Hi from California!
I test drove one of the PT02 Grenadier prototypes this week and thought this forum might be interested in another review....
For background, I'm looking for a safe reliable vehicle for trips into remote desert backcountry. I'm not interested in gizmos or "smart" features, but I do care about comfort and aesthetics. I'm more of a Range Rover person and have owned a Classic, P38 and L322 - but I've pretty much lost faith in Land Rover as they've pivoted to being a lifestyle brand. Hopefully that helps show where I'm coming from.
The test drive was on a perfect day (rainy and muddy!). It lasted about 20mins, on mostly wet muddy and rough terrain. This included wading, hill obstacles and some rocky areas (nothing extreme). As expected, the Grenadier handled it all really well.
The good:
* It's extremely cool in person and makes the New Defender, Rivian etc look like plastic toys.
* Exterior build quality is bombproof and looks great.
* Excellent off road handling.
* Very intuitive controls (apart from the gear lever) and easy to drive.
* Surprisingly comfortable, despite cosy size (but with some caveats).
* Surprisingly good visibility.
* Off-road navigation user interface seems well designed.
* Overhead switches are great.
* The lack of dashboard gauges wasn't a problem while driving.
* Ineos staff were very helpful and there was zero sales pressure. Their marketing strategy seems pretty relaxed, which is a big point in their favor.
The bad:
* No heated windscreen or heated steering wheel. I think a "cold weather pack" is needed. I don't consider these to be luxuries.
* No arm rests. (Not surprising for a car designed by Brits, Germans, and the French!) For me this is a problem as it will reduce comfort and ultimately driver performance on long journeys. In general, little thought seems to have been given to driver arm placement.
* The materials for the interior are a bit flimsy in some places. In particular the light grey plastic used for the glove box and center console felt cheap compared to the robust bodywork. I don't know if the build quality on the production vehicles is different.
* Climate control seemed a little primitive and didn't seem to be doing a great job of controlling interior temperature & condensation (this was a rainy, wet day). However, I didn't have much time to fiddle with it and this might be an unfair criticism. Presumably the production vehicles are better?
Unknowns:
* On road performance. I don't have unrealistic expectations here, but it will need to be acceptable. One of the Ineos reps mentioned that they want reservation holders to get a chance to drive on-road before ordering, which would be great.
* Price.
* Air conditioning performance (It was a fairly cold day and I didn't test it). This may sound trivial but in a state where temperatures can exceed 50C/120F, it's important.
* Reliability.
All in all, the Grenadier met my expectations based on what I'd seen online. It's great off road but on road performance is still a big question mark for me. Exterior build quality is
superb, but it could do with a little more polish and some basic creature comforts in the interior. I didn't see anything that I would consider a major problem - it just felt like a prototype vehicle that could use a bit more iteration. I'd be curious to know if anyone here has experience with both the earlier prototypes and the more recent production vehicles, and how they compare.
Would I buy one? It really depends on price. If the final cost feels more like $100k than $50k, I don't think I could personally justify it (especially considering what else is out there). At a hypothetical $50k price point (I know, not happening) it would be a very easy decision to buy one as a dedicated offroader. But above that - as the price goes up, my enthusiasm will steadily go down until it hits rock bottom at about the $100k mark.
Here's hoping that Ineos can pull off competitive pricing in the US!
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