Summary first impressions...
Collected from 4x4 Garage Canberra (Australia) last Friday, 1 September. The process for payment and collection was smooth and the car was very clean and well prepped.
Overall impression is the package is a lot more cohesive than I was expecting. Feels tight and well integrated.
Random thoughts/comments...
VIN – ending in 21**. Petrol. Only on-road so far.
The steering reminds me of my old earl fork BMW motorcycle (or the newer r12xxgs type) in that it does remove the driver a little from the wheels are doing, but not in a bad way.. just a little remote feeling. 'Wafty' almost. Once used to it is totally fine and given the car’s design parameters I think fully justified.
Steering is light and I find tracks well enough at all speeds. One handed driving is fine. Turning circle is OK. I have had it in a tight carpark and it required a little manoeuvring but we got there (and fit in a 2.2m posted underground Aldi carpark with full roof rack fitted).
On exiting a turn it does require a light hand to manually return to centre but this is easy to adapt to and not something I consider a problem. After a few days it's already loaded into my motor memory. Handles very well at speed. Confidence inspiring.
Suspension is solid and quite firm. There's very little roll on cornering. You can feel the weight of both the vehicle and the un-sprung mass but it handles it very well.
The car is large, but not ungainly so. You sit high. I don’t feel like the footprint is that large though and it drives easy on quite narrow motorway lanes and suburban streets. Good visibility of the corners up front.
I do find rearward vision not great and the rear camera isn’t as broad focussed as I may have liked. Workable but need to take a second to check all angles behind. Mine came with two taller rear seat headrests either side of the smaller one in the middle.
I quite like the way the BMW shifter works. After a week I find myself shifting (D/R/N/P) without any visual check.
Hump in RHD is a non-issue. Can't say I notice it at all.
Rock sliders do not afford a step for entry or exit. I’m 5/11 and find I can get in/out with some shuffling without too much hassle. I may have to look for something to attach to them to help passengers.
I haven’t played with the front and rear lockers but the centre diff engaged low range and locking functions with a little jiggling and feels solid. As a mechanical interface (you can feel the parts moving as you move the lever) I’m sure it will loosen up in time.
Driving noise is fine. Radio and other on screen doo-dads appear to work well enough. Screen is easy to read. The onscreen display provides good level of information without being silly. Minor annoyance is the volume control isn't as granular as I would like - but that's very minor and being very picky.
I find I don't need the sun visor much due to the roof line... which is good as I have to lean forward to reach it. It is super solid visor and adds to the overall feeling of quality. I don't have the safari windows (full roof rack) and don't think I will miss them. Never use them on any other cars I've owned and I like to keep the sun (heat) out as much as possible.
Android Auto on an older Samsung Note8 works when connected (usb c - usb c cable) but does drop out every now and then. Yet to work out why. I feel it may be a setting issue. It seems to self correct after a few minutes. Not sure if I can get it to work wirelessly but I like to charge the phone anyhow so plugging in is fine.
I have had a few alarms (beep/wands) from centre console (TPMS, power steering, rear seat belt) as reported elsewhere. They're not common - perhaps occurring once in every 4 drives - and none that don’t go away after a few seconds except one rear seatbelt alarm I had to restart the car to deactivate (following my son leaving things on the seat when he got out which I think triggered it). No issues with parking sensors which appear to work fine. There is an option in the car’s setting to lower the alarm volume (High/Medium/Low).
Consumption (Petrol – from brand new, with roof rack) in first 500km (300km at 110km/h and rest suburban) is ~15ltr per 100km. Reasonable for what it is.
Power is solid. Haven’t pushed it but gets off the mark when required and handles well at speed. Gearbox to me seems to work hard but is smooth and unobtrusive and well suited to the purpose. I'm used to a 5 speed auto so probably why I notice the more regular shifting.
The owner's manual/book is nothing special (I think it’s the same as the soft copy doing the rounds here) and for the car’s purpose need to be supplemented with proper schematics and more detailed instructions. I really hope Ineos stick to their word on this as the car deserves to live up to the intent.
Noticed on the steel wheels the three circular cut-outs opposite the valve are smaller than the remainder. I think to offset the valve and TPMS sensor weight. Nice touch.
Love the magic mushroom colour. As does the missus. The paint is superb.
I got mine on the original price before any rises and for the car I think it's great value. It's something different and I think that's worth something unto itself.
I haven’t done the poll on this site as yet, I'll give it a few weeks, but at this point would say – “Minor problems not affecting day to day driving, can be dealt with at next service”. Not quite 100% but close and very happy.
