To those of you who plan to purchase, more power to you. I hope the Grenadier is everything you all hope it will be. What follows is my tyrannical rant/perspective of the Ineos Grenadier.
I like the concept and dislike the execution.
This was originally supposed to be a storied "utility" vehicle manufactured in Wales with it's origin in a British pub (The Grenadier) and has basically become what it claims to not to be; a conversation piece SUV for the wealthy.
Unlike the 2020+ Defender, the Grenadier was supposed to be focused on utility for agriculture, hard use in austere environments, employed by NGOs. The Grenadier is too expensive for it's alleged use case.
Instead of choosing engines with wide global parts availability and durability, not to mention reliability, they chose BMW! The I-6 Turbos are direct injected and require high quality fuels (ULSD and high octane petrol) with ZF gearboxes.
Exterior design is very good, essentially what many people find missing from the new Defender. It's the old Defender plus a sprinkle of G-Wagon and 70-Series Land Cruiser. Why provide metallic paint colors for this utilitarian form-follows-function vehicle?
Interior sucks IMHO. It does not know if it is a utility vehicle or a high-end SUV. ZF shifter is totally out of place with the cartoonish aircraft switches with painted labeling. Fancy leather steering wheel designed to wear like a saddle matches nothing else in the cabin. No rear armrest because it's a utility vehicle? Why all the boujee gloss black trim?
Magna Steyr suspension and steering look very stout and also the polar opposite of the new Defender which is great. Ruined ground clearance with low running boards, smallish wheels, and crap departure angle; why add a huge skid plate below exhaust instead of tucking-up exhaust?
This vehicle is for wealthy people who miss the Defender and are not happy the new Defender is unibody with 4-wheel independent suspension. I would put my P300 Defender 110 against this thing damn near anywhere (mud, rock, snow/ice) and expect a better result in my Defender (without active rear locker). My 2020 Defender might even tow better?
If the goal was to make British Utility vehicles (SUV and Pick-Up) better than the old Defenders they should have tried much harder to keep it made in U.K. and not compromised on powertrain; by that I mean installing performance engines rather than high duty cycle heavy duty engines. Should have chosen port injected petrol (preferably) V8 capable of running poor quality, low octane gasoline (petrol) and ideally mechanical pump direct injected turbo diesel capable of running, DF-2, DF-1 (Kerosene), JP-8. Tons of choices: Iveco, GM, Cummins, Toyota, VM Motori yet Ineos picked BMW?
Approach, departure, breakover angles all need to be improved to and 33" wheels minimum should have been fitted. It should be setup to allow factory lifts for 35" and 37" wheels.
Halo Trust is the only NGO I have seen publicize they will be using the Grenadier; guessing some might be donated by Ineos? MAG, UN, IRC, etc will not be purchasing these as fleet vehicles when they can still purchase Land Cruiser 70-Series and keep their old Defenders running. Crap fuel, irregular maintenance, and limited parts availability are key factors here.
No doubt "overlanders" and enthusiasts will purchase most if not all of the Grenadier models. So why buy an Ineos Grenadier? Is it more British since it looks like an old Defender and is manufactured in Hambach, Germany? Because it is a real farm vehicle with its BMW/ZF powertrains? Maybe because it's a real bush vehicle as there are BMW dealerships everywhere (there are many globally) though maybe not in Afghanistan, the Congo, Cambodia, etc..
I know my Defender was made in Slovakia and I am fine with that. I am also fine buying 93 octane for my P300 as it's available most places I go except out in the western U.S. where I buy 91 octane. Totally OK knowing my family hauler/weekend wheeler is not a pure agricultural utility vehicle.
I would not plan on using my vehicle for work in austere environments without tow/recovery services.
