Hi, from Lanark, Scotland

[DavidN]

Hi Guys - I am based in Lanark, Scotland, and looking to acquire a Grenadier. I have driven various Land Rover, Jeep and Mercedes vehicles, as well as a petrol engined Grenadier, which I really liked. I look forward to benefitting from your collective experience, and am completely open to any comments any of you may have. There are many roads in our part of the world which go from tarmac to woodland track and even rougher, and places you can only access with a vehicle like this or a helicopter, and I don't like the idea of a helicopter. Petrol appeals more to me than diesel - I prefer the driving experience and the fuel consumption gap does not appear to be too wide. I am also planning some trips in the car to more remote regions, where I wonder if petrol will be more readily available. The Utility models seem cost effective but I am told they are Class N1 Commercial Light Vehicles - the vehicle will get private and business use. Is it easy to get insurance? What is the difference between these and Fieldmaster and Trialmaster models? What are the most useful options? These are some of the questions I am wondering about. I look forward to chatting with you in the future, and if I can answer any questions about our part of the world, I will be happy to do so.

 

[landmannnn]

Fuel - petrol and diesel are both available in most places, even remote Africa..
N1 - technically a van, the rear seats are mounted further forwards, but can be moved back. 60mph limit on non-motorway dual carriageways and cheaper car tax. Insurance may be cheaper.
Fieldmaster/trialmaster/utility specs - actually not very different. The Field and Trail masters get some equipment standard, but you can play with the configurator to put on what options you want.

 

[ScottishGrenadier]

Just remember that there isn't really anywhere you can legally drive off road in Scotland without the land owners permission..That includes forestry roads even if the gate is open. Over the border into England there is a network of greenlanes that you can to legally drive.

 

[AngusMacG]

Welcome! I think you will be happy with either but may want to choose the diesel option. My mileage on the petrol version is average at best and I mostly drive highways.

Lanark is an area I’d like to visit someday as one of ancestors is from there.

 

[Cheshire cat]

Welcome DavidN
I know Lanark quite well as I had a great friend living in the village of Law.
You will love the Grenadier, Petrol or Diesel. I opted for diesel however I could just as easily have gone the other way.
Landmann sums up perfectly the options. I would say the van version was definitely a lot cheaper on insurance and road tax, and can be specked exactly as the Fieldmaster or Trialmaster.
If buying used, there are some good savings but very little of a high spec.
High load electrical panel, saddle leather wheel, tend to be quite rare although not necessarily desirable to everyone.
Look forward to reading what you eventually settle on.

 

[CrazyOldMan]

Agree w @landmannnn. If you have the patience, spec your own. I wanted triple locks but not rock sliders. I wanted leather but not carpet or alloy. So I did my own configuration. You might not be rock crawling, but triple locks can always come in handy if you’re on a really muddy trail. The ladder is useful. I love having the high load power and auxiliary ports on the roof, but that might not be important to you. Think carefully about whether you’ll need to tow. In terms of the accessories, you might prefer after market options - there are some fantastic options that are more robust than what comes from Ineos.

 

[DavidN]

Just remember that there isn't really anywhere you can legally drive off road in Scotland without the land owners permission..That includes forestry roads even if the gate is open. Over the border into England there is a network of greenlanes that you can to legally drive.

That's an interesting point - I have been down a few roads, particularly to beaches, using roadgoing SUV's like BMW X5 or Discovery 3. The BMW was better, but it was still extremely difficult in places. I think that the Disco needs proper setting up for off road driving. In the Territorial Army we used to criss cross Scotland on forestry tracks with no apparent problems, and I had assumed, wrongly, that I could do the same in a Grenadier! Thanks.

 

[DavidN]

Agree w @landmannnn. If you have the patience, spec your own. I wanted triple locks but not rock sliders. I wanted leather but not carpet or alloy. So I did my own configuration. You might not be rock crawling, but triple locks can always come in handy if you’re on a really muddy trail. The ladder is useful. I love having the high load power and auxiliary ports on the roof, but that might not be important to you. Think carefully about whether you’ll need to tow. In terms of the accessories, you might prefer after market options - there are some fantastic options that are more robust than what comes from Ineos.

