With so much user generated content available, I find it hard to see where anyone sees the value in these productions?
I think it worked to generate some extra buzz, and when this was filmed user generated content was effectively non-existent (I think EU was about a week from deliveries).
@MileHigh I'll happily be putting my customized venti iced decaf latte in my Grenadier cupholders; and while I'm a millennial, I'm far from hipster
Globally the Grenadier is viewed in the utilitarian mindset (thus why the RoW has commercial and 2 seat versions as well), however, a large chunk (majority perhaps) of US buyers are more chasing the lifestyle than actually using it (obviously, if you're here on this forum, you're more likely to be "using" it, but those here are a small portion of potential US sales). For the same reasons why adding "overland" to a product allows you to add 50-400% to the price and it still sells well, and why over the past few years brands like REI have gone from effectively lobbying
against off-road vehicle travel to fully supporting it in their advertising and supporting content creators in the market space. It is, bluntly, where the money is. Having plenty of friends that continue to work in the industry, many are not exactly thrilled with the current trends or expansion of the sub-genre of overlanding, but it absolutely pays the bills.
The average potential US Grenadier buyer doesn't care what the approach and departure angles are, or the payload, or the impressive articulation. They love the way the "airplane" panels look inside, how tough it looks from the outside, and that it climbs over rocks (and that others will either not know what it is or know and be impressed). This is a market where people pay
thousands of dollars to be "guided" along public road systems for a weekend and are doing $30k+ vehicle builds straight off the dealership floor to do those weekend "trips" to the same places that "Tim and Sue" have been camping for 20 years in their 1997 Subaru Outback with a $40 Coleman tent in the back. Most of the US Grenadiers will never see anything more technical or further away from the Starbucks drive-thru than what is seen in the video.
I'm not defending the video, it definitely has some clichés and stereotypes (ironically, the scene with coffee wasn't used) but I think it is a glimpse into what the vehicle has to offer and what it can do, and does a good job of hitting the target audience in the market that it was created for.
And... the RAV4 does have a TRD Off-Road trim now, so....
