Production Model at Sydney 4WD Show

[crimson]

INEOS mentioned that we can "get up close to our rugged off-roader as one of the first people in Australia able to sit in a full production model."...

Full production model?? Have we seen this before or is this the first time in public a production model will be on display?

I plan to attend tomorrow with the family and am happy to field/capture answers or photos for the top 5 burning production model questions we may have from the forum. Please send them through.

For those that attended today, please share pictures, videos and insights.

 

[cheswick]

INEOS mentioned that we can "get up close to our rugged off-roader as one of the first people in Australia able to sit in a full production model."...

Full production model?? Have we seen this before or is this the first time in public a production model will be on display?

I plan to attend tomorrow with the family and am happy to field/capture answers or photos for the top 5 burning production model questions we may have from the forum. Please send them through.

For those that attended today, please share pictures, videos and insights.

Not it’s not full production. I think the marketing team may have added a bit of creative flourish it is a newer test vehicle off the hambach production line and looked to me to be very close to the final product.

 

[crimson]

Thanks, that will help with managing wife's expectations

 

[OGrid]

It‘s a PTO-2 vehicle.

About 90-95% complete is my guess after seeing it yesterday and talking to a couple of Ineos people there who actually knew what they were talking about (ok, only 2 of the Ineos people there knew what was really going on IMHO). I actually asked one of the people there “are you guessing“, to his credit he said yes.

Three things surprised me a bit that I‘d forgotten to mention in a prior post.

1 - the rear passenger seats in the PTO-2 are not held in place by any clip or seat fastening device. I think they would rattle away on dirt roads. Hopefully this is addressed in the next vehicle config release, which they were kind enough to discuss its existence - which I‘m calling User Acceptance Testing - stage 1 (UAT1). They had a specific name for it but I don’t recall exactly (possibly LS1 - launch series 1). Any minor mods from UAT1 (LS1) that are required to be done then go into UAT2 vehicle config. UAT2 should be the final config test before production sign off. Which then leads to vehicle sign off and results in a final customer build, which we get. Yeah.

2 - I tried a few times to get into the driver seat without using the rock sliders that were attached. I gave up and used the rock sliders (there is no driver side grab handle in the PTO-2, maybe in UAT1, they didn’t know). This concerns me a little as I didn’t order the sliders (a possible rethink is on the cards for me on that). A vehicle without rock sliders and not PTO-2 is the true test though.

3 - the left foot rest (on right hand drive) as installed in PTO-2, will be an issue for some. It was for me, as I had to drop the seat to the minimal height setting and raise the steering wheel for it to clear my left leg. Could be avoided with some wide man spreading, but not my natural driving style. Again, could be addressed in UAT1, they weren’t aware. Which is ok in my book, as we’re seeing a vehicle being developed in front of us which is rare.

OG.

 

[grenadierboy]

Regarding the ongoing "issue" of the RHD footrest, here is another photo taken of the PTO-2 car at Sydney.

The photographer said the footreat was an odd design (we know why!) and was way too big but, for him, probably not a massive issue.

Importantly, when he was behind the wheel his legs were all properly aligned (different to the comments made by ASPW in his video review of the Grenadier a few months ago).

 

[Davman]

I cannot see the problem. Yes its larger than we would normally think "for a footrest" but it isn't going to stop the functionality of the pedals. Might of been a problem with a manual transmission.

Perhaps not being able to fully extend your left leg might be bit of a problem on longer journeys though.

 

[OGrid]

I encountered the same issue yesterday.

6’ 2” - the steering wheel rested directly on my left leg.

Hopefully it will be rectified, as these are still test vehicles. Otherwise I’ll drill it out and weld something in if that’s a possibility.

 

[Davman]

I encountered the same issue yesterday.

6’ 2” - the steering wheel rested directly on my left leg.

PERFECT, INEOS has thought of the Australian driver well beyond our initial expectations.
We all know Aussies eat their meat pie / maccas whilst steering with their left knee, now INEOS have built in a feature to make that even easier.
AWESOME.

 

[Tazzieman]

Perhaps not being able to fully extend your left leg might be bit of a problem on longer journeys though.

The right leg says "But what about me?"

 

[Deepblue]

It‘s a PTO-2 vehicle.

About 90-95% complete is my guess after seeing it yesterday and talking to a couple of Ineos people there who actually knew what they were talking about (ok, only 2 of the Ineos people there knew what was really going on IMHO). I actually asked one of the people there “are you guessing“, to his credit he said yes.

Three things surprised me a bit that I‘d forgotten to mention in a prior post.

1 - the rear passenger seats in the PTO-2 are not held in place by any clip or seat fastening device. I think they would rattle away on dirt roads. Hopefully this is addressed in the next vehicle config release, which they were kind enough to discuss its existence - which I‘m calling User Acceptance Testing - stage 1 (UAT1). They had a specific name for it but I don’t recall exactly (possibly LS1 - launch series 1). Any minor mods from UAT1 (LS1) that are required to be done then go into UAT2 vehicle config. UAT2 should be the final config test before production sign off. Which then leads to vehicle sign off and results in a final customer build, which we get. Yeah.

2 - I tried a few times to get into the driver seat without using the rock sliders that were attached. I gave up and used the rock sliders (there is no driver side grab handle in the PTO-2, maybe in UAT1, they didn’t know). This concerns me a little as I didn’t order the sliders (a possible rethink is on the cards for me on that). A vehicle without rock sliders and not PTO-2 is the true test though.

