Feel like I need to be the voice of reason, or just subtly brag that we've picked up out Trialmaster and love the vehicle. Drove three hours to the dealer and split the drive home in half so we could meet my sister for dinner and a delicious soft pretzel!
My impressions coming from a 2021 LR Defender HSE -
Pros:
- Hard to not bring up the looks/design. To my eyes it's beautiful, my wife got a kick out of the one guy that turned around to talk to us when we parked.
- Solid build quality and feel. Everything about the Grenadier feels stout. No it's not covered in leather like our LR was but the 'robust-ness' is there.
- Seats and seating postion are great. at 6'2" I fit much better into the Grenadier than I did in the Defender. Fewer blind spots and I can actually see out of it rather than being cocooned in it. The seats themselves are very comfortable and supportive. Nicely bolstered as well. Much more comfortable than my Defenders seats.
- Safari windows - just make the vehicle seem more open for lack of a better description.
- Plenty of power from the engine. I don't notice anything lacking (had the bigger engine in the Defender as well)
- Steering - for all the talk it was easy to get used to it. Takes a lighter input than other cars and I can practically turn the wheel with two fingers.
- Visibility - with the design of the front I feel like I can see exactly where the front corners are.
- Side Steps - I had a classic case of paralysis by analysis here. I like them on the vehicle and they look good in person. May one day upgrade to a rock slider with a step but these will likely be just fine and they're functional.
Cons:
- ADAS - (feel like I need to say something here) IT'S REALLY NOT A BIG DEAL. Yes its annoying when it alerts, but we quickly turned it off and I'll configure the favorite button to make it easier. People just need to calm down on this one, they'll update the system on the next service and was told that someone has already removed the fuse on theirs to eliminate it. I'm sure there will be a fix soon, either from the factory or aftermarket/forum. Would certainly not allow something like this to keep me from buying the car
- Steering - again you get used to it pretty quick. It drives almost identically like our GWagon (2015 model). And it drives like a solid axel truck - which it is. If someone is looking for a more luxerious and 'removed' driving experience then it's probably more apparent. I haven't driven a Jeep in forever and haven't driven a Bronco but I'd imagine it's a similar experience.
- Stereo - I knew this going in but it's not as nice as the 15ish speaker system in the Defender. But it works fine and I may upgrade it down the line with better speakers
- Rear view visibility - My drive home was in the dark through Charlotte traffic. Not a great view out the back (Defender was similar). But with the better sightlines out of the car from the drivers seat I didn't feel unsafe. May look into the rear camera mod as I had the ClearView mirrior camera on the Defender and it was helpful.
I'll likely add some more as we get some more experience, but this was my experience. Unfortunately we arrived at the dealer as the sun was setting so I'm comfortable saying it was the worst case scenario for picking up a new car. Then driving back through a major city with it's exciting traffic. It does have a certain presence in person and it's unique from everything else out there. Looking forward to spending the day (and daylight) crawling around the car and learning. For what it's worth - I have zero regrets from selling my Defender (which was a great vehicle) and picking up the Grenadier. I approached the Grenadier with an eyes wide open approach so perhaps that's some of the difference between my take and some others. The pretzel and beer cheese last night only made it better.
(and calm down over the ADAS)
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