G'day folks,
Well today I placed my deposit for the Grenadier after seeing two in person here in Melbourne this afternoon at the Brighton Auto Group. There was a green diesel and a silver petrol lined up for people to sit in and check them out. I drove down there today thinking I might see one but didn't expect to see two.
I'm currently driving a gen 1, 2022 Ford Ranger Raptor which is awesome, very capable vehicle (those Fox shocks are brilliant!) and the Grenadier will be it's replacement.
Why the jump to a Grenadier? That inline 6, zf box, solid axles, switch gear all pre-wired and the upcoming interactive service manual. I did all the servicing on my old e46 M3, valve adjustments, vanos rebuild, wheel bearings, every bush, you name it so I'm very excited to have access to a library of info and parts list to service the Grenadier myself.
This thing looks built to last. I like the idea of a very relaxed 6 compared to a somewhat highly stressed 4. The Raptor has 500Nm of torque so I know that little 4 banger is working hard whereas the beemer 6 is de-tuned and still putting out 550Nm. Ample for me needs.
My partner and I are both artists, I work in the film industry but also paint landscapes, she is a photographer. We want a vehicle that will get us to the spots we want so we can do our thing and then get us home. We won't deliberately seek out extreme off road challenges, no shotgun on the tele track for eg, but exploring the Flinders Rangers, Simpson crossing and Canning might be on the list and maybe even some international adventures but mostly a lot of day and 2 day trips out of Sydney.
So today was about standing next to the Grenadier, sitting in it, opening the doors, getting a feel for the size of it and for the interior space. Photos don't do this thing justice. It's both bigger than I thought and yet compact. Taller than my Raptor but shorter. Track is almost the same however which would explain it's stability.
For my size at 178cm, cockpit was perfectly fine. The throttle pedal lined up with my right foot without me having to sit off square. The left foot support (see pic) wasn't a problem for me, the interior was very comfortable, maybe even better than my Raptor and that's pretty comfy! I do Syd-Melb (900km) and back a lot so this also has to feel comfortable cruising. The Recaro's felt instantly comfortable and my whole body position felt great. I could sit in this for hours on end, no worries at all and I can say that because I do it in the Raptor a lot. The steering wheel feels perfect in the hands and it has reach adjustment which my Raptor does not. Door sills are nice a wide, great for resting your arm. Everything feels just right and within reach, well to me it does anyway. Getting back into the Raptor didn't quite feel right after that!!
I asked one of the Ineos guys about the side steps vs the rock sliders. He said they were almost the same structurally as they share the same mounting points under the car. I was wondering if the sliders could double as steps but no go, too close to the body.
Anyway, so I've ordered the Shale Blue wagon with white roof, no safari windows, lockers F&R, 17" steelies with the KO2's, front bar with steps, full switch panel, and basic interior.
I might swap out the steelies for the Method bead grip wheels which I have on the Raptor, they make classic design wheels in 17", 6 x130, +50 offset so a small 5mm outward position relative to the stock offset.
Given that these were prototypes, the level of finish was really quite good. The interior felt as finished and better finished off than my new Raptor! Small tool roll/bag under the drivers seat too, not sure if that's where it will be but it's plenty big for a full tool roll. I might even get both my tool rolls in there.
Only down side for me is the reduction in storage space that I enjoy with the ute, but I'm sure I'll adapt.
Final go ahead will come down to a test drive.
That's about it I suppose, it's been awesome reading through everyone's posts, learning a lot so thank you all!
Here's some pics, enjoy!
Well today I placed my deposit for the Grenadier after seeing two in person here in Melbourne this afternoon at the Brighton Auto Group. There was a green diesel and a silver petrol lined up for people to sit in and check them out. I drove down there today thinking I might see one but didn't expect to see two.
I'm currently driving a gen 1, 2022 Ford Ranger Raptor which is awesome, very capable vehicle (those Fox shocks are brilliant!) and the Grenadier will be it's replacement.
Why the jump to a Grenadier? That inline 6, zf box, solid axles, switch gear all pre-wired and the upcoming interactive service manual. I did all the servicing on my old e46 M3, valve adjustments, vanos rebuild, wheel bearings, every bush, you name it so I'm very excited to have access to a library of info and parts list to service the Grenadier myself.
This thing looks built to last. I like the idea of a very relaxed 6 compared to a somewhat highly stressed 4. The Raptor has 500Nm of torque so I know that little 4 banger is working hard whereas the beemer 6 is de-tuned and still putting out 550Nm. Ample for me needs.
My partner and I are both artists, I work in the film industry but also paint landscapes, she is a photographer. We want a vehicle that will get us to the spots we want so we can do our thing and then get us home. We won't deliberately seek out extreme off road challenges, no shotgun on the tele track for eg, but exploring the Flinders Rangers, Simpson crossing and Canning might be on the list and maybe even some international adventures but mostly a lot of day and 2 day trips out of Sydney.
So today was about standing next to the Grenadier, sitting in it, opening the doors, getting a feel for the size of it and for the interior space. Photos don't do this thing justice. It's both bigger than I thought and yet compact. Taller than my Raptor but shorter. Track is almost the same however which would explain it's stability.
For my size at 178cm, cockpit was perfectly fine. The throttle pedal lined up with my right foot without me having to sit off square. The left foot support (see pic) wasn't a problem for me, the interior was very comfortable, maybe even better than my Raptor and that's pretty comfy! I do Syd-Melb (900km) and back a lot so this also has to feel comfortable cruising. The Recaro's felt instantly comfortable and my whole body position felt great. I could sit in this for hours on end, no worries at all and I can say that because I do it in the Raptor a lot. The steering wheel feels perfect in the hands and it has reach adjustment which my Raptor does not. Door sills are nice a wide, great for resting your arm. Everything feels just right and within reach, well to me it does anyway. Getting back into the Raptor didn't quite feel right after that!!
I asked one of the Ineos guys about the side steps vs the rock sliders. He said they were almost the same structurally as they share the same mounting points under the car. I was wondering if the sliders could double as steps but no go, too close to the body.
Anyway, so I've ordered the Shale Blue wagon with white roof, no safari windows, lockers F&R, 17" steelies with the KO2's, front bar with steps, full switch panel, and basic interior.
I might swap out the steelies for the Method bead grip wheels which I have on the Raptor, they make classic design wheels in 17", 6 x130, +50 offset so a small 5mm outward position relative to the stock offset.
Given that these were prototypes, the level of finish was really quite good. The interior felt as finished and better finished off than my new Raptor! Small tool roll/bag under the drivers seat too, not sure if that's where it will be but it's plenty big for a full tool roll. I might even get both my tool rolls in there.
Only down side for me is the reduction in storage space that I enjoy with the ute, but I'm sure I'll adapt.
Final go ahead will come down to a test drive.
That's about it I suppose, it's been awesome reading through everyone's posts, learning a lot so thank you all!
Here's some pics, enjoy!
