, won’t I be getting a 2025 model if it isn’t built until next year?

 

[DoubleDoom]

Interesting about the climate control… I am sure that while most of the internet observations about the Grenadier are based in reality, it appears that many have been over hyped. I found nothing about the vehicle that I didn’t either outright love or at least could live with easily enough. For example, I actually like the steering.

The only quirk with the heating system is that the digital display setting is not correctly aligned with the manual dial. For example, when the dial is just over the blue into the red, the digital display says 24c. I estimate that the digital display is about 3c out.

For example, I actually like the steering.

Me too.
However, I let 3PSI out of each tyre to bring it to 37PSI cold (the dealer had filled them for heavy loads, which it won't be most of the time), and I did feel a little bit of wandering with 42PSI when warm that was not present when in the mid-to-high 30s. When it was sitting at 38PSI warm, it rode true and could easily relax one-handed with no corrections.

I am wondering though, won’t I be getting a 2025 model if it isn’t built until next year?

The factory switched to MY24 in March/April this year. At the moment, US stock being sold are MY23.5. However, they are being marketed in the US as MY24. So, unless the factory switches to an MY24.5, you would expect the factory to switch at a similar time in 2025. It is likely that some of the recent deliveries to the US have been factory MY24s. Its a bit of strangeness at the moment that the MY is not aligned across countries but is probably down to the different timing for when the car was available in the US compared to Europe and the quirk of the .5 version for 2023.

 

[Asnes]

We have a 2021 Airstream Globetrotter 25’. I currently tow with a 2022 F-150 King Ranch with a 5.0 Coyote engine. I’m thinking that the short overhang of the Grenadier will actually enhance my towing experience. My F-150 and the Grenadier have pretty similar payload ratings and the Grenadier actually has a higher towing rating.
We are using a ProPride hitch now and I may switch that for something a little lighter for the Grenadier.
Just for the record, I have towed 2 Airstreams about 100,000 miles using both F-150 and a couple of 2500’s both a Ram and a GMC. I am not in the “you need a 2500 to tow or you will die” club. I drank a big glass of that KoolAid and hated my ownership experience. Yes, modern Diesel 2500 trucks have gobs of torque but they are not fun to live with. I have found that our much lighter duty F-150 actually does really nicely as a tow vehicle. While the size of the larger trucks masks whatever the trailer is doing, you can still feel it. I actually prefer knowing if something is slightly less than optimally set up. Then once you adjust/correct everything is happy!
Happy is good!

That’s awesome. I’m (still) and admin on airforums. I’ve owned over a 12 year period a 2008 25’ SS and 2017 30’ international towed with large suv (first gen Nissan armada, then updated Infiniti qx56) the moved to a gmc 2500 for the 30’ after 3000 miles with the Infiniti… first with equalizer hitch then pro pride. I won’t tow again without pro pride and then extra length of the PP will create good clearance between the rear wheel and propane tanks much better when backing up on a radius. Very little rear overhang is great on the grenny for towing and a more aggressive WD application.

I’m eager to hear back how the rear end of the grenny deals with the heavy tongue weight of the 25’. I’m guessing you are 850-1000lbs on the receiver even with the longer leverage of the PP. the grenadier is kinda soft sprung, although they are progressive rate springs. Mine has about 1,500 lbs of payload if I remember correctly, but the thing is built like a tank, so infrastructure is not a limiting factor, more so the springs. For sure the rear end receiver and mounting looks very stout for applying WD via propride. Maybe airbags are the right solution in the end, which I’ve been looking at.

We sold our 30’ international a year ago but now starting to think about what AS we can tow with the grenadier. I was thinking to go down to something small and nimble like a 23’ since it’s just my wife and I but a 25 (actually 28) would be ideal.

Please report back after you’ve tuned up your setup. Or PM me, I’d love to learn about your real world experience with that combo.

Safe travels.

 

[Tom109]

I am wondering though, won’t I be getting a 2025 model if it isn’t built until next year?

Yes, that would be a MY25.

The factory switched to MY24 in March/April this year. At the moment, US stock being sold are MY23.5. However, they are being marketed in the US as MY24. So, unless the factory switches to an MY24.5, you would expect the factory to switch at a similar time in 2025. It is likely that some of the recent deliveries to the US have been factory MY24s. Its a bit of strangeness at the moment that the MY is not aligned across countries but is probably down to the different timing for when the car was available in the US compared to Europe and the quirk of the .5 version for 2023.