3 - the left foot rest (on right hand drive) as installed in PTO-2, will be an issue for some. It was for me, as I had to drop the seat to the minimal height setting and raise the steering wheel for it to clear my left leg. Could be avoided with some wide man spreading, but not my natural driving style. Again, could be addressed in UAT1, they weren’t aware. Which is ok in my book, as we’re seeing a vehicle being developed in front of us which is rare.

OG.

@Off.Grid many thanks for your description. Question on your point 2: did the rock slider helped as a step to get into? I’m undecided between rock slider and step option.
So keen to understand if rock slider is a somewhat acceptable help.

 

[Michael H.]

@Off.Grid many thanks for your description. Question on your point 2: did the rock slider helped as a step to get into? I’m undecided between rock slider and step option.
So keen to understand if rock slider is a somewhat acceptable help.

The vehicle at the Sydney Show (PTO2-047) is fitted with side steps, not rock sliders.

 

[Deepblue]

Thanks Michael - that explains. Yet not what I had hoped

 

[Michael H.]

 

[OGrid]

@Off.Grid many thanks for your description. Question on your point 2: did the rock slider helped as a step to get into? I’m undecided between rock slider and step option.
So keen to understand if rock slider is a somewhat acceptable help.

Hi Deepblue, I was a bit loose with my terminology, they were ‘side runners’ as Ineos calls them. Yes, they were of great assistance to enter the vehicle. I would have liked to have tried a vehicle without the side runners installed to see how entry was though.

 

[crimson]

We had the privilege to see the Grenadiar at the show today. The INEOS rep said this car isn't production model as most of you pointed out, but was 95% complete with only a few items like trimmings remaining. Based on this, i was happy to see the Grenadiar in it's real form, but with the below mixed feelings:

Driver's left footwall: now I've read about this in detail (thanks to all of you on the forum) and wanted to give it benefit of the doubt, but I'd be lying to you if I said it was fine. It's not fine and I'd go as far to say, it could be the single biggest issue stopping people from buying the G. Without mentioning this to my wife and good friends who also visited, they all pointed out the issue as soon as they stepped into the driver's seat. What's disappointing is that the INEOS rep also mentioned this would not be fixed in the production version.

Spending top dollar and having to make compromises will be hard to swallow. I'll need to test drive one in November and pry they've made some magic.

Anyone else get a feeling that there was a lot of plastic on the outside (wheel arch) and inside of the cars interior?

 

[crimson]

To be very clear on what is uncomfortable, see the highlighted picture (taken by another).

When I naturally rested my foot, my toes could feel contact with the black wall. It started to give me aeroplane foot cramp syndrome, as it reminded me of being stuck on a long flight with little or no room for my legs or feet to move. I don't know if its just me, but the force of the wall against my toes, makes me want to move and stretch them more.

Consider for a moment the painful, slow and bumper bumper trip into the show today. I don't think I would have enjoyed the same wait in a Grenadiar.

 

[emax]

I doubt that there will be any magic.

The only thing they could do was to reroute the exhaust tube. But as far as I could see on some photographs, there is simply no space to do so. This leads to fears that a major revision of the entire substructure around that location would be necessary.

Luckily I get an LHD vehicle. But hopefully my wife as a passenger doesn't complain about this thing.

Though this doesn't help, there are perhaps a few photos of the substructure at the critical point somewhere.

 

[DCPU]

Hopefully it will be rectified, as these are still test vehicles. Otherwise I’ll drill it out and weld something in if that’s a possibility.

Test only in the sense of proving the assembly processes ~ at this stage, unless there's a major flaw, then I'd expect the design process to have been frozen.

 

[painter]

To be very clear on what is uncomfortable, see the highlighted picture (taken by another).

When I naturally rested my foot, my toes could feel contact with the black wall. It started to give me aeroplane foot cramp syndrome, as it reminded me of being stuck on a long flight with little or no room for my legs or feet to move. I don't know if its just me, but the force of the wall against my toes, makes me want to move and stretch them more.

Consider for a moment the painful, slow and bumper bumper trip into the show today. I don't think I would have enjoyed the same wait in a Grenadiar.


View attachment 7793396

Yes, that looks like it could be uncomfortable. And I don't be surprised if it turns out to be a deal breaker for some folks. Conversely I can imagine some folks will be okay with it (and yes, even some to say it should be okay - for others).

Me, I'm used to my current vehicle's flat driver floor well - no foot rest. In fact I like to drive the auto trans two footed. I don't know for the IG category though, perhaps a foot rest is expected/desired.

I'm in the LHD market so any interference would be for the front passenger. Our current truck has the engine hump encroaching into the foot space. I don't like it, but still survive. It is more rounded so it's difficult to rest your foot on. It is a bit troublesome for long periods of travel. The IG design might in fact be better it that regard (for LHD passenger).

I think I read on here that other test units of the IG had a foot rest that appeared smaller/lower. Either way, it definitely something to consider before dropping the $$'s.

 

[AnD3rew]

@Off.Grid many thanks for your description. Question on your point 2: did the rock slider helped as a step to get into? I’m undecided between rock slider and step option.
So keen to understand if rock slider is a somewhat acceptable help.

It isn’t the rock slider on this vehicle it is the step, it is the most solid step I have ever seen OEM though. I wouldn’t be ordering the rock slider if you need a step. Wait for aftermarket if you need both