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So where are all the first impressions? (right here)

Unimog 406

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Review after 3 weeks of ownership, covering some 2,500 miles, across 5 countries (UK, France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy), over peaks of 2,200m high and over some pretty rough steep terrain, whilst towing a 1.7 ton expedition trailer.
I got the chance to weigh the car and trailer (both fully loaded) on a weigh bridge and it came in at 4,700kg.
This was generally the laden weight for the whole journey although the trailer carries 130 litres of water and a declining wine store might have lowered it on parts of the journey, but that was generally the norm.

I would firstly start by saying the vehicle overall, is everything it should be and more, and i am delighted with it.
My normal drive would have been in a modified 110 Defender and it would beat it by a country mile.
Motorway driving at 70 mph is a dream and i would compare it to towing with my Disco 4, effortless.
Acceleration, particularly between 40mph and 70mph, even up long inclines, is impressive.
A well balanced load just sits behind and is easy to forget it is there.
We towed in low ratio up some very steep, off road tracks, gravel and mud, to peaks of over 2,200m effortlessly. So effortlessly i only locked the centre diff a few times and had no need to lock the front or rear.
The torque in the 3LT diesel, power distribution, grip is just superb for a heavy vehicle.
I have the the 18” BFG AT’s and would consider my usual BFG MT’s if going into muddier conditions.
Putting the box from high to low and to diff lock and off became less stiff and assume like most things, it improved with use.
A lot has been made of the steering and foot rest positioning but in my experience it is a total non issue, even over long distances.
The seating is generally extremely comfortable although the only thing i would criticise it on is not having an adjustable lumbar support. On some days we covered some 500 miles and it is only on these trips would i say i would have liked more support.
Our overall fuel consumption on the whole trip was 20.2 mpg (uk gallons) or 14.1 litres per 100km. I would stress the load and terrain we covered would have severely hampered this and will be monitoring it over more normal conditions.
Ad blue consumption was probably about 8 to 10 litres but didn’t monitor properly.

On to some of the not so good points which are generally all electrical glitches: -

Twice it failed to select reverse and once drive after stopping into park. Both times it corrected after switching off and on again.
Whilst the expedition trailer has P/V charging, I would normally charge the 2 x 100 amp lithium iron batteries on the road through a DC/DC charger at a rate of 30 A/H, powered from the car. The NATO hitch plug should do this easily and whilst i could get it to engage and charge a few times, it generally after a short time travelling clicked out the relay and showed the fault of “power socket shutdown” - very annoying!
The apple car play disengaged for no reason on a number of occasions. A few times i was able to reconnect but at least twice i had to delete the device and reconnect. It doesn’t like the connected device to walk away from the car whilst connected.
The parking sensors have a mind of their own and i got into the habit of switching them off before i set off.
The seat belt warnings on occasions kept going despite the two occupied front seat belts done up and even the empty rears done up. Again having to switch ignition off and on to solve. Off road button didn’t resolve the seat belt warning either.
Trailer light fault warning was virtually continuous despite the lights testing fine.
The drivers air bag sign is constantly on and not sure what this means. Really need to look into this a little more.
TPMS, climate control, power steering, gearbox in N despite in D, and numerous other warnings were pretty much continuous.
The power “on” switch in the overhead panel only leaves the rear seat plugs live and not the front cubby box whilst car switched off. I need to look into this as i think this is wrong.
The altimeter and compass are unreliable.

One point i would make is having been back for a few days i have not had a single warning up??

The steering wheel is probably 4 or 5 degrees off centre, to the right.
One of the rubber roof bars was missing on hand over.
Still not got the roof rack or rear table.

Oh and one further point being i managed to crack the windscreen. Will be interesting to ring my insurance company to find out how long it will take them to get a new screen.

Still love the car and will continue to rave about it, hoping the next software update will solve the above issues.

A couple of photos: -
View attachment 7815261
View attachment 7815262
Hi, Just wondering, where on the the windscreen it failed, how was it caused and when it appeared? The demo at my agent has a cracked screen on the bottom right hand corner its been out of commission for weeks. No test drives, health and safety!
 

Tomdoc

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Just home from our first longish trip in the Grenadier. My initial thoughts:

IG SW 2 seater N1 version. RHD. Auxiliary battery pack.
Software version is xxxxxx1939 (like all others reported I think)

So far, about 400 miles driven all on road types including motorways and in heavy rain (it is England in the summer :)). No water ingress.

First day 200 mile drive - absolutely no bings, bongs or warnings at all.

Bings and Bongs

Today after a 10 minute stop for a coffee, we got a power steering warning on the main large screen which was cycling on and off about every 10s or so and persisted for the last 100 miles of the journey. The actual steering is/was fine. I think this has been widely reported as one of the common glitches - also noted a slight high pitched whine when stationary and turning the steering wheel which has also been commented on here before and I suspect is nothing but will keep an eye on it.

Pros:

It is solid, imposing and lovely to drive.
No concerns with the footwell "hump" and I am 6'2"
Steering is solid, concise and easy.
Seats very comfy
DAB radio is strange to program - but wife managed to find Radio 4 and the cricket with ease!
Audio system is really good.
Apple Car Play works well.

