Picked up my Queens Red Trailmaster about two weeks ago after stalking the brand and vehicle for the better part of a year. I’ve driven Jeeps, pickups, and even a couple Defenders overseas, so I had a solid idea of what I was getting into.
Originally, I ordered one in Devil Red to match my fleet — my Mercedes and Lexus are color-matched with my Jeep and Ram (see pic) — but after getting frustrated with the long delivery timeline, I got impulsive. Had a good week at work, walked into the dealership, and picked up the Queens Red for some instant gratification. I told the sales guy it might just be an extended test drive while I decide if the color grows on me.
Now, 500 miles and two weeks later, here are my first impressions:
Originally, I ordered one in Devil Red to match my fleet — my Mercedes and Lexus are color-matched with my Jeep and Ram (see pic) — but after getting frustrated with the long delivery timeline, I got impulsive. Had a good week at work, walked into the dealership, and picked up the Queens Red for some instant gratification. I told the sales guy it might just be an extended test drive while I decide if the color grows on me.
Now, 500 miles and two weeks later, here are my first impressions:
Pros:
- Love the size, weight, and feel. The aesthetics, the design and engineering are excellent, lots of nice touches and features. It drives great and feels solid on and off the road.
Cons:
- Storage is almost non-existent. For a vehicle that’s supposed to be trail-ready, it has about half the in-cab storage of my Ram or Wrangler. I asked the sales guy about the "bump" behind the ladder — he said it's a Euro-mandated cubby for safety gear. Cool, right? Except they covered it with a flat panel for the U.S. market. Why not just leave it and let us use the space?
- ADAS system is intrusive and underwhelming. Constant beeps and chimes with no clear purpose — and only about half of them seem to light up any actual warning indicators. There’s a big screen in front of you, but it doesn’t make the system any more useful. It doesn’t offer true adaptive cruise, no lane centering, and the braking is "emergency braking" only and may kick in 2 seconds before impact. For long drives (especially on PA highways or cross-country trips), adaptive cruise and lane keeping would be huge. Nearly every car I’ve driven in the past few years has it — and this thing is $90K, I was stunned at how primitive and basic it was.
