Ineos Grenadier in Perth, WA... 4/6th Nov

[bemax]

Whereas a forum whittles down to the core audience of enthusiast.

Nicely said

 

[Sam]

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!



so much fun today

 

[Davman]

More details Sammy.

 

[Camskii]

I discussed the forum with them and they have been bitten by the facebook groups acting like dicks. One of the other customers googled the group and asked me if he had found the right one.

Yep it's beyond painful on FB right now. No point engaging the trolls

 

[Sam]

More details Sammy.

Is very easy to drive. No fuss.
Point it at anything, it goes over, as if trivial.
Defender owners will find the drivers view very familiar.
The lack of cockpit tasks, less so.
It really was very easy to drive. One-handed 4wd-ing.
Large, solid, stable - not characterised by 0-100 times, torques, powery things. It can cope.
It'll trample nature - or winery carparks. Supermarket car parks... unclear. There wasn't a lot of tarmac.
You'll feel like a boss.
It made me wish for Lions to spot... gin and tonic to go with
A great blend of modern push-buttons and mechanical controls, where apt.
Low/high range needs LOTS of force - engaging will be a minor special occasion, each time
My +1, and the wife (yes she was my +2) couldn't help but be impressed
Justin Hocevar was interesting and lovely, as was everyone from Ineos

I think Ineos have done a superb job and they'll be super-popular in WA

 

[Donnam]

Well said Sam, we drove the black Grenadier in Perth this afternoon & totally agree with all your comments, including the G&T with lions to spot. Shout out to Neil the passenger/instructor, he was a fantastic. For the people who have booked but have yet to drive, you are in for an absolute treat.

 

[DaveB]

Is very easy to drive. No fuss.
Point it at anything, it goes over, as if trivial.
Defender owners will find the drivers view very familiar.
The lack of cockpit tasks, less so.
It really was very easy to drive. One-handed 4wd-ing.
Large, solid, stable - not characterised by 0-100 times, torques, powery things. It can cope.
It'll trample nature - or winery carparks. Supermarket car parks... unclear. There wasn't a lot of tarmac.
You'll feel like a boss.
It made me wish for Lions to spot... gin and tonic to go with
A great blend of modern push-buttons and mechanical controls, where apt.
Low/high range needs LOTS of force - engaging will be a minor special occasion, each time
My +1, and the wife (yes she was my +2) couldn't help but be impressed
Justin Hocevar was interesting and lovely, as was everyone from Ineos

I think Ineos have done a superb job and they'll be super-popular in WA

Yes they were a good bunch of guys and clearly enjoying what they are doing.
I think the Perth track was probably as hard as most buyers will go except on the east coast there will be a bit of loose ravel/rock work.
In the first stage where we were in high 4 locked I commented that many other 4WD owners would have been grabbing low locked but the Grenadier did it effortlessly

 

[Keato]

Very impressed seeing it in Perth, as I missed the first visit. Like the tall load space and the overall look and feel is solid.

Seats are very comfortable even in fabric - so much so that I might drop the leather from my order.

Only downsides from my perspective were paint quality (a bit orange-peel - if they had the painting quality of the colour samples, I'd be really impressed); bull bar capacity (spec'd at 80kg strike at 100kmh / vehicle damaged but drivable - would prefer vehicle undamaged) and the driver's left foot rest.

Apparently the inside of the right rear door is to be redesigned with the fold-down table, and the "long-awaited accessory catalog" will be out in December with a drawer system to create a fully flat floor with rear seats folded. Just hope that includes a pull-out ladder for access as the floor will be about 4' AGL.

So, just finished my test drive and, to be honest, I didn’t notice the footrest as an issue at all. Surprised myself when I got out and realised that I had forgotten to worry about it.

The car handles really nicely. The track circuit was in use by others when I went out, so on road was limited to a bit of hooning through some witches hats, but the car was impressive in its flat stance through sharp high-speed turns, and accelerated pretty quick off the line.

As others have commented, the view out the front window when off-road is very Defender-like. That means you do have to duck your head to look up when approaching a steep climb ahead as the top of the windscreen is quite a distance in front of you, and you have to edge the nose over at the top of a crest to see the track on the downhill, but that is no real problem.

Soft sand in H4 with CDL was no issue, even with tyres at road pressure.

Interesting feature is that the centre display gives you a gear shift recommendation when in manual mode, but it holds the selected gear rather than changing for you. So, for instance, when I was in L4 and 4th gear, it was recommending that I change down to 3rd when revs dropped, but it held 4th.

Overall, very nice to drive.

 

[DaveB]

So, just finished my test drive and, to be honest, I didn’t notice the footrest as an issue at all. Surprised myself when I got out and realised that I had forgotten to worry about it.

