I don't understand the whole discussion. The Grenadier is what it is and the ND is what it is. Comparing the two always leads in the wrong direction. I don't see any competition between the two, as the clientele that uses these vehicles is very different. It doesn't matter who sells more units. One thing is clear: JLR wants to advertise that customers see the ND as a continuation of the tradition of the old Defender. But that's completely wrong, unless we jump on that bandwagon and compare the Grenadier with the ND. Advertising can claim a lot, whether you believe it is up to you.
Let's look at it from a different angle: since I started driving the Grenadier, I've noticed that drivers of old Defenders greet me when we meet and we even strike up a conversation if we happen to park somewhere together. This circle also extends to other vehicles when we “upgrade” in the spring, i.e. when we stow all the boxes and things we “need” for an overland tour back in, on and around the vehicle. Then we “know” that we have similar setups, and it doesn't matter which vehicle we drive - roughly speaking. . Of course, we also talk about our vehicles, but mostly it's about where we've been and where we want to go and what experiences we've had. That's what makes it special. So it's not so much the shape and details of our vehicles that connect us, but what we do with them. Sometimes the roof load is more interesting than the vehicle underneath ;-) I had my first encounter with an ND “in the wild” shortly after its market launch in the south of France. At that time, there was no talk of the Grenadier. The encounter took place in front of a hotel. The two people who got out of the ND already showed which clientele JLR wanted to address in the future: he was wearing a suit, she a “fur coat” and hard-shell suitcases were unloaded from the vehicle, including a cosmetics case. No, that's not my world and never has been. I preferred the Queen in a Defender with wellies and a headscarf.
I love my Grenadier. Despite all the flaws and shortcomings it has already shown, I love this car. It's the best I've ever driven, even though maybe it's not the best on the market - that's a very inadequate subjective opinion anyway, because no one has ever driven or used everything that is or has been on the market. That's why I like to avoid superlatives for anything that is outside my world.
For me, the ND is nothing – just one SUV among many – even if it has Defender and Land Rover written on it ten times over. I drove a Mahindra CJ 340 for years and spent some time (despite a few kilometers) in a Land Rover Series III in the Congo. Yes - it was great fun and I learned a lot. Since the Mahindra, I've even been able to repair a starter motor, and the Land Rover Series III has made it possible for me to know at night where all the bones in my body are and what can hurt. And although I had to wait three times as long for spare parts for the Mahindra than for the Grenadier (the water pump, for example, was manufactured in the UK at the time, exclusively for export to India and had to be brought back to Europe first - waiting time 6 to 10 months), this vehicle was a lot of fun. If the trees in the forest were only a certain distance away, it went right through them. And it was allowed to pull 2 tons, which it did - albeit somewhat slowly. Well, that was a long time ago and today I don't want all that any more. The disadvantages that I overlooked back then weigh more heavily today. I'm also twice as old now.
So I compare my Grenadier with everything else I've driven: cars, off-road vehicles (I also had a Mercedes-Benz 250 GD Wolf in the army) and a camper van. I don't need to make comparisons with a vehicle that I'm not even considering borrowing.
You could also constantly draw comparisons between Mini (BMC) and Mini (BMW) and discuss them ...
Mahindra CJ - I had a red one
Let's look at it from a different angle: since I started driving the Grenadier, I've noticed that drivers of old Defenders greet me when we meet and we even strike up a conversation if we happen to park somewhere together. This circle also extends to other vehicles when we “upgrade” in the spring, i.e. when we stow all the boxes and things we “need” for an overland tour back in, on and around the vehicle. Then we “know” that we have similar setups, and it doesn't matter which vehicle we drive - roughly speaking. . Of course, we also talk about our vehicles, but mostly it's about where we've been and where we want to go and what experiences we've had. That's what makes it special. So it's not so much the shape and details of our vehicles that connect us, but what we do with them. Sometimes the roof load is more interesting than the vehicle underneath ;-) I had my first encounter with an ND “in the wild” shortly after its market launch in the south of France. At that time, there was no talk of the Grenadier. The encounter took place in front of a hotel. The two people who got out of the ND already showed which clientele JLR wanted to address in the future: he was wearing a suit, she a “fur coat” and hard-shell suitcases were unloaded from the vehicle, including a cosmetics case. No, that's not my world and never has been. I preferred the Queen in a Defender with wellies and a headscarf.
I love my Grenadier. Despite all the flaws and shortcomings it has already shown, I love this car. It's the best I've ever driven, even though maybe it's not the best on the market - that's a very inadequate subjective opinion anyway, because no one has ever driven or used everything that is or has been on the market. That's why I like to avoid superlatives for anything that is outside my world.
For me, the ND is nothing – just one SUV among many – even if it has Defender and Land Rover written on it ten times over. I drove a Mahindra CJ 340 for years and spent some time (despite a few kilometers) in a Land Rover Series III in the Congo. Yes - it was great fun and I learned a lot. Since the Mahindra, I've even been able to repair a starter motor, and the Land Rover Series III has made it possible for me to know at night where all the bones in my body are and what can hurt. And although I had to wait three times as long for spare parts for the Mahindra than for the Grenadier (the water pump, for example, was manufactured in the UK at the time, exclusively for export to India and had to be brought back to Europe first - waiting time 6 to 10 months), this vehicle was a lot of fun. If the trees in the forest were only a certain distance away, it went right through them. And it was allowed to pull 2 tons, which it did - albeit somewhat slowly. Well, that was a long time ago and today I don't want all that any more. The disadvantages that I overlooked back then weigh more heavily today. I'm also twice as old now.
So I compare my Grenadier with everything else I've driven: cars, off-road vehicles (I also had a Mercedes-Benz 250 GD Wolf in the army) and a camper van. I don't need to make comparisons with a vehicle that I'm not even considering borrowing.
You could also constantly draw comparisons between Mini (BMC) and Mini (BMW) and discuss them ...
Mahindra CJ - I had a red one
