Maybe they shouldn't have been invited - and who's fault is that?
Why invite so many mainstream journalists to review a vehicle that is so focused and niche. The answer that it's unsuitable to take a place alongside the latest soft SUV should be a forgone conclusion. The metrics are just so far apart.
So what was the point?
Reader of "Auto Express", who were already aware of the vehicle through various articles published previously, but had absolutely no real interest in finding out more, have just learnt than it handles badly on the road and you can't see out the windscreen. Those two things are likely to follow the Grenadier around like the elbow out the window for the old Defender.
And then there's the cost of flying in, wining & dining maybe some 500 people. The event looked as big as JLR's launch of the new Defender but that was for a market 4 times the size. All those costs have to be paid by someone, and that someone is you and me, if you're purchasing a vehicle.
I'd much prefer to pay for engineering effort intrinsic to the vehicle rather than extrinsic guff.
I think it's been said on another of the threads, but it's the driving days with real potential customers getting behind the wheel that is going to sell this vehicle. Organising these, attending on the day, setting up display stands, answering the same questions over and over again, isn't quite as glamorous as swanning around private estates in Scotland but are the real hard yards when it comes to marketing this vehicle appropriately.
