On the Road - Initial Thoughts

[Ingemar]

I agree. They did run

20,000km service interval. That’s seems a lot especially on the first service. I’ll be looking at 10,000miles /16k km max service interval for my Grenadier especially for first service or heavy off road use

I agree. They did run mine for 80km and then changed all the fluids for the HardWayHome. But I will do my 20k service probably earlier - I wanna have it for a long time as well! (btw: a service right after the HWH was offered by Ineos due to the specific handover - didn't have time until now. but that doesn't apply to a normal purchase, therefore I didn't mention it)

 

[acwiltshire]

Now at its true proper working home today - Loch Arkaig - a couple of pics:

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Stunning location - it might be a way from Wiltshire but I can see me bringing mine up there this Summer . Internet search later for dog friendly country house hotels / pubs nearby .

 

[Spjnr]

That location must be stunning in the summer with a blue sky

Dave its Scotland...

 

[MrJAT]

Just picked mine up! Thanks @Halliwell Jones Chester for great service. I can tell it has been difficult getting cars out on the road but the wait is worth it. The car is fantastic!! I will post more after having explored it more over the next day or so. First impressions are great. Plenty of power. Feels very sure footed on the road. Steering did take a little to get used to but after a few miles it is fine. Doors do need a good slam to shut properly. I learned today that apparently this is the reason for the air vents at the rear to prevent an airlock stopping the doors from shutting. It's a very well put together, good looking vehicle and I am chuffed with it. I took some pictures at the dealer before I collected it as I guarantee it will never ever be this clean again.

 

[bemax]

Just picked mine up! Thanks @Halliwell Jones Chester for great service. I can tell it has been difficult getting cars out on the road but the wait is worth it. The car is fantastic!! I will post more after having explored it more over the next day or so. First impressions are great. Plenty of power. Feels very sure footed on the road. Steering did take a little to get used to but after a few miles it is fine. Doors do need a good slam to shut properly. I learned today that apparently this is the reason for the air vents at the rear to prevent an airlock stopping the doors from shutting. It's a very well put together, good looking vehicle and I am chuffed with it. I took some pictures at the dealer before I collected it as I guarantee it will never ever be this clean again.

It looks really great! Is the roof inky black?

 

[MrJAT]

It looks really great! Is the roof inky black?

no, Donny Grey same as the body. In the bright sunshine the metallic paint has a slight blue/green fleckle which I love.

 

[Highwayman]

Collected mine this afternoon from Northampton and am absolutely delighted with it.

For me, the steering is no issue at all - it’s just like my G Wagen, but better. Road holding surprised me in how good it is (there is very little body roll) and the suppression of road surface bumps and potholes is outstanding. Given it’s off-road capabilities, on road it’s quiet enough and it’s fast enough. Quieter and faster than my G Wagen.

I found it very easy to drive immediately. It’s easy to see all four corners, it’s not too big, although it is tall. I’m delighted.

Like all new cars, the dash system will take a bit of getting used to, but it seems intuitive enough - Android Auto only took a couple of clicks once the phone was connected and it worked first time.

Seats are very comfortable - driven about 2 hours so far. The left leg position is different, but not a problem And I’ll get used to it.

Engine and gearbox are as expected - superb (I’ve had a more highly tuned version of this combination in a BMW X5). One thing that is different is the lack of gearbox sport mode. On the BMW, leaving the selector on the right gave Drive, with relaxed gear changes and changing up as soon as possible. Moving the selector to the left gave Sport, where the engine held the gear for longer before changing up (typically 2,000 rpm) and also provided much more engine breaking. In Sport, it was then possible to select Manual changes. I used to drive around in Sport most of the time, as keeping engine revs up helped with preventing soot build up and I hardly ever had the X5 go into regeneration mode.

With the Grenadier, even though the selector shows the same three options (Drive, Sport and Manual) there is no Sport mode, only Drive and Manual. I’ll just need to remember to manually hold gears now and again.

The sound system is OK, but I’ll probably have a look at this going forward. That being said, I’m going to leave it for a month and then decide.

I should get a better idea after the weekend with a trip to Anfield on Saturday and Badminton on Sunday. Can’t wait!

 

[PC01]

Now at its true proper working home today - Loch Arkaig - a couple of pics:

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Great photos and beautiful scenery. Enjoy.

 

[DCPU]

no, Donny Grey same as the body. In the bright sunshine the metallic paint has a slight blue/green fleckle which I love.

You mentioned your VIN in the 800s and no campaigns to complete. Is that because they have been done prior?

 

[DCPU]

I agree. They did run

I agree. They did run mine for 80km and then changed all the fluids for the HardWayHome.

