Only Positive Thoughts Here

[Solmanic]

Sorry Solmanic but I thought Loc Nar was referring to a Creek God or similar in this dark underworld he painted...an embarrassing error...apologies Loc Nar

It's a common mistake I have to deal with. I'm often also mistaken for Brad Pitt.

 

[YellowLab]

Now that we are at the pointy end of the development process and handover of vehicles to customers is imminent, I though it might be an idea to start a wholly positive thread for people to post only what they think is good and right about the Grenadier. This will also go some way to balancing the number of negative-ish threads that have been popping up around windscreen wipers, RHD footwell, number of screws in the dashboard, colour of the roof lining, lack of onboard beer dispenser etc etc. Bearing in mind that all these threads (this one included) are still only theoretical until real world experience takes over and we all actually know how good the vehicle is day to day. Until we are all crushed by harsh reality, this is a place for only butterflies and Unicorns.

I'll go first...

When I first saw the Grenadier I was immediately smitten. Being a previous Land Rover Defender owner, and current W463 G-Wagen owner, the Grenadier looked straight away like an answer to prayer. The new Defender was a complete letdown and it left the Toyota 70-series Landcruiser as the only financially sensible option for a body-on-frame 4x4 (let's all just agree a Jeep is never an option). The more I learnt about the development the more I liked. Magna Steyr's involvement in the design only further increased my excitement. Ineos were saying all the right things about form following function, fit-for-purpose, sensible design goals and so on.

Exterior:
Over the past two years, I have arrived at the opinion that the Grenadier's exterior proportions are damn near perfect. I can no longer look at an original Defender the same way as that familiar shape now looks awkward - too tall and skinny. And the G-Wagen now also appears somehow proportionally wrong beside the Gren. It's funny how prolonged exposure to the Grenadier design has not caused me to find anything wrong with it, but has actually made me find more things I like about it.

Interior:
My only concern when the Grenadier was first announced was that for all the great design philosophy and exterior good looks, the interior might be like a Soviet era mental hospital. However, when the first interior images were released I admit to letting out a girlish squeal of delight. There was a realistic level of comfort being offered with nice finishes, decent infotainment and COOL BUTTONS ON THE ROOF! Nothing overly flashy or too many electronic gizmos, just solid surfaces and buttons and a logical, simple 21st century digital dashboard. But everything still looks somehow premium. Nice.

Pricing:
After my hopes and dreams had been elevated to stratospheric levels by the design detail, I was brutally aware that this could all come crashing down when pricing was announced. It wasn't. When a thoroughly reasonable RRP was announced for what was essentially a G-Wagen lite, my overwhelming reaction was SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY! Subsequent cost comparisons with a similarly specced 70 series Landcruiser proved to me what good value the Grenadier was shaping up to be. And even if a 70 series might be bought for slightly less (and it can't), let's face it, the 70 series is a total dial-tone of a vehicle and now unobtainable, so a moot point. And to repeat my earlier assertion - a Jeep is never an option.

Test drive:
I've done two off-road test drives to date and I have to say, any of the things that I might have thought would suck just don't. The suspension is waaaay more compliant off road than I ever would have guessed. Seats are just plain perfect. Driving position and visibility is equally superb. Given my benchmarks were the old Defender and G-Wagen, visibility was a big potential deal breaker for me and the Grenadier just gives you such a great view out the front, there is hardly any need for fancy-pants trail cameras so many other 4x4s now have. Cabin sealing is spot on and consequently engine noise is virtually non-existent with all the windows up. And I'm sure I look far sexier in the Grenadier than humanly possible.

So that's my first pass at what makes the Grenadier just about goddamn perfect - at least in theory for the moment.

Loved 'Soviet Era Mental Hospital'. What a visual of pain!

 

[pete54]

A bit of a barrage of problem posts over the last couple of days (power steering/continued gremlins/price rises etc) - all legitimate and good to know, however having signed my contract a week ago I could do with some more positive news from current owners. Any takers?

 

[Cheshire cat]

A bit of a barrage of problem posts over the last couple of days (power steering/continued gremlins/price rises etc) - all legitimate and good to know, however having signed my contract a week ago I could do with some more positive news from current owners. Any takers?

Hi Pete
Like most of us on here, once you own yours, you will likely love it. Of course there are those who have been very unfortunate but I think I could count those on one hand. Logsplitter is the unluckiest. He is a staunch supporter of the product but currently, it seems Ineos are not doing their best by him.
I have 3000 miles on mine with only the spurious warnings and a front diff not properly engaging. All will be sorted and I should have nearly 5 years to keep an eye on things.
So what spec did you opt for?

