Build Thread Sir Grenulph Fiennes - '24 Scottish White Trialmaster

[bbq4133]

I probably should have started this sooner, but better late than never.

Sir Grenulph Fiennes is a 2024 Scottish White Trialmaster, bought from RDS INEOS in Devon in mid-February 2024. Currently it has 2,500 miles and is awaiting his DE tags (thank you DE for taking an absolutely glacial pace!). So far, approximately 500 of the miles have been on unimproved roads and tracks throughout New Jersey, Delaware, and Virginia, and I've had the pleasure of really testing it in places I love to overland. It's also done two tailgates.

Goals:

• Reliable overland travel through the wilds of the northeast/mid-atlantic including tight forests, mountains, and beaches
• Effective "kitchen" for a tailgate servicing 50+ people at any given event
• "Daily" driver (I don't drive daily but this is my primary vehicle)

Mods so far:

• GP Factor tailgate table (regular, no cubby)
• ICECO VL45 fridge
• Delta 2 Power Station (needed for some kitchen wares but arguably superfluous with the dual battery setup, but hey, I love redundancy)
• OEM checker plates
• Donaldson's Topspin Cyclonic Pre-Cleaner (lost the RAI grate in Virginia)

Planned mods:

• Rival engine/transmission/tcase skids (on order)
• Sliders
• 3/4 roof rack
• On board air compressor
• On board communications
• Maybe - Mild lift (2-3" tops)
• Maybe - Slightly larger tires (no greater than 33s I think)
• Maybe - "Plain" looking wheels (I love the steelies and want to keep that aesthetic going)
• Maybe - steering stabilizer (not thrilled with the whole "you may have to pry open a bracket" bit)

Fixes/repairs so far:

• AC - low/no refrigerant, leaky tube under the hood
• Center row light - bad switch
• Cargo bay light - bad wire
• Center hub edges - rust mitigation per the TSB (can see this being necessary multiple times)

Nitpicks so far:

• Everyone knows the software is buggy, but boy is it buggy
• The AC has a mind of its own sometimes (most times)
• Plastic on the back 70 door rattles, "normal" per all of the other cars tested/seen at RDS when I brought it in
• Squeaking in the rear, hopefully went away after a thorough wash
• Oil/flux/something dripped out of the foremost corners of the hood
• Not entirely positive neutral is neutral when shifting the transfer case, grinding once

 

[LC0013]

With all the fixes, repairs and nitpicks mentioned, are you pleased with your purchase?

 

[bbq4133]

With all the fixes, repairs and nitpicks mentioned, are you pleased with your purchase?

Short answer: yes.

Long answer:

Nitpicks are more of an ongoing thing, nothing that's a "dealbreaker" but definitely an annoyance. Truth be told, I came from a vehicle (2021 Raptor) with a ton of them as well (if you thought our software was bad you don't realize how lucky we have it, some of that stuff in the Raptor is awful), so it's not a new dilemma. Some of the nitpicks dovetail with the fact we bought a new truck from a new make, there's a lot to be said for that and a good bit of risk, so I'm paying closer attention than maybe I might otherwise.

The repairs are kind of baffling. Take the lights--why weren't those checked during PDI? I didn't even realize I had a third row light until I started noticing the second row staying on after locking it up. And the AC--it seems like this car, by default, has little refrigerant across the board. Beyond the steering, I can't think of a thing that's more complained about than the AC (I guess notwithstanding the speed limit beeps). I know I bought this during the winter, but shouldn't that check occur prior to delivery?!

Beyond those, I still can't believe the grate came off the RAI. I don't think I hit it on anything too hard, but a branch shouldn't be able to take that clean off while leaving the rest of the RAI pristine and untouched. Makes no sense and kind of contradicts its more rugged purpose if you start shedding plastic in the woods.

All that being said, it's an absolute joy to drive off road. It's fine on road, the steering is what it is, but overall it's fun, it's adventurous, and it's inspiring. The thing about my old Raptor is that it was very fast, but of limited use beyond truck stuff (bed/towing). It fit absolutely nowhere--trails, cities, etc.--and you could not use it as intended in this part of the country. It could crawl, I guess, but it does not fit. It could travel over plenty of unimproved roads, but it could not fit on most--it certainly wouldn't have fit where I brought this in Virginia. Everything was either a touchscreen or a dial, and it takes a bit of the fun out of driving if you can instantly dial up a drive mode so the computer could then take over. Say what you will about the nagging issues of the IG, and the fact it's a new make/vehicle, but a computer failure on this seems way less crippling than any number of complicated systems going down in a Raptor, new Defender, new Toyota, etc. This is not that, thankfully, as it's the most manual "automatic" car I've had and it's been a very rewarding driving experience.

 

[[ Adam ]]

Short answer: yes.

Long answer:

Nitpicks are more of an ongoing thing, nothing that's a "dealbreaker" but definitely an annoyance.

Agreed - there are a ton of minor things, but I had as many with other cars - the software in cars is just so imperfect. It seems to be across the industry.

All that being said, it's an absolute joy to drive off road. It's fine on road, the steering is what it is, but overall it's fun, it's adventurous, and it's inspiring.

This is not that, thankfully, as it's the most manual "automatic" car I've had and it's been a very rewarding driving experience.