The car handles really nicely. The track circuit was in use by others when I went out, so on road was limited to a bit of hooning through some witches hats, but the car was impressive in its flat stance through sharp high-speed turns, and accelerated pretty quick off the line.

As others have commented, the view out the front window when off-road is very Defender-like. That means you do have to duck your head to look up when approaching a steep climb ahead as the top of the windscreen is quite a distance in front of you, and you have to edge the nose over at the top of a crest to see the track on the downhill, but that is no real problem.

Soft sand in H4 with CDL was no issue, even with tyres at road pressure.

Interesting feature is that the centre display gives you a gear shift recommendation when in manual mode, but it holds the selected gear rather than changing for you. So, for instance, when I was in L4 and 4th gear, it was recommending that I change down to 3rd when revs dropped, but it held 4th.

Overall, very nice to drive.

They were a couple of tricky hills to go over
Particularly the one with the pipe which changed direction a bit just over the top.
Couldn't see anything but bonnet and sky
The big right hander with fairly deep sand was also impressive considering it was in 4 H

 

[DCPU]

Interesting feature is that the centre display gives you a gear shift recommendation when in manual mode, but it holds the selected gear rather than changing for you. So, for instance, when I was in L4 and 4th gear, it was recommending that I change down to 3rd when revs dropped, but it held 4th.

That's a nice nugget ~ not seen anyone mention that before.

 

[Keato]

They were a couple of tricky hills to go over
Particularly the one with the pipe which changed direction a bit just over the top.
Couldn't see anything but bonnet and sky
The big right hander with fairly deep sand was also impressive considering it was in 4 H

Agree. Fun, wasn’t it!

 

[Sam]

Reading @Keato ‘s great write-up reminded me to mention one other thing: body roll … or lack of it

On-road cornering at speed very much less roll than my fender

 

[DCPU]

Reading @Keato ‘s great write-up reminded me to mention one other thing: body roll … or lack of it

On-road cornering at speed very much less roll than my fender

What model Defender have you got?

 

[Sam]

What model Defender have you got?

2010 110 Puma, standard setup

 

[DCPU]

2010 110 Puma, standard setup

~ so should be very similar/identical to my 2013 one with standard issue roll bars front & rear.

 

[DCPU]

The circus moves on...

 

[Zacman110]

I’ve posted this review on the IG Oz FB page but this might be of interest to the forum audience: Went for a drive in Perth in the grey PT02. About 15-20mins with a mix of tarmac and off-road. Tarmac was winding with a max of about 80kmh, and a hard stop on the brakes at the end. Off-road section had a bit of soft sand, hill climbs and crests, rough tracks and we used low and high range both with centre diff lock, and high unlocked. I normally drive an ‘02 Defender 110 with a lift and adjustable suspension etc etc, and I think the Grenadier was as good or better. I would certainly have been very cautious over the obstacles in my own car. It was very composed on the off-road sections, and the auto was very good. You could tell when it was shifting under load but coasting on the tarmac it was very smooth. Tried the manual mode off-road and that was good and easy to use. It hangs onto the gears more in low as well. The footrest is a non issue in my opinion - as soon as you’re driving and pressing pedals it feels very natural and comfortable - I’m probably biased from the terrible Defender seating position though! The steering wheel was more strange being two spoke - I had to really think about where it was pointing when doing big steering angles on the off road sections. The turning circle is alright, and the diesel has a nice huff and whistle to it under boost but isn’t rattly at all (did the whole course with the windows down). Power wise it felt similar to my Dads stock 200 series when you put the boot in . The centre screen is good and I was surprised as how good the visibility is from the drivers seat over the corners (similar to a Defender/Disco 4), and you sit nice and high vice sitting down in it like a Cruiser with just lots of bonnet. Lots of steering wheel adjustment, but the seat just went forward/back *edit: seat also goes up and down - I just didn’t realise*. No rattles and it seems really well built, all the switch gear and panels are solid and it feels right especially on the suspension side. The paint already had some pinstriping which is making me reconsider my Donny Grey order, and maybe getting a lighter colour. It is a very handsome car in the grey though and it looks very nice in the sun - maybe I’ll just get a wrap. Watching it on the track it reminds me of a G Wagon from the front and a Defender when it’s driving away, but certainly has a unique look as it drives around. The DRLs look very good too. I wasn’t 100% sure up to this point but am now very confident in the vehicle and also Justin Hocevar and the team. They were excellent today and answered all of my naff questions, especially re dealers, after sales support, contracts, etc. Looking forward to getting mine!

