I've not sat in one yet but I'm seriously considering one to replace my FJ. The reviewers I've seen have said that the interior was very well put together with a remarkable lack of squeaks and rattles. Something my 2 year old defender has plenty of unfortunately. They all do mention on the weird gauge situation and universally pan the persistent ADAS setting which they say they are fixing...

The switches are retro and cool. in a world where Elon has conned the whole automotive industry I to putting everything on a damned touchscreen...it's nice to see someone being different.

The biggest complaints I've seen so far are concerning the steering being terrible on road...and the windshields cracking. The right hand drive versions suffer from "the hump" but we don't really need to worry about that.
The grenadier isn't for people who wait in line to get the latest iPhone. It's a retro throwback to an earlier time.

 

Keep the FJ and call it a day. You will be doing yourself a favor. I can only attest that the one I drove was poorly-built and one of my buddies out west test drove one and said the same thing about the constant squeaks & rattles. let me give you a list of vehicles that I've driven that are nicer to drive than a Grenadier:

FJ40, 70 and 80 Series Land Cruisers
Old Defender
Series II & Series III Land Rovers
H1 Alpha
H2
International Scout II
Freightliner box truck
****** Jeep
a school bus
and literally everything else I've ever driven

I'm looking forward to these being cheap in five years so I can buy one, put it in the woods and use it as a shooting target, because that's about the only thing its useful for.

 

@CincyRovers

 

that’s hilarious 😂😂

 

I had a very short ride in a Grenadier quite awhile ago and as others have said, it was terrible. Firstly, it was even a challenge to get in because of the distance between the ground and the floor. Then, once in, the seats, or at least the rear ones, felt like they weren’t designed for people to actually sit in. The seats weren’t sculpted at all, it was just a bunch of 90 degree angles. If I were a billionaire and wanted a vehicle for my farm, I’d look at what is available and then modify that.

 

The Grenadier does look much easier to lift and fit 34-35 inch tires on than the Defender. Reading some forums though, it also seems to have a driveshaft prone to breaking when lifted. A shame, it looks much better imo up a little higher. I have a test drive scheduled next week, like a lot of folks here I had a reservation that I cancelled when more and more details came out (especially the cost, lets be honest 80-90k for a vehicle this compromised is a tough ask). I’m still curious though, because it does look the business.

 

Speaking of English vehicles that look better than they probably are….how about the new lotus Emira?

 

I've driven one. EXCELLENT little sports car. Lotus knows how to make a sports car, and even though they got bought out by the chinese to make heavy performance luxury EVs that are so bad that Colin Chapman is turning in his grave, they got this one right.

The 3.5-liter supercharged V6 engine is fantastic. It is powerful, torquey and sounds great, but it would be nice if it revved a bit more than 6800 rpm. It is super linear and responsive 400 horsepower is perfect for this application. I didn't feel like it needed any more power, and the car is wonderfully balanced in terms of power, handling and steering. And since this engine comes from the Toyota Camry, you know it won't suffer from any mechanical issues. In fact, modern Lotus products have an excellent reliability track record. We'll see how the EVs go, as Geely ****ed over Volvo in terms of reliability, and they are converting Lotus from a lightweight sports car company, to a luxury performance EV company. Like I said, Colin Chapman is turning in his grave, but I digress.

The gearbox is good, but not great. The throws could be a little shorter but it requires just enough amount of effort to move, and slides into gear nicely. It also has a perfectly weighted clutch and the gear linkage is exposed in the transmission tunnel. The pedal box is a little cramped, but I quickly got used to it.

The steering is probably the best part of the car - its hydraulic and you get so much feedback. It reminds me a lot of 997 911 steering in terms of feedback and response, which is really high praise. Of course, with hydraulic steering you can't have things like lane keep assist or traffic jam assist, but nobody wants that in a sports car anyways. It is also light, a nice refresher since nearly all sports cars with electric power steering have loads of heft. The low-ratio steering rack requires you to put more effort into the steering, but I think it adds to the character of the vehicle.

The one I drove was the touring spec suspension and ride quality was also Porsche-like, very compliant without being overly stiff or punishing, but still has the body control you'd expect from a sports car, which is even more impressive because it doesn't have adaptive dampers. Body control was also very good, with just enough body roll to make you feel the car move around, but not roly-poly like an ND Miata. I'm sure the sports suspension is noticeably stiffer and probably better-suited to the track, but the touring spec suspension was excellent.

The interior was nice, with a few parts-bin Volvo parts like the wiper/light/turn signal switches, steering wheel controls and volume ****. The interior materials were also very good, so much better than any Lotus that came before - it feels like a proper luxury car. That said, the build quality was not the best, with loads of rattles over rough pavement, and a constant squeal coming from the center console. It is not screwed together very well. Lotus + China = TERRIBLE build quality.

Infotainment was perfectly acceptable, but the premium KEF sound system was a disappointment, mainly because of their proprietary Uni-Q speakers, which is a tweeter placed directly on top of a midrange speaker. High frequencies are very directional, and putting the tweeter/midrange speakers in the doors gives you a very low, hollow-sounding soundstage. Bass response was good, but nothing to write home about. Again, its a sports car, so premium audio isn't a priority.

Overall, I really like it. Lotus knocked it out of the park with the Emira, and get one while you can, because Lotus said this will be the last proper old-school sports car they will produce.

If they offered a convertible, I'd seriously consider one over the Boxster I'm planning on getting.

 

I actually enjoyed the Grenadier in a short test drive and just poking around it. The steering isn't really as bad as reviewers say. It absolutely drives like a tank, but in a solid pleasant way as long as you arent trying to make many U-turns.

I'm going to sleep on it. They have some decent incentives on remaining 2024 units and the closest dealership has one that ticks most of the boxes I have. I have to choose if I want to keep my Defender that is just about to go out of warranty pretty soon no matter what.

 

My first Porsche was a 2001 Boxster (986) that I bought in August 2001. 23 years later, I bought a pristine, time capsule 1998 Boxster with 28k miles. Love it.

Signed by Hurley Haywood

Boxster Red interior

28k miles, with rare factory OEM hardtop