Battery at 99% after today's drive.
Adblue is at 70% as delivered? Not sure if this is normal.

Fuel consumption not at all concerning and no worse than my Defender 90.

Overall I am pleased but will be at dealers tomorrow anyway (to pick up some goodies) so will mention the power steering thing. I would be lying if I said I have NO concerns but at least being on here I kind of expected a few things - it is certainly a little off-putting to drive with a warning on.


PS I have changed and saved my profile status to "Grenadier Owner" many times but it is not showing up here. Has the forum developed a glitch too? ;)
 

Logsplitter

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Just home from our first longish trip in the Grenadier. My initial thoughts:

IG SW 2 seater N1 version. RHD. Auxiliary battery pack.
Software version is xxxxxx1939 (like all others reported I think)

So far, about 400 miles driven all on road types including motorways and in heavy rain (it is England in the summer :)). No water ingress.

First day 200 mile drive - absolutely no bings, bongs or warnings at all.

Bings and Bongs

Today after a 10 minute stop for a coffee, we got a power steering warning on the main large screen which was cycling on and off about every 10s or so and persisted for the last 100 miles of the journey. The actual steering is/was fine. I think this has been widely reported as one of the common glitches - also noted a slight high pitched whine when stationary and turning the steering wheel which has also been commented on here before and I suspect is nothing but will keep an eye on it.

Pros:

It is solid, imposing and lovely to drive.
No concerns with the footwell "hump" and I am 6'2"
Steering is solid, concise and easy.
Seats very comfy
DAB radio is strange to program - but wife managed to find Radio 4 and the cricket with ease!
Audio system is really good.
Apple Car Play works well.

Battery at 99% after today's drive.
Adblue is at 70% as delivered? Not sure if this is normal.

Fuel consumption not at all concerning and no worse than my Defender 90.

Overall I am pleased but will be at dealers tomorrow anyway (to pick up some goodies) so will mention the power steering thing. I would be lying if I said I have NO concerns but at least being on here I kind of expected a few things - it is certainly a little off-putting to drive with a warning on.


PS I have changed and saved my profile status to "Grenadier Owner" many times but it is not showing up here. Has the forum developed a glitch too? ;)
Interested to see what they find ref the power steering. I hope it doesn’t develop into a power steering failure as in mine.
 

Beormund

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My A/C has failed a second time. Lasted 10 days since the last "fix' (replacement hose). This will be my third return visit to the agents. Getting fed up now with the delayed software update, missing roof bars and useless A/C.
 

Tazzieman

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PS I have changed and saved my profile status to "Grenadier Owner" many times but it is not showing up here. Has the forum developed a glitch too? ;)
I think that requires old school human input! A little patience and our man will have it sorted.
 
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Picked mine up from Halliwell Jones Chester on Sat . Car in Sela Green looks awsome , hadnt ordered the side steps but have done so now as anybody even slightly unathletic will struggle to get in. Weather was shocking , no leaks and great road handling. Takes a bit of time to get used to the non corrective steering, but after a few hours I figured out how to make it easier. Much more comfortable inside than i expected it to be.
Great car , big thanks to Stephen Ricketts for explaining clearly and simply how everything works and putting up with my moaning about the time it took to get it , dealerships are great , Ineos as a company are shocking at customer relations!
Looking forward to getting it off road when the season begins in October
 

PC01

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Hi, Just wondering, where on the the windscreen it failed, how was it caused and when it appeared? The demo at my agent has a cracked screen on the bottom right hand corner its been out of commission for weeks. No test drives, health and safety!
Hi. Top left hand side. Cracked after a large stone hit it. Still waiting for replacement but no issue on safety.
 
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Unimog 406

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Hi. Top left hand side. Cracked after a large stone hit it. Still waiting for replacement but no issue on safety.
That' good to hear, not good for you, but it dispels an inherent fault scenario.
 

James

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Hi. Top left hand side. Cracked after a large stone hit it. Still waiting for replacement but no issue on safety.
Was it a crack from the edge inwards, or is it centred on a stone hit and doesnt touch the edge?

I asking because Ive seen a couple of demos with cracked screens, and they both went from or to the edge of the screen. Small concern that the exposed edge is a weakness, might require a molding added. Toughened glass is much more vulnerable to edge hits.
 

Michael H.

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I’ve had my Trialmaster Utility Wagon for a week now, and with just under 1000km on the clock, I thought I’d share my first impressions.

I love how solid it is, and how pleasant it is to drive.

Cruising along on the blacktop is very comfortable. The speed display is nice and high and in your peripheral vision, so there’s no issue there. I actually find it easier to see than in my previous vehicles. I like the way the transmission auto-downshifts when you apply the brakes going down a long hill. Some other cars do this quite aggressively, but the Grenadier’s setup is excellent.

With a little time spent finding the best seating position, the steering wheel feels great in your hands, and the footrest doesn’t impinge on your comfort. Perhaps the journalists who’ve complained about having to make constant steering adjustments aren’t looking far enough down the road, and it certainly steers best with 2 hands on the wheel. I use a variation of the ‘leading hand’ steering technique which seems to work well in the Grenadier. The wide turning circle, however, is something I’m still getting used to.