 

[pete54]

Hi Pete
Like most of us on here, once you own yours, you will likely love it. Of course there are those who have been very unfortunate but I think I could count those on one hand. Logsplitter is the unluckiest. He is a staunch supporter of the product but currently, it seems Ineos are not doing their best by him.
I have 3000 miles on mine with only the spurious warnings and a front diff not properly engaging. All will be sorted and I should have nearly 5 years to keep an eye on things.
So what spec did you opt for?

Yes - really feeling for Logsplitter! Hopefully everything gets sorted in a hurry for him.

I’ve ordered the 5 seat commercial diesel with diff locks, raised air intake, tow ball and rack. Need to use it for towing and absolutely has to get me to where I’m going! I know Ineos are on the case but signed contract does make it all a bit more real.

 

[Tomdoc]

I'm really close now to getting mine, hopefully in a couple of days. So, despite the frightening stories on here I am getting extremely excited to see what I have bought.

My take on this forum is that it necessarily and rightly "distils" the horror stories in one place. For example, a new owner has a "fault" - searches for help and finds and comments on here so we all get to share and help - brilliant idea.

What we cannot measure or see are those owners who have no major trouble, and just are enjoying the car. They may not even know this place exists and even if they do, have no real reason to be negative.

I don't frequent "broken refrigerator" websites until my milk unexpectedly turns to cheese in my fridge.

@Logsplitter has had a terrible time and I am so sorry for him - but also like everyone else I wish him well and am keen to discover what went wrong.

So with my rose-tinted glasses firmly on, I am eagerly waiting to join the "owners club" in a few days.

 

[Logsplitter]

I thank everyone for their supportive messages. I’m sure everything will be fine it’s just unfortunate and frustrating, luckily my shipping has been delayed by two weeks anyway. Rather it happen here than in the middle of the Kalahari ! Third time lucky and the fix should be good. My glass is half full and I love the vehicle, it’s a pleasure to drive. Happy Grenadiering

 

[Trialmaster]

Interesting today, we visited my Brother in Law and he had a drive in the truck. He drives an artic (semi) all over the UK and is a level headed soul.

He knew nothing about the Grenadier and afterwards I asked him what he thought. He said it drove fine, no real shortcomings, so I then asked him about the central screen layout (not bothered as he has driven a Tesla). I then mentioned the footwell - no issue at all. Finally, the steering, he did notice the turning circle, but not an issue once experienced the radius of turn (self entering no problem)..

If you notice Clarkson's report, he mentioned Harry's feedback and this is becoming a problem, preconceived ideas. Don't read a forum, watch Youtube just make your own judgements rather than thinking about others.

 

[Logsplitter]

Interesting today, we visited my Brother in Law and he had a drive in the truck. He drives an artic (semi) all over the UK and is a level headed soul.

He knew nothing about the Grenadier and afterwards I asked him what he thought. He said it drove fine, no real shortcomings, so I then asked him about the central screen layout (not bothered as he has driven a Tesla). I then mentioned the footwell - no issue at all. Finally, the steering, he did notice the turning circle, but not an issue once experienced the radius of turn (self entering no problem)..

If you notice Clarkson's report, he mentioned Harry's feedback and this is becoming a problem, preconceived ideas. Don't read a forum, watch Youtube just make your own judgements rather than thinking about others.

Agreed about pre conceived ideas. Drive it yourself and form your own opinion. But do read this forum, you can learn a lot and plenty of experienced and knowledgeable people here to glean information from.
Regardless of the fault I’ve had I think it’s a great vehicle although I’m chomping at the bit to use it to its full potential

 

[AnD3rew]

Logsitter is unfortunately for him, but fortunately for us is being the Guinea Pig for this issue. It may just be a quirk of a fault specific to his vehicle, but if not hopefully it means it will he identified early and a campaign launched to fix it for everyone.

 

[Trialmaster]

Agreed about pre conceived ideas. Drive it yourself and form your own opinion. But do read this forum, you can learn a lot and plenty of experienced and knowledgeable people here to glean information from.
Regardless of the fault I’ve had I think it’s a great vehicle although I’m chomping at the bit to use it to its full potential

Yes, the Forum has some fantastic tips, and information. Hope you have some good news soon on yours truck: @Logsplitter

 

[trobex]

I am positive my vehicle is about to be loaded on to a SHIP headed for Brisbane - straight line... no stops!

 

[Tazzieman]

I am positive my vehicle is about to be loaded on to a SHIP headed for Brisbane - straight line... no stops!

Have you checked out the turning circle of the ship? Can it even get past the port's footwell?
Little concerns , but important ones

 

[Jiman01]

I hear they have terrible brakes/stopping distance too

Seriously @trobex, congrats and hope to hear your thoughts and experience(s).

 

[YellowLab]

I skipped the break option on my build as well as a sealed fuel tank. I specked a bathtub that I can fill with gasoline. What could go wrong?