 

[DaveB]

I’ve posted this review on the IG Oz FB page but this might be of interest to the forum audience:View attachment 7796151 Went for a drive in Perth in the grey PT02. About 15-20mins with a mix of tarmac and off-road. Tarmac was winding with a max of about 80kmh, and a hard stop on the brakes at the end. Off-road section had a bit of soft sand, hill climbs and crests, rough tracks and we used low and high range both with centre diff lock, and high unlocked. I normally drive an ‘02 Defender 110 with a lift and adjustable suspension etc etc, and I think the Grenadier was as good or better. I would certainly have been very cautious over the obstacles in my own car. It was very composed on the off-road sections, and the auto was very good. You could tell when it was shifting under load but coasting on the tarmac it was very smooth. Tried the manual mode off-road and that was good and easy to use. It hangs onto the gears more in low as well. The footrest is a non issue in my opinion - as soon as you’re driving and pressing pedals it feels very natural and comfortable - I’m probably biased from the terrible Defender seating position though! The steering wheel was more strange being two spoke - I had to really think about where it was pointing when doing big steering angles on the off road sections. The turning circle is alright, and the diesel has a nice huff and whistle to it under boost but isn’t rattly at all (did the whole course with the windows down). Power wise it felt similar to my Dads stock 200 series when you put the boot in . The centre screen is good and I was surprised as how good the visibility is from the drivers seat over the corners (similar to a Defender/Disco 4), and you sit nice and high vice sitting down in it like a Cruiser with just lots of bonnet. Lots of steering wheel adjustment, but the seat just went forward/back *edit: seat also goes up and down - I just didn’t realise*. No rattles and it seems really well built, all the switch gear and panels are solid and it feels right especially on the suspension side. The paint already had some pinstriping which is making me reconsider my Donny Grey order, and maybe getting a lighter colour. It is a very handsome car in the grey though and it looks very nice in the sun - maybe I’ll just get a wrap. Watching it on the track it reminds me of a G Wagon from the front and a Defender when it’s driving away, but certainly has a unique look as it drives around. The DRLs look very good too. I wasn’t 100% sure up to this point but am now very confident in the vehicle and also Justin Hocevar and the team. They were excellent today and answered all of my naff questions, especially re dealers, after sales support, contracts, etc. Looking forward to getting mine!

I did a couple of circuits in the back seat and was tossed around a fair bit.
In the drivers seat no problems at all. The seats were very supportive

 

[Arkaig]

I did a couple of circuits in the back seat and was tossed around a fair bit.

That'll have been Hocevar's driving returning the favour of all your tosse questions !

 

[bigleonski]

I’ve posted this review on the IG Oz FB page but this might be of interest to the forum audience:View attachment 7796151 Went for a drive in Perth in the grey PT02. About 15-20mins with a mix of tarmac and off-road. Tarmac was winding with a max of about 80kmh, and a hard stop on the brakes at the end. Off-road section had a bit of soft sand, hill climbs and crests, rough tracks and we used low and high range both with centre diff lock, and high unlocked. I normally drive an ‘02 Defender 110 with a lift and adjustable suspension etc etc, and I think the Grenadier was as good or better. I would certainly have been very cautious over the obstacles in my own car. It was very composed on the off-road sections, and the auto was very good. You could tell when it was shifting under load but coasting on the tarmac it was very smooth. Tried the manual mode off-road and that was good and easy to use. It hangs onto the gears more in low as well. The footrest is a non issue in my opinion - as soon as you’re driving and pressing pedals it feels very natural and comfortable - I’m probably biased from the terrible Defender seating position though! The steering wheel was more strange being two spoke - I had to really think about where it was pointing when doing big steering angles on the off road sections. The turning circle is alright, and the diesel has a nice huff and whistle to it under boost but isn’t rattly at all (did the whole course with the windows down). Power wise it felt similar to my Dads stock 200 series when you put the boot in . The centre screen is good and I was surprised as how good the visibility is from the drivers seat over the corners (similar to a Defender/Disco 4), and you sit nice and high vice sitting down in it like a Cruiser with just lots of bonnet. Lots of steering wheel adjustment, but the seat just went forward/back *edit: seat also goes up and down - I just didn’t realise*. No rattles and it seems really well built, all the switch gear and panels are solid and it feels right especially on the suspension side. The paint already had some pinstriping which is making me reconsider my Donny Grey order, and maybe getting a lighter colour. It is a very handsome car in the grey though and it looks very nice in the sun - maybe I’ll just get a wrap. Watching it on the track it reminds me of a G Wagon from the front and a Defender when it’s driving away, but certainly has a unique look as it drives around. The DRLs look very good too. I wasn’t 100% sure up to this point but am now very confident in the vehicle and also Justin Hocevar and the team. They were excellent today and answered all of my naff questions, especially re dealers, after sales support, contracts, etc. Looking forward to getting mine!

Thanks Zacman. Out of interest did your father get to drive it? Offroad capability seems to be a no doubt issue, but I’m keen to get the perspective of someone who has a 200 as a daily driver around town and on the highway.