One little excursion off road allowed me to lock the centre diff, which was easy to do on the move. I’m very much looking forward to trying out low range and locking the other diffs as soon as I get a chance. The TPMS is (fairly) easy to reset when you’ve aired down, although you’ve got to work your way through a few levels of options.

I’ve only done one full day of driving, but on that day I arrived home with no pain or stiffness, so I’m very happy with the seats.

A few random warnings have come up briefly on the main display, but then disappeared on their own. The only serious software issue I’ve had was on one occasion when the main display froze, together with the steering wheel controls and the rotary controller. The display wouldn’t turn off when the vehicle was stopped and locked. I ended up removing fuse FC12 (located under the ignition key) to allow the Head Unit to reboot, and then everything was back in order.

Giving my car its first wash allowed me to inspect every nook and cranny, and no, when I’d finished and opened a door, I wasn’t showered with water, and there wasn’t any water inside.

Big thanks to the team at Purnell Adventure, and of course to Justin Hocevar and the team at INEOS Australia for all their efforts behind the scenes.

View: https://youtu.be/JNbVzEuArx8
 
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James

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I’ve had my Trialmaster Utility Wagon for a week now, and with just under 1000km on the clock, I thought I’d share my first impressions.

I love how solid it is, and how pleasant it is to drive.

Cru]
View: https://youtu.be/JNbVzEuArx8
Great to hear (and see) Michael, thanks. Its beginning to look like local cars are having relatively minor issues, hopefully that;s both improving factory processes, and great pdi from local agents.
out of interest, are you ok to share the month of build, or last 4 digits of vin?

look forward to seeing you out and about, hopefully soon😊
 

Michael H.

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Great to hear (and see) Michael, thanks. Its beginning to look like local cars are having relatively minor issues, hopefully that;s both improving factory processes, and great pdi from local agents.
out of interest, are you ok to share the month of build, or last 4 digits of vin?

look forward to seeing you out and about, hopefully soon😊
Hi James. Mine is a Feb 23 build. 🙂
 

James

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Great news, to have few if any faults in such an early build - batch and hold was i full swing then. Congrats again, green w envy.
 

rovie

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I’ve had my Trialmaster Utility Wagon for a week now, and with just under 1000km on the clock, I thought I’d share my first impressions.

I love how solid it is, and how pleasant it is to drive.

Cruising along on the blacktop is very comfortable. The speed display is nice and high and in your peripheral vision, so there’s no issue there. I actually find it easier to see than in my previous vehicles. I like the way the transmission auto-downshifts when you apply the brakes going down a long hill. Some other cars do this quite aggressively, but the Grenadier’s setup is excellent.

With a little time spent finding the best seating position, the steering wheel feels great in your hands, and the footrest doesn’t impinge on your comfort. Perhaps the journalists who’ve complained about having to make constant steering adjustments aren’t looking far enough down the road, and it certainly steers best with 2 hands on the wheel. I use a variation of the ‘leading hand’ steering technique which seems to work well in the Grenadier. The wide turning circle, however, is something I’m still getting used to.

One little excursion off road allowed me to lock the centre diff, which was easy to do on the move. I’m very much looking forward to trying out low range and locking the other diffs as soon as I get a chance. The TPMS is (fairly) easy to reset when you’ve aired down, although you’ve got to work your way through a few levels of options.

I’ve only done one full day of driving, but on that day I arrived home with no pain or stiffness, so I’m very happy with the seats.

A few random warnings have come up briefly on the main display, but then disappeared on their own. The only serious software issue I’ve had was on one occasion when the main display froze, together with the steering wheel controls and the rotary controller. The display wouldn’t turn off when the vehicle was stopped and locked. I ended up removing fuse FC12 (located under the ignition key) to allow the Head Unit to reboot, and then everything was back in order.

Giving my car its first wash allowed me to inspect every nook and cranny, and no, when I’d finished and opened a door, I wasn’t showered with water, and there wasn’t any water inside.

Big thanks to the team at Purnell Adventure, and of course to Justin Hocevar and the team at INEOS Australia for all their efforts behind the scenes.

View: https://youtu.be/JNbVzEuArx8
Great video, great vehicle. This could be mine. ;)
 

Sam

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Not taken delivery, but on-road test-drive yesterday in a production Grenadier, principally to form a judgement on steering/ left foot hump/ in-city behaviour.

Context is everything with regard to steering, i.e. will depend on what youre coming to the IG from. Lack of self-centering will take a little getting used to but it's a truck and i'm coming from an old 110. No doubt there'll be a lot of comments from those comparing unfavourably to their VW Golf of Jeep YeeHaw or whatever.

Perfectly possible to live pleasantly with this car in the city, if you've done same in a 110, Landcruiser, etc.

Also at dealers was first WA-delivered car getting serviced after 13,000km of adventure travel. An amazing car with lots of dirt and broken front/ rear glass. Owner was glowing... i'm sure some on here will know of this car/owner (i'm not on facebook)...
 

James

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