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Americas First Impressions from Colorado

hustlehard285

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So I figured I'd put out my first impressions on the IG.

Background: I'm coming from a 2016 Toyota Land Cruiser with Bilstein 6100 installed for 2.5" lift.

Thoughts: I've put about 150 miles on the car. Mostly highway miles so not a full breadth of experience yet.

The Good:
There's certainly a road presence to the IG, it sits higher than my LC200 and sits higher than most F150 level trucks.
It has a nice growl to it when accelerating, and it gets up to speed really nicely.
The gas mileage seems to be pretty awesome coming from a 200. I averaged about 82 mph for 1:30 and it showed 20 mpg.
Interior is quiet on the highways with K02's. Very similar to the Land Cruiser.

The Bad:
The back window is absolutely useless, which wouldn't be a huge deal, but because of the road presence, the tiny side mirrors and the lack of blind spot monitoring, it's more noticeable. Maybe I've been spoiled with the LC200 features, but the situational awareness around the vehicle takes more effort.
Along the same lines as above, the 1:30 highway drive I took wasn't relaxing. It's a more active driving experience with the steering, monitoring blind spots, etc. Again, this might all go away with more miles, but just my initial impressions.
The climate control settings are a bit old fashioned for a $85,000 vehicle. The front defrost button turns on a high fan that sounds like you're driving with the windows open. In order to avoid cold air from being blown in while using the heat, you have to always use the recirc option. Just small nuances like that seem antiquated. I don't want to have to have a numbered checklist to be able to get the car warm without cold air being blown in or vents whistling.
The cockpit adjustments are also lacking for this cost of a vehicle. The steering wheel can be vertically adjusted about 6 inches total, and the low position is still very high.

There are certainly more positives to the vehicle, but what stood out the most to me was the large difference between a 200 series LC and the IG. The other sore spots were what features come with a $85,000 car. You'd expect a few luxuries or even standard features that we expect here in the US with regular vehicles. Looking at what can be purchased in the US for =<$85,000 makes it a difficult decision on whether to stay with the IG.

I'll put more miles on it and report back, but those are my initial thoughts.
 

Asnes

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hustlehard285

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I haven’t received mine yet but I already know that I’m installing one of these to solve for the rear view visibility issue.

That looks like it'd be perfect, if I stick with the IG I'll probably go that route as well. My issue is that all those "Bad" things I mentioned above can be fixed with buying aftermarket accessories and retrofitting them, but I don't feel like I should need to dump more money into a $85,000 car.
 

Stu_Barnes

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Cheshire cat

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Thanks for the feedback Hustlehard. Regarding the price, which seems to be a significant factor for you regarding’Value for money’. Could it not be that you are essentially paying for the over engineered vehicle the Grenadier is? Heavy metal chassis built by a class leading manufacturer. Renowned BMW straight six, ZF Box, Cararo axles, Eibach suspension, the list goes on. How much extra would it have cost adding all the extras?
I imagine that given time, once Ineos have the base vehicle fully sorted, all those extras will be on offer. Initially however, a solid vehicle with a limited extras list makes more sense.
 

Krabby

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Thanks for the feedback Hustlehard. Regarding the price, which seems to be a significant factor for you regarding’Value for money’. Could it not be that you are essentially paying for the over engineered vehicle the Grenadier is? Heavy metal chassis built by a class leading manufacturer. Renowned BMW straight six, ZF Box, Cararo axles, Eibach suspension, the list goes on. How much extra would it have cost adding all the extras?
I imagine that given time, once Ineos have the base vehicle fully sorted, all those extras will be on offer. Initially however, a solid vehicle with a limited extras list makes more sense.
The dead horse I'll continue to beat though is effective HVAC is an expectation even of econboxes.
 

Cheshire cat

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I forgot to add my agreement of what Hustlehard said regarding HVAC. Not yet convinced it is properly sorted.
Living somewhere like Colorado, this would be concerning. That said, I don’t think our Australian contingent have noted it as a major concern.
 

[ Adam ]

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The dead horse I'll continue to beat though is effective HVAC is an expectation even of econboxes.
It sounds like that's just an issue burping the coolant system. Needs to be resolved, but not the end of the world.
 

hustlehard285

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Thanks for the feedback Hustlehard. Regarding the price, which seems to be a significant factor for you regarding’Value for money’. Could it not be that you are essentially paying for the over engineered vehicle the Grenadier is? Heavy metal chassis built by a class leading manufacturer. Renowned BMW straight six, ZF Box, Cararo axles, Eibach suspension, the list goes on. How much extra would it have cost adding all the extras?
I imagine that given time, once Ineos have the base vehicle fully sorted, all those extras will be on offer. Initially however, a solid vehicle with a limited extras list makes more sense.

