Anyone 'daily' or do a lot of miles in a Grenadier?

[Sid Post]

I am curious how a Grenadier is to live with doing EDC stuff like taking kids to school and getting groceries. Then there are things like a big Interstate drive somewhere.

So, from owners, not Social Media stars or wannabe stars, how is the Grenadier to live with? Is the "lump" really a problem for passengers? How is ride quality on the Interstate? Is it fatiguing to crush big miles in a single day on paved roads?

With the "ambulance" doors on the back, I am assuming normal EDC shopping trips are pretty easy and the door swings are pretty modest for passenger ingress and egress.

Fuel mileage seems to be about 14MPG so, things like range or fuel range anxiety could be an issue for some as well. What else matters to owners using these vehicles in more of a normal daily role and not just special 'expeditions'?

TIA,
Sid

 

[Beowulf]

The ineos forum will be a good place to check, but I want to follow this thread as well. Luckily my commute is 2miles, so even a unimog would be comfortable

 

[Sid Post]

I feel like a real dummy not getting an Ex-German military Unimog ~10 years ago myself.

 

[Copple]

I bought mine and daily drive it. Traded in our 2021 Defender HSE. Have around 1500 miles now with a 50/50 split between interstate and city driving. Aside from the rear visibility, with isn’t much of an issue, it’s been great and comfortable. The seats and driving position in the Grenadier are great vs the flat seats of the Defender and I’d have no problems taking a long road trip. I drive approximately 25,000 miles a year so plan to use it!

The lump in the passenger footwell hasn’t been mentioned by any of the people I’ve taken out in the vehicle.

 

[SkiWill]

I bought mine and daily drive it. Traded in our 2021 Defender HSE. Have around 1500 miles now with a 50/50 split between interstate and city driving. Aside from the rear visibility, with isn’t much of an issue, it’s been great and comfortable. The seats and driving position in the Grenadier are great vs the flat seats of the Defender and I’d have no problems taking a long road trip. I drive approximately 25,000 miles a year so plan to use it!

The lump in the passenger footwell hasn’t been mentioned by any of the people I’ve taken out in the vehicle.

Saying the seats are more comfortable than your Defender says a lot. If you don't mind me asking, how tall are you? Good to know you haven't had any issues with passenger seat comfort, but I'm wondering how tall your passengers are. My wife and I are both 6' plus. I'm going to put my winter boots on and head to the dealership one of these days to see how I fit on both sides which is how I "try on" all cars actually.

Finally, how's the range? I know at 6,000 lbs it's going to consume a lot of fuel, but range is a real issue where I travel in the West. How's your real world range compared to the Defender and your G550. From the Ineos forum I tracked someone driving cross country and he almost never went 300 miles between fuel stops. I'm hoping that was just being really conservative.

 

[Sid Post]

Finally, how's the range? I know at 6,000 lbs it's going to consume a lot of fuel, but range is a real issue where I travel in the West. How's your real world range compared to the Defender and your G550. From the Ineos forum I tracked someone driving cross country and he almost never went 300 miles between fuel stops. I'm hoping that was just being really conservative.

Range anxiety ...

First, MPG depends on where and how you drive. in the Rocky Mountains and similar areas, people report as low as 12MPG.

Cross-country interstate drives are reported at 16~18MPG.

City and Urban are reported at 14~16MPG.

With a ~23-gallon tank and 21.5-gallons being the largest fill-up most people have reported; do the math. 300 miles is what most manufacturers shoot for and it looks like a Grenadier will hit that, or close to it in bad driving conditions on public roads.

I don't know any heavy vehicles that routinely run steep grades that get reasonable fuel mileage. Even efficient cars suffer MPG loss in those conditions.

 

[utherjorge]

Range anxiety ...

First, MPG depends on where and how you drive. in the Rocky Mountains and similar areas, people report as low as 12MPG.

Cross-country interstate drives are reported at 16~18MPG.

City and Urban are reported at 14~16MPG.

With a ~23-gallon tank and 21.5-gallons being the largest fill-up most people have reported; do the math. 300 miles is what most manufacturers shoot for and it looks like a Grenadier will hit that, or close to it in bad driving conditions on public roads.

I don't know any heavy vehicles that routinely run steep grades that get reasonable fuel mileage. Even efficient cars suffer MPG loss in those conditions.

SkiWill knows all of the above. This was an extra post you added to show what you think you know. Let's hear from the guy that owns one.