 

[Tazzieman]

This has just been posted on the IG Australia FB site. I don't know if the guy posts here , but his sentiments are untrammelled, to use a word possibly incorrectly, but harvested on a whim from my schoolboy Macbeth.
"
Heading home tomorrow after nearly five weeks away. By the time I get home I will have travelled about 13000km with about 10000km of that towing a 2000kg camper. Much of it will be on unsealed roads.
The internet is full of negative stuff which has largely been posted by those who have either only just sat in the car momentarily or have just done a short drive.
I’ve spoken with other owners and we share a very similar view of the car. That is, that all of the positives far outweigh any negatives. None of these owners I’ve spoken with are “head in the sand” type people with all of them realistic about some of the pain points.
The thing is, every car has things that we’d like them to do a bit better and the Grenadier is no different. The common theme though is that we feel completely supported by the Ineos Australian team and the Magic team here in WA. They don’t want anyone left high and dry and go far and above the levels of support typically experienced with other brands.
Australia is a rough country with lots of remote travel and despite this I’ve travelled with confidence knowing that if something went wrong Ineos/Magic would move heaven and earth to help me out. You don’t read about that in any Facebook group in the comments by non-owners.
It’s also not on the configurator to tick as an option - it just seems to comes for free when you buy a car in Australia and it’s something that I’d prefer much more when buying a car than a feature that doesn’t work perfectly for me but is 99% functional anyway.
It’s a car that has obviously been designed to meet the needs of most people who want to use it the way I’m using it. It might not suit a tiny proportion of genuine buyers - I get that - but for the vast majority it’ll get the job done perfectly (and probably better than most of the other options out there).
My last words on
The footrest: No it doesn’t bother me. I don’t notice it and I can get very comfortable in a dozen ways after hours behind the wheel.
The warning lights on the infotainment screen: No, they don’t bother me. They happen very infrequently. If they come up I just turn off the ignition, restart the car and they go away. I’ve been reassured that updates resolving this are on they way.
If those two things are the reason you’re not buying the car it’s your loss.
Cheers and “out”."

 

[AnD3rew]

(Edit: sorry, snap with @Tazzieman) Some very positive thoughts here, from someone with probably more experience than anyone outside of INEOS.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/3774825335877563/permalink/7314317861928275/?mibextid=W9rl1R

 

[DaveB]

This has just been posted on the IG Australia FB site. I don't know if the guy posts here , but his sentiments are untrammelled, to use a word possibly incorrectly, but harvested on a whim from my schoolboy Macbeth.
"
Heading home tomorrow after nearly five weeks away. By the time I get home I will have travelled about 13000km with about 10000km of that towing a 2000kg camper. Much of it will be on unsealed roads.
The internet is full of negative stuff which has largely been posted by those who have either only just sat in the car momentarily or have just done a short drive.
I’ve spoken with other owners and we share a very similar view of the car. That is, that all of the positives far outweigh any negatives. None of these owners I’ve spoken with are “head in the sand” type people with all of them realistic about some of the pain points.
The thing is, every car has things that we’d like them to do a bit better and the Grenadier is no different. The common theme though is that we feel completely supported by the Ineos Australian team and the Magic team here in WA. They don’t want anyone left high and dry and go far and above the levels of support typically experienced with other brands.
Australia is a rough country with lots of remote travel and despite this I’ve travelled with confidence knowing that if something went wrong Ineos/Magic would move heaven and earth to help me out. You don’t read about that in any Facebook group in the comments by non-owners.
It’s also not on the configurator to tick as an option - it just seems to comes for free when you buy a car in Australia and it’s something that I’d prefer much more when buying a car than a feature that doesn’t work perfectly for me but is 99% functional anyway.
It’s a car that has obviously been designed to meet the needs of most people who want to use it the way I’m using it. It might not suit a tiny proportion of genuine buyers - I get that - but for the vast majority it’ll get the job done perfectly (and probably better than most of the other options out there).
My last words on
The footrest: No it doesn’t bother me. I don’t notice it and I can get very comfortable in a dozen ways after hours behind the wheel.
The warning lights on the infotainment screen: No, they don’t bother me. They happen very infrequently. If they come up I just turn off the ignition, restart the car and they go away. I’ve been reassured that updates resolving this are on they way.
If those two things are the reason you’re not buying the car it’s your loss.
Cheers and “out”."

I think this is rubbish
What would they know.
Only 13,000 kms???
Only 10,000 towing a van???
On dirty roads with a few small ripples???
Harry had the vehicle for almost a full week.
Now that is a proper review.

 

[Tazzieman]

Harry's test track: the steep wet little hill that his S1 Landy can crawl up.

 

[trobex]

I hear they have terrible brakes/stopping distance too

Seriously @trobex, congrats and hope to hear your thoughts and experience(s).

Looking forward to it, I probably have about 50 odd days to go one would think.