Yeah I totally get where you're coming from, and I knew as an early adopter there would be some teething issues. I guess I'm just comparing this to an LC200, which is built on a world-renowned platform, and a bomber engine for reliability. So maybe that's where I need to stop acting like I'm comparing apples to apples and separate the two and the expectations.
 

Krabby

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It sounds like that's just an issue burping the coolant system. Needs to be resolved, but not the end of the world.
Agreed - hopefully that bleed process cures the issues for both heat and AC. I have said this before, but they should have just used good old fashioned knobs and sliders for HVAC. I think in an effort to look fancy they did the digital display and auto thing. I would have been perfectly satisfied with the classic red to blue fader.
 
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Agreed - hopefully that bleed process cures the issues for both heat and AC. I have said this before, but they should have just used good old fashioned knobs and sliders for HVAC. I think in an effort to look fancy they did the digital display and auto thing. I would have been perfectly satisfied with the classic red to blue fader.
is the bleed process something we should request before pickup. My dealer is 8 hours away, I don't want to drive it home and then have this issue.
 

flynnsk

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Agreed - hopefully that bleed process cures the issues for both heat and AC. I have said this before, but they should have just used good old fashioned knobs and sliders for HVAC. I think in an effort to look fancy they did the digital display and auto thing. I would have been perfectly satisfied with the classic red to blue fader.
/agree. throw in a knob to tune the radio (back when had to finesse 'between' stations). I'd be perfectly happy with PRNDL (column mounted) and can dedicate the "screen" to an actual (usable) reverse cam.
 
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grnamin

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So I figured I'd put out my first impressions on the IG.

Background: I'm coming from a 2016 Toyota Land Cruiser with Bilstein 6100 installed for 2.5" lift.

Thoughts: I've put about 150 miles on the car. Mostly highway miles so not a full breadth of experience yet.

The Good:
There's certainly a road presence to the IG, it sits higher than my LC200 and sits higher than most F150 level trucks.
It has a nice growl to it when accelerating, and it gets up to speed really nicely.
The gas mileage seems to be pretty awesome coming from a 200. I averaged about 82 mph for 1:30 and it showed 20 mpg.
Interior is quiet on the highways with K02's. Very similar to the Land Cruiser.

The Bad:
The back window is absolutely useless, which wouldn't be a huge deal, but because of the road presence, the tiny side mirrors and the lack of blind spot monitoring, it's more noticeable. Maybe I've been spoiled with the LC200 features, but the situational awareness around the vehicle takes more effort.
Along the same lines as above, the 1:30 highway drive I took wasn't relaxing. It's a more active driving experience with the steering, monitoring blind spots, etc. Again, this might all go away with more miles, but just my initial impressions.
The climate control settings are a bit old fashioned for a $85,000 vehicle. The front defrost button turns on a high fan that sounds like you're driving with the windows open. In order to avoid cold air from being blown in while using the heat, you have to always use the recirc option. Just small nuances like that seem antiquated. I don't want to have to have a numbered checklist to be able to get the car warm without cold air being blown in or vents whistling.
The cockpit adjustments are also lacking for this cost of a vehicle. The steering wheel can be vertically adjusted about 6 inches total, and the low position is still very high.

There are certainly more positives to the vehicle, but what stood out the most to me was the large difference between a 200 series LC and the IG. The other sore spots were what features come with a $85,000 car. You'd expect a few luxuries or even standard features that we expect here in the US with regular vehicles. Looking at what can be purchased in the US for =<$85,000 makes it a difficult decision on whether to stay with the IG.

I'll put more miles on it and report back, but those are my initial thoughts.
Did you pick this up from Red Noland?
 
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So I figured I'd put out my first impressions on the IG.

Background: I'm coming from a 2016 Toyota Land Cruiser with Bilstein 6100 installed for 2.5" lift.

Thoughts: I've put about 150 miles on the car. Mostly highway miles so not a full breadth of experience yet.

The Good:
There's certainly a road presence to the IG, it sits higher than my LC200 and sits higher than most F150 level trucks.
It has a nice growl to it when accelerating, and it gets up to speed really nicely.
The gas mileage seems to be pretty awesome coming from a 200. I averaged about 82 mph for 1:30 and it showed 20 mpg.
Interior is quiet on the highways with K02's. Very similar to the Land Cruiser.