I couldn't agree more - I truly enjoy every time I get behind the wheel.

 

[bbq4133]

Agreed - there are a ton of minor things, but I had as many with other cars - the software in cars is just so imperfect. It seems to be across the industry.





I couldn't agree more - I truly enjoy every time I get behind the wheel.

The only time I am ever truly tempted by the Tesla/Rivian crowd is when they rave about how good the basic software is (exclusive of the features that kill you/others). It seems like great automotive software is few and far between and that really sucks, especially as more and more cars rely on those systems to handle basic tasks. Jay Couch raving about this having a real parking brake and not one of those sinister e-brakes is emblematic of that, and I'm glad INEOS stuck to the basics for so many things.

 

[anand]

The only time I am ever truly tempted by the Tesla/Rivian crowd is when they rave about how good the basic software is (exclusive of the features that kill you/others).

For what it's worth... at one of the California PTO2 tours we had a client who was a software engineer for Rivian, who was an early reservation holder and super excited for his Grenadier to arrive

 

[bbq4133]

For what it's worth... at one of the California PTO2 tours we had a client who was a software engineer for Rivian, who was an early reservation holder and super excited for his Grenadier to arrive

Maybe they can help INEOS out!

 

[globalgregors]

I probably should have started this sooner, but better late than never.

View attachment 7853637

Sir Grenulph Fiennes is a 2024 Scottish White Trialmaster, bought from RDS INEOS in Devon in mid-February 2024. Currently it has 2,500 miles and is awaiting his DE tags (thank you DE for taking an absolutely glacial pace!). So far, approximately 500 of the miles have been on unimproved roads and tracks throughout New Jersey, Delaware, and Virginia, and I've had the pleasure of really testing it in places I love to overland. It's also done two tailgates.

Goals:

• Reliable overland travel through the wilds of the northeast/mid-atlantic including tight forests, mountains, and beaches
• Effective "kitchen" for a tailgate servicing 50+ people at any given event
• "Daily" driver (I don't drive daily but this is my primary vehicle)

Mods so far:

• GP Factor tailgate table (regular, no cubby)
• ICECO VL45 fridge
• Delta 2 Power Station (needed for some kitchen wares but arguably superfluous with the dual battery setup, but hey, I love redundancy)
• OEM checker plates
• Donaldson's Topspin Cyclonic Pre-Cleaner (lost the RAI grate in Virginia)

Planned mods:

• Rival engine/transmission/tcase skids (on order)
• Sliders
• 3/4 roof rack
• On board air compressor
• On board communications
• Maybe - Mild lift (2-3" tops)
• Maybe - Slightly larger tires (no greater than 33s I think)
• Maybe - "Plain" looking wheels (I love the steelies and want to keep that aesthetic going)
• Maybe - steering stabilizer (not thrilled with the whole "you may have to pry open a bracket" bit)

Fixes/repairs so far:

• AC - low/no refrigerant, leaky tube under the hood
• Center row light - bad switch
• Cargo bay light - bad wire
• Center hub edges - rust mitigation per the TSB (can see this being necessary multiple times)

Nitpicks so far:

• Everyone knows the software is buggy, but boy is it buggy
• The AC has a mind of its own sometimes (most times)
• Plastic on the back 70 door rattles, "normal" per all of the other cars tested/seen at RDS when I brought it in
• Squeaking in the rear, hopefully went away after a thorough wash
• Oil/flux/something dripped out of the foremost corners of the hood
• Not entirely positive neutral is neutral when shifting the transfer case, grinding once

View attachment 7853639View attachment 7853640View attachment 7853636View attachment 7853638

Nice aluminium case. What is that from?

 

[bbq4133]

Nice aluminium case. What is that from?

That's a grill! Made by NOMAD. It's very good for tailgates and camping but has some limitations, such as it not getting roaring hot unless you REALLY help it and the domed inner grate, while clever (and magnetic), limits usable cooking space by virtue of stuff rolling around. Usable cooking space is already kind of limited, so the domed feature is a bit of a bummer.

I am told version 2 helps out with the heat by adding a vent, and I could always add a second grate but that seems superfluous.

 

[globalgregors]

That's a grill! Made by NOMAD. It's very good for tailgates and camping but has some limitations, such as it not getting roaring hot unless you REALLY help it and the domed inner grate, while clever (and magnetic), limits usable cooking space by virtue of stuff rolling around. Usable cooking space is already kind of limited, so the domed feature is a bit of a bummer.

I am told version 2 helps out with the heat by adding a vent, and I could always add a second grate but that seems superfluous.

Oh, I see - very Gucci piece of kit.
Available in Australia as well.

 

[bbq4133]

Oh, I see - very Gucci piece of kit.
Available in Australia as well.

Yes. It does go on sale a bit. I'm not sure I'd recommend it at full price, but I do use it an absolute ton.

 

[globalgregors]

Yes. It does go on sale a bit. I'm not sure I'd recommend it at full price, but I do use it an absolute ton.

Is there a specific retailer to keep an eye on, or do you mean that Nomad themselves have occasional sales?

 

[bbq4133]

Is there a specific retailer to keep an eye on, or do you mean that Nomad themselves have occasional sales?

Just Nomad directly online. IIRC mine was 20 percent off around March-ish last year. Also came with their own charcoal, which isn't great, but it does burn.