Interesting. Have you put the roof rack on? Are the Safari windows a plus or a minus? Nice to have the fighter jet sensation with the roof windows, but I wonder if they might foul the roof rack or you might get a stray branch through one of them someday.

 

[DavidN]

Fuel - petrol and diesel are both available in most places, even remote Africa..
N1 - technically a van, the rear seats are mounted further forwards, but can be moved back. 60mph limit on non-motorway dual carriageways and cheaper car tax. Insurance may be cheaper.
Fieldmaster/trialmaster/utility specs - actually not very different. The Field and Trail masters get some equipment standard, but you can play with the configurator to put on what options you want.

Thanks for that - is it OK to ask who you insure with? The Meerkat told me "this is not a car"! Another van based site wanted £2500.00 p.a. which is a no go. If this is not an acceptable question under the site rules, don't worry - I will find the answer somewhere.

 

[DavidN]

Welcome! I think you will be happy with either but may want to choose the diesel option. My mileage on the petrol version is average at best and I mostly drive highways.

Lanark is an area I’d like to visit someday as one of ancestors is from there.

Lanarkshire is a beautiful but under rated and under visited part of Scotland. Lanark was the home of William Wallace - a Royal Burgh in 1140 and at one time capital of what was then Scotland. If you are thinking of coming let me know and I will send you a list of suggestions which you can research further.

 

[DavidN]

Welcome DavidN
I know Lanark quite well as I had a great friend living in the village of Law.
You will love the Grenadier, Petrol or Diesel. I opted for diesel however I could just as easily have gone the other way.
Landmann sums up perfectly the options. I would say the van version was definitely a lot cheaper on insurance and road tax, and can be specked exactly as the Fieldmaster or Trialmaster.
If buying used, there are some good savings but very little of a high spec.
High load electrical panel, saddle leather wheel, tend to be quite rare although not necessarily desirable to everyone.
Look forward to reading what you eventually settle on.

Thanks for the comments. I know Law well - there is a body repair facility and an alloy wheel refinishing service both of which I have used - very sparingly I should say! If you are able to point me in the direction of insurance, and it is OK to do so in terms of moderation, that would be a big help.

 

[landmannnn]

Agree w @landmannnn. If you have the patience, spec your own. I wanted triple locks but not rock sliders. I wanted leather but not carpet or alloy. So I did my own configuration. You might not be rock crawling, but triple locks can always come in handy if you’re on a really muddy trail. The ladder is useful. I love having the high load power and auxiliary ports on the roof, but that might not be important to you. Think carefully about whether you’ll need to tow. In terms of the accessories, you might prefer after market options - there are some fantastic options that are more robust than what comes from Ineos.

There are some other quite minor N1 vs M1 differences beyond speed limits and car tax.
- if you are self employed you can use an N1 for private use without attracting benefit in kind tax
- a few toll roads (eg Dart Charge) cost more for N1
- you can use the 2" receiver for towing with the N1, not the M1
- your local refuse recycling centre may restrict N1 vehicles
- if you are towing in the EU and your gross weight is over 3.5T you are restricted to something like 10 hours per day driving.

The odd thing is that while the DVLA class the Utility as N1, the HMRC do not treat the N1 as a van unless the specialist modifications have been carried out.

 

[CrazyOldMan]

There are some other quite minor N1 vs M1 differences beyond speed limits and car tax.
- if you are self employed you can use an N1 for private use without attracting benefit in kind tax
- a few toll roads (eg Dart Charge) cost more for N1
- you can use the 2" receiver for towing with the N1, not the M1
- your local refuse recycling centre may restrict N1 vehicles
- if you are towing in the EU and your gross weight is over 3.5T you are restricted to something like 10 hours per day driving.

Amazing. Congratulations UK. A veritable symphony of bureaucratic micro-meddling. I think the Vogons were inspired by this kind of nonsense.

“Oh freddled gruntbuggly,
Thy micturations are to me
As plurdled gabbleblotchits on a lurgid bee.
Groop, I implore thee, my foonting turlingdromes,
And hooptiously drangle me with crinkly bindlewurdles,
Or I will rend thee in the gobberwarts
With my blurglecruncheon, see if I don't!"

