The ad was a great idea. But -- it didn’t really go for the jugular. It just sort of drove around the factory with a little billboard round the back. Nicely. I’d have twisted the knife a bit more if I were them, but ... fun nonetheless.

I am also now extremely PRO-Grennie. I was not until I’d driven it both on and offroad and talked to some lovely folks who drove one on the Alcan 5000 rally thru Alaska and who raved about it in great detail for 3 hours ... it piqued my interest, then ... well I started looking into it more.

I had the good fortune to spend a day driving the Grenadier offroad with the GM of the Grenadier dealership in Oregon, obviously he was trying to sell me one of the things, but he was also well versed in product knowledge and a good chap to boot. We had a blast. I drove half the time, he drove hte other half. It was great fun. The thing was awesome. It did throw lots of bongs and warnings but -- well -- so does my L663.

It looks great. It’s fun to drive. The 2 pop up sunroofs up front give a sense of occasion that are very old school LR. The fact that it can come with a winch and all the kit and kaboodle from the factory is amazing. The steering the journalists yip about does not bother me *one bit* either.

That said, I’d keep my Defender over the Grennie because the cost of change now is too high and the Grenadier is not great on the highway. (Note: I’ve somewhat modified my Defender to be suitably offroad capable).

To sum it up: In a perfect world, I would have both. The Defender here at my house in Portland, and the Grennie at the expensive cabin I don’t have in Montana or Utah. In other words, I don’t have the use case or extra cash for the Grenadier as my toy at the expensive second home yet. I’d look at it as a supplement for my Land Rovers, not as a replacement. I’d still choose the Defender over the Grenadier because I need to highway bomb from SF to Portland a few times a quarter and similarly 1-2 times a month from Portland to Seattle -- I don’t think that I’d be as happy or psyched doing that in the Grenadier. In the Defender, I can do that at 85 mph (or + ...) and it’s fan-fugu-tastic. Even with things hanging off the side back and rack and offroad tires. Grenadier at anything 70mph or higher on the highway tarts to fall apart compared to the Defender. At speed limit speeds, it’s on par with my “nice" Discovery 2 albeit with more leg room.. and I avoid that Discovery 2 for road trips like the plague these days.

Now -- the Grenadier Quartermaster. That’s rad. If I needed a pickup. I would hands down buy that. I saw one in Portland recently and fell instantly in love. Absolutely amazing.

 

I currently have a Grenadier as a loaner while my Defender is getting maintenance work done.
I like the vintage exterior/interior look.

I have to admit I sat in it for a minute or two trying to find the start button. I laughed when I saw the ignition. It's been a couple of years since I needed a key to start a vehicle.

The steering almost feels like manual steering. There is a little slop in the steering also.

It definitely does not feel as plush as my Defender on pavement. I would love to get this thing on some dirt to see how it compares to my Defender. Think the dealer would notice if I went off road?

So far, I do not see a reason to replace my Defender with a Grenadier. Now if I suddenly come into some extra cash, I may have to get a Quartermaster as a 2nd vehicle.

 

I certainly think they are cool but they dropped the ball in too many areas to garner that high of a price. The engine is a poor match to the intended use. At that price it should have passive entry, push button start, cooled seats, and at least radar cruise. If I lived out west and went off road every weekend I would still over look those things. In reality 99% of the time I am on road or light enough off road that a Subaru could handle it. For the other 1% I have my DII and a lot of extra cash! lol

 

l have a Defender but have driven the Grenadier and l love it.
Previous to my new Defender l owned an old model Defender which may explain why l don't have any issues with the Grenadier.

The only issue for me with the Grenadier is, the price. Here in the U.K. the cheapest one is U.K.£65,000 and that's for the two seat Commercial version. The cheapest five seat version is now £75,000

l actually had a Grenadier on order but had to cancel. Then when lent back to re-order the price had increased by £15,000

My Defender cost £50,000 although the price has since risen by £7,000

 

I thought the ad was childish and embarrassing.

I've never driven a Grenadier. I'm sure it is great in ways, but I would never buy one (or a Jeep, or another old Defender). My old (hehe, "real") Defender was a lot of fun while I had it. But oh my, for long highway drives it was so freaking noisy and bumpy, the gas tank was stop-at-every-station small, it had poor on-road handling, and worst of all, it was objectively dangerous at U.S. highway speeds. The Grenadier no-doubt suffers from a lot of that too.

By comparison, long drives in the new Defender are a pleasure - quiet, smooth, comfortable, longer range, and it's vastly safer at highway speeds. I want that, not something that beats me up before I even get somewhere fun. And yet, when you do get somewhere fun, it's still pretty darned capable. Win-win!

Sorry Ineos, I'll be keeping my new Defender.

 

So true - the vast majority of people who idolize the "old" Defender never spent much time in it. I spent a substantial part of my late teens and early twenties riding long distances in various old series and Defenders. If I lived on Nantucket and never got above 25mph I'd have one in a heartbeat. But that fourth and fifth hour on a long trip when your *** is dead, your knees are aching, your feet are wet, you are cold and your ears are ringing is no fun at all. I'm looking forward to test driving the Grenadier locally - but the majority of folks I see driving them near me are using them for the "15 minutes to the beach" trip and not the 12 hours drive to Quebec to go skiing trip.

 

My wife insisted that we rent a classic (2016) Defender 110 while we were in Iceland this coming July for our rental car. You're making me think that we should switch the reservation to the Prado instead :P While my wife and I are used to rolling around in a tin can with non-intercooled boost EGT's pressed up against the sides of our legs - I don't think our guests will appreciate that.

That being said, the "old school" charm of more classic vehicles, and their modern retro incarnations is definitely appealing to a lot of people. A throwback to a simpler time where buttons and switches take the place of screens. Whose to say which one is better? The consumer - and that's what's beautiful about the Grenadier existing. It gives those of us who enjoy that more unpolished, unrefined driving experience the option to have a new vehicle with a warranty and *some* modern conveniences (like heated seats, keyless entry, etc). That market segment is what the ad is targeting.

Whether there are enough consumers (like myself) who appreciate that experience enough to shell out $80k+ is another question...

 

I think for Iceland the classic Defender would be fun and appropriate. It's been a few years since I was there, but I don't recall any long stretches of highway that would show the worst disadvantages of the old model. More likely you'll be stopping every 20-30 minutes to take photos and explore. The only thing to keep an eye on would be the gas consumption and tank size - basically you'll want to fill up every chance you get on the circle route because you might only get 2-300 miles a tank.

Back seats are not super comfortable or spacious if you are over 5'10"- 6', so depending on your traveling companions sizes, that may be an issue.

 

I don;t think Ineos owners eat Beef