 

[LRNAD90]

Owner purchased it in Washington state and lives in DC Area. Says he did it because he wanted a road trip to get acquainted with it. This is his stop over in Colorado with the TFC crew, and his impressions after a couple of thousand miles..

 

[Junx]

My fuel consumption on the above mentioned trip across the country.

The slower you drive (and less grade) the more MPG you get. Many of these miles were in the 80-85 range, across the Cascades, Rockies and i80 across Nebraska, PA tpk, etc.

 

[utherjorge]

whoa, man

 

[Sid Post]

That fuel log is helpful. Fairly consistent from the reports I have seen on the INEOS Grenadier forum too!

 

[shays4me]

The real world fuel numbers are very comparable to my JKU. I've been tracking every tank since it was new five years ago and my average is 14.4 mpg. The fuel tank in the Grenadier is also almost identical to the JKU. I can say that fuel anxiety is worth thinking about, but it's very comparable to other vehicles in the niche. I added a second tank for places like southeast Oregon but I've never needed the extra fuel elsewhere. It is confidence building though...........

 

[Copple]

Saying the seats are more comfortable than your Defender says a lot. If you don't mind me asking, how tall are you? Good to know you haven't had any issues with passenger seat comfort, but I'm wondering how tall your passengers are. My wife and I are both 6' plus. I'm going to put my winter boots on and head to the dealership one of these days to see how I fit on both sides which is how I "try on" all cars actually.

Finally, how's the range? I know at 6,000 lbs it's going to consume a lot of fuel, but range is a real issue where I travel in the West. How's your real world range compared to the Defender and your G550. From the Ineos forum I tracked someone driving cross country and he almost never went 300 miles between fuel stops. I'm hoping that was just being really conservative.

I'm right at 6'2" and my wife is around 5'7"ish. The seats in the new Defender are similar to most of the cars out there, first thing I noticed was how flat the seat base was. Wouldn't say they were uncomfortable, but even with all the adjustments I could make I could never quite get the base angled enough to support my thigh on longer road trips. If you look at the interior pics on the Grenadier you can see just how bolstered there are on seat and seat back. Much more like a bucket-type seat from a sports car than a SUV. Seems like every review I've read or watched, regardless of whether they liked the overall vehicle, talked about how nice the seats and seating position was. There's more room in the second row in the Grenadier as well. Always set the front seats to a comfortable position for me and then climb in back when looking at any new car and I could sit comfortably back there. If you've been in any previous generation GWagon, the Grenadier looks and feels to be 15-20% larger but with the same interior dimensions. The only people that seem to mention the bump on the pasanger side are those who are in the LHD market, and even then it's a mixed bag between those who seem to be bothered by it. I never noticed it on our first 'off road experience' last year or when we went for a test drive months ago. I have more passenger footwell space in the Grenadier than I do in the G550.

Regarding range - I'd say its somewhere around 350+ but I haven't truly tested it. Feels like I'm filling up at similar intervals to the Defender. The computer in the Grenadier says we're around 17-18mpg but some have said on the forum it may not be accurate. Haven't felt the need to do my own calculations yet but may soon just to see. My wife just broke into double digets in her G550 and is sitting right at 11mpg for reference.

Happy to answer any more question you may have so fire away!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Range anxiety ...

First, MPG depends on where and how you drive. in the Rocky Mountains and similar areas, people report as low as 12MPG.

Cross-country interstate drives are reported at 16~18MPG.

City and Urban are reported at 14~16MPG.

With a ~23-gallon tank and 21.5-gallons being the largest fill-up most people have reported; do the math. 300 miles is what most manufacturers shoot for and it looks like a Grenadier will hit that, or close to it in bad driving conditions on public roads.

I don't know any heavy vehicles that routinely run steep grades that get reasonable fuel mileage. Even efficient cars suffer MPG loss in those conditions.

I have heard people complain about the relatively small fuel tank and it being likely there is no way to install a larger one. Guys like in Australia that need the range (and are cross shopping with a 70 series)

In NA, yeah 300 miles on the highway is about the industry average though. Even if you cut the range in half... its will take some trying to get 150 miles away from a gas station here.

 

[Sid Post]

Even if you cut the range in half... its will take some trying to get 150 miles away from a gas station here.

Personal experience says that's not accurate. Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and even New Mexico during a holiday trip have been over 300 miles between fuel stops for me a few times.