80km ~ that's not a typo?

 

[DCPU]

I should get a better idea after the weekend with a trip to Anfield on Saturday

"Mind yer car Mr."

 

[bemax]

You mentioned your VIN in the 800s and no campaigns to complete. Is that because they have been done prior?

Mine with a 9xx number came as well without an open campaign to the dealer. But it had already 71 km on the clock. So it seems logical that there are vehicles that became their “treatment” in Hambach before delivery.

 

[Arlette]

Just a further update on my initial thoughts! I moved several tonnes of wood yesterday in the load space. As a result:

1) Big plus on the old Defender I had - the rear door is less inclined to swing shut on a slope. So pleased with this
2) With a tonne of wood in the back the Grenadier doesn’t notice it and drives as normal - brilliant
3) Seats are so comfortable - brilliant
4) Forget the chatter about the lump in the RHD footwell - I’m over 6ft and it doesn’t exist

In summary this is one hell of a vehicle!

Well done Sir Jim and Ineos - it’s an absolute winner!

 

[Arlette]

I don’t want to be accused of droning on but the Grenadier is better than I expected. Well worth the wait and fantastic value!

 

[DCPU]

2) With a tonne of wood in the back the Grenadier doesn’t notice it and drives as normal - brilliant

Tell me you took a photo ~ don't we have a "Working Grenadiers" thread?

 

[DCPU]

But it had already 71 km on the clock.

Just on the issue of "extended" mileages being put on brand new vehicles, I've just read what Ford have been doing with their new Super Duty pickup roll out:

"Instead of test-driving a small sample of trucks to check for squeaks, rattles or infotainment system glitches - problems that take down scores on external quality surveys - Kentucky Truck deployed workers to drive 28,000 of the first new-generation Super Duties along a 25-mile (40 km) route near the factory."

And on quality issues in general:

"Halting the assembly line rather than building trucks and fixing them later was just one element of a new approach to attacking quality problems that Ford is road-testing"

"We set the standard to be better than the outgoing product. We did not start shipping until we saw consistent delivery on those targets," Super Duty Chief Engineer Andrew Kernahan told Reuters. "It took us longer than was planned."

Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant road-tests a new quality strategy

Shutting down the assembly lines that build Super Duty pickup trucks at Ford Motor Co's Kentucky Truck Plant is a multimillion-dollar action company managers try hard to avoid.

www.reuters.com

 

[Arlette]

Tell me you took a photo ~ don't we have a "Working Grenadiers" thread?

I was too busy and forgot to take a photo. I will next time though - apologies.

 

[Steveo]

Collected mine this afternoon from Northampton and am absolutely delighted with it.

For me, the steering is no issue at all - it’s just like my G Wagen, but better. Road holding surprised me in how good it is (there is very little body roll) and the suppression of road surface bumps and potholes is outstanding. Given it’s off-road capabilities, on road it’s quiet enough and it’s fast enough. Quieter and faster than my G Wagen.

I found it very easy to drive immediately. It’s easy to see all four corners, it’s not too big, although it is tall. I’m delighted.

Like all new cars, the dash system will take a bit of getting used to, but it seems intuitive enough - Android Auto only took a couple of clicks once the phone was connected and it worked first time.

Seats are very comfortable - driven about 2 hours so far. The left leg position is different, but not a problem And I’ll get used to it.

Engine and gearbox are as expected - superb (I’ve had a more highly tuned version of this combination in a BMW X5). One thing that is different is the lack of gearbox sport mode. On the BMW, leaving the selector on the right gave Drive, with relaxed gear changes and changing up as soon as possible. Moving the selector to the left gave Sport, where the engine held the gear for longer before changing up (typically 2,000 rpm) and also provided much more engine breaking. In Sport, it was then possible to select Manual changes. I used to drive around in Sport most of the time, as keeping engine revs up helped with preventing soot build up and I hardly ever had the X5 go into regeneration mode.

With the Grenadier, even though the selector shows the same three options (Drive, Sport and Manual) there is no Sport mode, only Drive and Manual. I’ll just need to remember to manually hold gears now and again.

The sound system is OK, but I’ll probably have a look at this going forward. That being said, I’m going to leave it for a month and then decide.

I should get a better idea after the weekend with a trip to Anfield on Saturday and Badminton on Sunday. Can’t wait!

Fantastic @Highwayman ! Time to change your avatar pic then?

 

[Wayneos]

4) Forget the chatter about the lump in the RHD footwell - I’m over 6ft and it doesn’t exist

 

[MrJAT]

You mentioned your VIN in the 800s and no campaigns to complete. Is that because they have been done prior?

Dunno, I presume done prior.