This isn't accurate. North America only got the MY24, no MY23/23.5

 

[Bruce B]

That’s awesome. I’m (still) and admin on airforums. I’ve owned over a 12 year period a 2008 25’ SS and 2017 30’ international towed with large suv (first gen Nissan armada, then updated Infiniti qx56) the moved to a gmc 2500 for the 30’ after 3000 miles with the Infiniti… first with equalizer hitch then pro pride. I won’t tow again without pro pride and then extra length of the PP will create good clearance between the rear wheel and propane tanks much better when backing up on a radius. Very little rear overhang is great on the grenny for towing and a more aggressive WD application.

I’m eager to hear back how the rear end of the grenny deals with the heavy tongue weight of the 25’. I’m guessing you are 850-1000lbs on the receiver even with the longer leverage of the PP. the grenadier is kinda soft sprung, although they are progressive rate springs. Mine has about 1,500 lbs of payload if I remember correctly, but the thing is built like a tank, so infrastructure is not a limiting factor, more so the springs. For sure the rear end receiver and mounting looks very stout for applying WD via propride. Maybe airbags are the right solution in the end, which I’ve been looking at.

We sold our 30’ international a year ago but now starting to think about what AS we can tow with the grenadier. I was thinking to go down to something small and nimble like a 23’ since it’s just my wife and I but a 25 (actually 28) would be ideal.

Please report back after you’ve tuned up your setup. Or PM me, I’d love to learn about your real world experience with that combo.

Safe travels.

Believe me, I have obsessed about payload forever! We load our 1600 pound payload F-150 right to the limit according to the CAT scales and it does just fine. My intent is to keep the Grenadier as stock as I can and rely on a weight distribution hitch to help.
Again, the short overhang of the Grenadier will be our friend here. While I love the ProPride, I am thinking that the more desirable dimensions of the Grenadier will allow me a net zero change with a different hitch. In other words, less sway inducing length between axel and ball, better response to weight distribution and a lighter hitch with a bit less sway control will be a good compromise. I will figure it out!

 

[Bruce B]

Yes, that would be a MY25.


This isn't accurate. North America only got the MY24, no MY23/23.5

This was my assumption but what do I know… I will be asking this question of the dealer in any case!

 

[Bruce B]

That’s awesome. I’m (still) and admin on airforums. I’ve owned over a 12 year period a 2008 25’ SS and 2017 30’ international towed with large suv (first gen Nissan armada, then updated Infiniti qx56) the moved to a gmc 2500 for the 30’ after 3000 miles with the Infiniti… first with equalizer hitch then pro pride. I won’t tow again without pro pride and then extra length of the PP will create good clearance between the rear wheel and propane tanks much better when backing up on a radius. Very little rear overhang is great on the grenny for towing and a more aggressive WD application.

I’m eager to hear back how the rear end of the grenny deals with the heavy tongue weight of the 25’. I’m guessing you are 850-1000lbs on the receiver even with the longer leverage of the PP. the grenadier is kinda soft sprung, although they are progressive rate springs. Mine has about 1,500 lbs of payload if I remember correctly, but the thing is built like a tank, so infrastructure is not a limiting factor, more so the springs. For sure the rear end receiver and mounting looks very stout for applying WD via propride. Maybe airbags are the right solution in the end, which I’ve been looking at.

We sold our 30’ international a year ago but now starting to think about what AS we can tow with the grenadier. I was thinking to go down to something small and nimble like a 23’ since it’s just my wife and I but a 25 (actually 28) would be ideal.

Please report back after you’ve tuned up your setup. Or PM me, I’d love to learn about your real world experience with that combo.

Safe travels.

I just heard back from Andy Thompson on the subject of hitches for the Grenadier. He suggests that I stick with our ProPride actually. He says that it will actually work better in terms of weight distribution with the Grenadier than with the F-150. His closing comment was “…should be fun”!

 

[Nadir5]

The salesman said that if I want a contrasting roof, it will be about 7 months to get a vehicle. That is perfect for my needs and I think I’m going to go with an Eldoret Blue with a white roof…

I ordered a Shale Blue Trialmaster with a white roof on the first of February 2024, and received it toward the end of August-2024, so that should give you a US-buyer metric.

 

[Asnes]

I just heard back from Andy Thompson on the subject of hitches for the Grenadier. He suggests that I stick with our ProPride actually. He says that it will actually work better in terms of weight distribution with the Grenadier than with the F-150. His closing comment was “…should be fun”!

Andy knows what he is talking about. Also, I think a regular hitch will be short with the rear-mounted spare. I thought I saw a post where someone had crunched the propane tank cover turning in reverse. Propride length provides leverage that somewhat negates the weight of the hitch itself. I too think your fine keeping propride.

Keep us posted