The Bad:
The back window is absolutely useless, which wouldn't be a huge deal, but because of the road presence, the tiny side mirrors and the lack of blind spot monitoring, it's more noticeable. Maybe I've been spoiled with the LC200 features, but the situational awareness around the vehicle takes more effort.
Along the same lines as above, the 1:30 highway drive I took wasn't relaxing. It's a more active driving experience with the steering, monitoring blind spots, etc. Again, this might all go away with more miles, but just my initial impressions.
The climate control settings are a bit old fashioned for a $85,000 vehicle. The front defrost button turns on a high fan that sounds like you're driving with the windows open. In order to avoid cold air from being blown in while using the heat, you have to always use the recirc option. Just small nuances like that seem antiquated. I don't want to have to have a numbered checklist to be able to get the car warm without cold air being blown in or vents whistling.
The cockpit adjustments are also lacking for this cost of a vehicle. The steering wheel can be vertically adjusted about 6 inches total, and the low position is still very high.

There are certainly more positives to the vehicle, but what stood out the most to me was the large difference between a 200 series LC and the IG. The other sore spots were what features come with a $85,000 car. You'd expect a few luxuries or even standard features that we expect here in the US with regular vehicles. Looking at what can be purchased in the US for =<$85,000 makes it a difficult decision on whether to stay with the IG.

I'll put more miles on it and report back, but those are my initial thoughts.
Thanks for the review! Your comments, and others, resonated with me and have us hitting pause (again). Time to put this adventure on the back burner. I’ll be checking this thread on occasion and anxious to hear your updates. Best to you on your trek!
 

Chadd7

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So I figured I'd put out my first impressions on the IG.

Background: I'm coming from a 2016 Toyota Land Cruiser with Bilstein 6100 installed for 2.5" lift.

Thoughts: I've put about 150 miles on the car. Mostly highway miles so not a full breadth of experience yet.

The Good:
There's certainly a road presence to the IG, it sits higher than my LC200 and sits higher than most F150 level trucks.
It has a nice growl to it when accelerating, and it gets up to speed really nicely.
The gas mileage seems to be pretty awesome coming from a 200. I averaged about 82 mph for 1:30 and it showed 20 mpg.
Interior is quiet on the highways with K02's. Very similar to the Land Cruiser.

The Bad:
The back window is absolutely useless, which wouldn't be a huge deal, but because of the road presence, the tiny side mirrors and the lack of blind spot monitoring, it's more noticeable. Maybe I've been spoiled with the LC200 features, but the situational awareness around the vehicle takes more effort.
Along the same lines as above, the 1:30 highway drive I took wasn't relaxing. It's a more active driving experience with the steering, monitoring blind spots, etc. Again, this might all go away with more miles, but just my initial impressions.
The climate control settings are a bit old fashioned for a $85,000 vehicle. The front defrost button turns on a high fan that sounds like you're driving with the windows open. In order to avoid cold air from being blown in while using the heat, you have to always use the recirc option. Just small nuances like that seem antiquated. I don't want to have to have a numbered checklist to be able to get the car warm without cold air being blown in or vents whistling.
The cockpit adjustments are also lacking for this cost of a vehicle. The steering wheel can be vertically adjusted about 6 inches total, and the low position is still very high.

There are certainly more positives to the vehicle, but what stood out the most to me was the large difference between a 200 series LC and the IG. The other sore spots were what features come with a $85,000 car. You'd expect a few luxuries or even standard features that we expect here in the US with regular vehicles. Looking at what can be purchased in the US for =<$85,000 makes it a difficult decision on whether to stay with the IG.

I'll put more miles on it and report back, but those are my initial thoughts.
Wait. The Gren sits higher than your lifted LC200???
 

hustlehard285

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Wait. The Gren sits higher than your lifted LC200???
Definitely feels like it on the road. I can't say whether actual ground clearance is higher, but in the driver's seat, looking down on the road and/or looking across at trucks, it's higher for sure.
 

Chadd7

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Definitely feels like it on the road. I can't say whether actual ground clearance is higher, but in the driver's seat, looking down on the road and/or looking across at trucks, it's higher for sure.
yikes. did you lower the seat all the way? I'm worried about not feeling grounded when driving twisty roads at 50-60mph. I own a 2014 LC200 btw. stock suspension
 

hustlehard285

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yikes. did you lower the seat all the way? I'm worried about not feeling grounded when driving twisty roads at 50-60mph. I own a 2014 LC200 btw. stock suspension
Seat is lowered all the way. It does feel grounded on twisty stuff, the suspension is great in that aspect. Just sits high
 
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