Collected from 4x4 Garage Canberra (Australia) last Friday, 1 September. The process for payment and collection was smooth and the car was very clean and well prepped.
Overall impression is the package is a lot more cohesive than I was expecting. Feels tight and well integrated.
Random thoughts/comments...
VIN – ending in 21**. Petrol. Only on-road so far.
The steering reminds me of my old earl fork BMW motorcycle (or the newer r12xxgs type) in that it does remove the driver a little from the wheels are doing, but not in a bad way.. just a little remote feeling. 'Wafty' almost. Once used to it is totally fine and given the car’s design parameters I think fully justified.
Steering is light and I find tracks well enough at all speeds. One handed driving is fine. Turning circle is OK. I have had it in a tight carpark and it required a little manoeuvring but we got there (and fit in a 2.2m posted underground Aldi carpark with full roof rack fitted).
On exiting a turn it does require a light hand to manually return to centre but this is easy to adapt to and not something I consider a problem. After a few days it's already loaded into my motor memory. Handles very well at speed. Confidence inspiring.
Suspension is solid and quite firm. There's very little roll on cornering. You can feel the weight of both the vehicle and the un-sprung mass but it handles it very well.
The car is large, but not ungainly so. You sit high. I don’t feel like the footprint is that large though and it drives easy on quite narrow motorway lanes and suburban streets. Good visibility of the corners up front.
I do find rearward vision not great and the rear camera isn’t as broad focussed as I may have liked. Workable but need to take a second to check all angles behind. Mine came with two taller rear seat headrests either side of the smaller one in the middle.
I quite like the way the BMW shifter works. After a week I find myself shifting (D/R/N/P) without any visual check.
Hump in RHD is a non-issue. Can't say I notice it at all.
Rock sliders do not afford a step for entry or exit. I’m 5/11 and find I can get in/out with some shuffling without too much hassle. I may have to look for something to attach to them to help passengers.
I haven’t played with the front and rear lockers but the centre diff engaged low range and locking functions with a little jiggling and feels solid. As a mechanical interface (you can feel the parts moving as you move the lever) I’m sure it will loosen up in time.
Driving noise is fine. Radio and other on screen doo-dads appear to work well enough. Screen is easy to read. The onscreen display provides good level of information without being silly. Minor annoyance is the volume control isn't as granular as I would like - but that's very minor and being very picky.
I find I don't need the sun visor much due to the roof line... which is good as I have to lean forward to reach it. It is super solid visor and adds to the overall feeling of quality. I don't have the safari windows (full roof rack) and don't think I will miss them. Never use them on any other cars I've owned and I like to keep the sun (heat) out as much as possible.
Android Auto on an older Samsung Note8 works when connected (usb c - usb c cable) but does drop out every now and then. Yet to work out why. I feel it may be a setting issue. It seems to self correct after a few minutes. Not sure if I can get it to work wirelessly but I like to charge the phone anyhow so plugging in is fine.
I have had a few alarms (beep/wands) from centre console (TPMS, power steering, rear seat belt) as reported elsewhere. They're not common - perhaps occurring once in every 4 drives - and none that don’t go away after a few seconds except one rear seatbelt alarm I had to restart the car to deactivate (following my son leaving things on the seat when he got out which I think triggered it). No issues with parking sensors which appear to work fine. There is an option in the car’s setting to lower the alarm volume (High/Medium/Low).
Consumption (Petrol – from brand new, with roof rack) in first 500km (300km at 110km/h and rest suburban) is ~15ltr per 100km. Reasonable for what it is.
Power is solid. Haven’t pushed it but gets off the mark when required and handles well at speed. Gearbox to me seems to work hard but is smooth and unobtrusive and well suited to the purpose. I'm used to a 5 speed auto so probably why I notice the more regular shifting.
The owner's manual/book is nothing special (I think it’s the same as the soft copy doing the rounds here) and for the car’s purpose need to be supplemented with proper schematics and more detailed instructions. I really hope Ineos stick to their word on this as the car deserves to live up to the intent.
Noticed on the steel wheels the three circular cut-outs opposite the valve are smaller than the remainder. I think to offset the valve and TPMS sensor weight. Nice touch.
Love the magic mushroom colour. As does the missus. The paint is superb.
I got mine on the original price before any rises and for the car I think it's great value. It's something different and I think that's worth something unto itself.
I haven’t done the poll on this site as yet, I'll give it a few weeks, but at this point would say – “Minor problems not affecting day to day driving, can be dealt with at next service”. Not quite 100% but close and very happy.