 

[CrazyOldMan]

Interesting. Have you put the roof rack on? Are the Safari windows a plus or a minus? Nice to have the fighter jet sensation with the roof windows, but I wonder if they might foul the roof rack or you might get a stray branch through one of them someday.

If you do a 3/4 rack (many options available), it won’t interfere with the safari windows. There are even a couple full rack options on the market that have blanks to accommodate the safari windows. I didn’t do the safari windows (basal cell carcinoma - too much Irish and too many days surfing as a kid in the 70’s), but most people love them and I think they look fantastic. Maybe wouldn’t want them in a super hot or super sunny environment, but there are shade options and UK should be fine. I didn’t do a rack - I had the RR bars from the dealer but took them off (too much wind noise) and I replaced them with Leitner bars, which have been perfect. That’s what I mean by not going overboard with dealer accessories- there are some SUPERB aftermarket alternatives which are higher quality and better design. Buzz Overland, Blacksheep Innovations, Leitner Designs - the Grenadier is kind of a LEGO base where you can pick and choose your build. In this forum, @TheDocAUS maintains a listing of all known vendors, by category (air compressors, racks, awnings - you name it).

 

[landmannnn]

Thanks for that - is it OK to ask who you insure with? The Meerkat told me "this is not a car"! Another van based site wanted £2500.00 p.a. which is a no go. If this is not an acceptable question under the site rules, don't worry - I will find the answer somewhere.

NFU

 

[DavidN]

If you do a 3/4 rack (many options available), it won’t interfere with the safari windows. There are even a couple full rack options on the market that have blanks to accommodate the safari windows. I didn’t do the safari windows (basal cell carcinoma - too much Irish and too many days surfing as a kid in the 70’s), but most people love them and I think they look fantastic. Maybe wouldn’t want them in a super hot or super sunny environment, but there are shade options and UK should be fine. I didn’t do a rack - I had the RR bars from the dealer but took them off (too much wind noise) and I replaced them with Leitner bars, which have been perfect. That’s what I mean by not going overboard with dealer accessories- there are some SUPERB aftermarket alternatives which are higher quality and better design. Buzz Overland, Blacksheep Innovations, Leitner Designs - the Grenadier is kind of a LEGO base where you can pick and choose your build. In this forum, @TheDocAUS maintains a listing of all known vendors, by category (air compressors, racks, awnings - you name it).

Thanks, that's extremely helpful. I can live without the safari windows.

 

[CRH]

Thanks for the comments. I know Law well - there is a body repair facility and an alloy wheel refinishing service both of which I have used - very sparingly I should say! If you are able to point me in the direction of insurance, and it is OK to do so in terms of moderation, that would be a big help.

I used LV but was compulsory to have a tracker fitted. Restricted mileage to 12000 but I might need to increase that, other vehicles are feeling a bit neglected. Multi car policy and the Grenadier was around £700, can't quite remember but it was less than the initial partial year cost so was pleased with that.

 

[Mitchell300]

Thanks for that - is it OK to ask who you insure with? The Meerkat told me "this is not a car"! Another van based site wanted £2500.00 p.a. which is a no go. If this is not an acceptable question under the site rules, don't worry - I will find the answer somewhere.

I’ve got a 2 seat utility (N1 van). Multi car with Admiral was £694 last year with my wife, 2 sons and I. Best to speak to them direct when the time comes to insure.

 

[Cheshire cat]

Thanks, that's extremely helpful. I can live without the safari windows.

Make sure to check out both variants before deciding on the Safari window option. I love them. That said, it is another thing to go wrong if you were unlucky.

Liverpool Victoria insurance for me. Circa £600.00

 

[CrazyOldMan]

Thanks, that's extremely helpful. I can live without the safari windows.

If you don’t have to have them, it’s one less thing to deal with, leaks etc - but very cool. As I said, it wasn’t really an option for me - have to cut out UV exposure wherever possible, and all my hobbies are outdoor activities