INEOS Grenadier
- Thread starter ERover82
- Start date
Oy, ya looks like we’ll be in the $70-80k range for a decent one then. Unfortunate, yet expected.
Had a nice drive today. Very nice trucks.
edit - they said the big guy is at their NA headquarters today in North Carolina and they are finalizing pricing today. It will be released May 11th. Then 3 or 4 weeks for the people on the reserved list to place an order before it opens up to everyone. Then construction in August/September in the France factory then delivery by Christmas unless some major upset happens. The NA dealer network is being ironed out now and should be announced soon. Every city where they are offering test drives will have a dealer. Expect dealer markups even though Ineos is trying to discourage.
edit - they said the big guy is at their NA headquarters today in North Carolina and they are finalizing pricing today. It will be released May 11th. Then 3 or 4 weeks for the people on the reserved list to place an order before it opens up to everyone. Then construction in August/September in the France factory then delivery by Christmas unless some major upset happens. The NA dealer network is being ironed out now and should be announced soon. Every city where they are offering test drives will have a dealer. Expect dealer markups even though Ineos is trying to discourage.
I heard May 17 and 4 weeks. Haven't heard of dealer markups... that would certainly be a giant downer.
They said they (Ineos) can't control whether or not the dealer marks them up but they are strongly discouraging it. But there's not much they can do at first because all deliveries will be for actual orders. Otherwise they'd screw with a bad dealer's allocation. But you can change your delivery dealer if your local dealer is playing games - if the Phoenix dealer is putting a $10K markup on a truck then I could have it delivered to San Diego instead. I'm trying to figure out if I can buy two of them right off the bat and then flip one with my own special markup....LOL
Backseats aren't even close to folding flat, which is a major con for me.
How easy do they look to remove? With that config I'd be tempted to pull them out for longer trips like I do with my Disco.
I read it’s easy, and then you get the flat floor. Or maybe it was the seat bottom gets removed and then it’s flat? Either way someone on another forum said it wasn’t a big deal.
There are a series of torx screws for the plastic trim but I couldn't really see the true seat mounting bolts. It's probably not too big of a deal to remove them but, as I recall from removing my D1 and D2 seats, it's still a pain in the ass unbolting and lugging the heavy seats into the garage each time you want to go camping and either need the cargo space or want to sleep in the back. The D1 seats weren't too heavy but the D2 seats were. These Grenadier seats look pretty heavy, probably like the D2 seats.
Then it looks like you'll be left with this under-seat box area once seats are removed. This would extend the level of the rear load space for a total of about 5 feet or so of flat area. You'd have to stuff the rear footwell with your cargo like you had to do with the D1 to make a flat sleeping area.
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The OEM winch was nicely tucked into the bumper. So nicely tucked in that you really can't see anything. Hopefully the line will spool nicely because you'll never know. The winch control lever is kind of hanging out in the breeze and it will eventually get knocked on something.
The cockpit is damn cool with all the switch gear and the little overhead sunroofs and middle row of switches. The lack of an instrument cluster over the steering wheel is too odd though. You really need a speedo and tach in front of you. At least I do. Looking away from the road and to the center screen for basic information such as speed, revs, gear, etc. is just plain stupid. It's the trendy thing and this truck isn't supposed to be trendy. Ditto the BMW drive selector. I asked the main engineering guy if that was truly the final design and he laughed and said that is the one thing that he can't stand but he's afraid it's final. It looks so incongruous next to that nice round transfer case selector knob. Oh, and the glove box sucks too. Can keep a pack of gum in there. Seats are comfy but pretty narrow. Pistol is going to really be stuffed against your side in these seats. Arm rest is on door is perfect, just like the LR4.
You can make a 4" tall shelf/storage in the back, or remove the seats altogether to get a flat floor.
That whole shiter thing is interesting. I can't find the thread on one of the facebook forums, but apparently those shift levers need to go through some level of testing for safety, etc. For Ineos to get a new lever, they woudl have had to take on what I suppose is a high cost and time delay to design a new one. I had no idea. I agree that it could look better, but oh well.
I heard the cost is going to be starting at 80k for the USA market. To me, that blows it. 60-65K and I may have been a player. 80k is just too much for what it offers. With all the goodies, it is still, to me, only for "light off roading" and you can order up (gasp) a Defender that is probably just as capable (again, for light off roading) for far less. Afraid it will end up being the "poor person's G-Wagon" not the awesome, resonably priced, true Defender replacement the set out to make. If ithe starting price for a 2023 Defender is 53,500, how can they possibly claim to be the rightful successor?
My test drive in the Chicago area is coming up in May, maybe that will make a believer out of me, but I highly, highly doubt it for 80k.
I heard the cost is going to be starting at 80k for the USA market. To me, that blows it. 60-65K and I may have been a player. 80k is just too much for what it offers. With all the goodies, it is still, to me, only for "light off roading" and you can order up (gasp) a Defender that is probably just as capable (again, for light off roading) for far less. Afraid it will end up being the "poor person's G-Wagon" not the awesome, resonably priced, true Defender replacement the set out to make. If ithe starting price for a 2023 Defender is 53,500, how can they possibly claim to be the rightful successor?
My test drive in the Chicago area is coming up in May, maybe that will make a believer out of me, but I highly, highly doubt it for 80k.
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You need to look beyond the sticker price and think about overall value. Everything is speculation at this point because the vehicle hasn't even been delivered, but if an $80K Grenadier lasts 300,000 miles with just the replacement of wear parts, then that's a better value than a less expensive alternative with a shorter lifespan. Likewise with the new Defender, it's early days and we'll see in ten years how they hold up. Maybe they'll be as durable as the LR3, maybe they'll be like the first gen Freelander. Too soon to tell and meanwhile buying either a Grenadier or a Defender is a leap of faith. We won't really know how good of a value the Grenadier is until 10 or 15 years from now. But on paper it looks like it was built to last.
Everyone on this forum never had 300k reliablity, at least not that I have heard. That's Toyota territory and LR doesn't play there. If the engine lasts, the body rots away. No BMW motor that I am aware of is a 300k motor. The best predictions on the B58 motor longevity that I have found is 200k.
All that aside, the purpose, and initial draw, to the Ineo Grenadier was a "proper" Defender replacement at a "proper" price. I get it. Times have changed, supply lines suck, etc., etc.
However, when a base Defender 4-door defender is 53k and base Grenadier is 80k it changes the whole promise and premise.
They are still cool vehicles for sure, but they missed the mark. I would have hoped they would at least go head to head as base vehicles, or applicably close to make up for the V6 advantage as the only offering.
i know they will surely sell out in the USA, but, again, in my eyes they have already "sold out".
Tom