Ineos Grenadier Looks Like an Old Defender and Is Equally Robust
Cars
Speaker 1: In the modern world, most things seem to be designed to appeal to our inner magpie. Ooh, shiny or woo, pretty, but there's also another category of product that appeals certainly to me and I think an awful lot of other people. And that's the, the tool, [00:00:30] the thing that is designed purely with a singular purpose in mind, to be very good at what it's designed for, with no real regard for aesthetics. Think of the iPhone. Very pretty, very lovely, very sort of tactile and appealing to hold. Then think of the sat phone to me also incredibly cool, robust, not aesthetically pleasing, but cool, because it can make a call from anywhere in the world. And that brings me to this, [00:01:00] the iNOS Grier
Speaker 1: With its body on frame construction, B Max's and a very heavy duty steering link. The Grier has definitely been designed as a tool and a tough tool at that. It's to set a vehicle that looks like it would take a very large tree to stop it. Of course, to some it'll just be a toy, but the philosophy behind it seems to have stemmed from work first and play. Second, it'll come with a choice of [00:01:30] two BMW engines, the B 58, 6 cylinder petrol, and the B 57 6 cylinder diesel mated to the familiar Z F eight speed auto. There are high and low ratios, a mechanical center, differe and front and rear EIFS. Even if this is the first time you've seen a Grier, it won't come as much of a surprise that this is a vehicle meant to step into the gap left by the retirement of the old land Rover defender.
Speaker 1: The aim is for prices to start at around 48,000 pounds. And if you want to know a bit more about [00:02:00] IIOS and the thought process behind the Grier, then how have a look at our full walk around video. We'll leave a link in the description down below today, we have an old mine so that we can get a first taste of how the Grier performs in what should be its natural habitat. As you can probably tell this is a pre-production prototype. So you'll hear a few warning bongs and see some snazzy red harness, an assortment of kill switches and a plethora of stickers. [00:02:30] I actually rather like the aesthetic of a prototype it's it's pretty cool somehow there's and, uh, elements of something about it that suits it rather, I think with, um, um, it being a, a little bit rough and ready. It's just cool. Perhaps they should offer it. There's an options pack prototype aesthetic,
Speaker 1: Compared to that car that I saw obvious of the mock up of the interior. This I'm glad to say there is [00:03:00] actually, I feel like I've got a lot more room in this one and you still got that nice command position. So looking at over the bonnet, it's easy to see those front wings, you know exactly where the corners are. Uh, but fundamentally you still got that nice sort of rugged interior still got all switches up here, which I, I really like and sort of the aircraft aesthetic. There's definitely a bit of old defender in here in terms of the sort of feel of it. But obviously I'm not sort of knocking my knuckles into the window, which is, is nice. [00:03:30] It definitely feels like a comfier place to be over many hours. One of the things that you sort of, you don't notice because it's an absence really is the fact that we don't have any instrument pinnacle here. We've got a little screen down there. We've obviously got lots of warning lights on at moment because this is a prototype, but then all the other information's up here on this big screen. And actually that's really rather than nice. Cause it just leaves you to concentrate on what's [00:04:00] ahead to read the terrain head without any distractions.
Speaker 1: The place we are today is an old, old mine. Um, some of the sort of French German border, it's an amazing place actually. It's, it's not terribly preposessing, it's sort of Pretty gritty, but amazing using sort of black earth all right here, and really slippery as well. Also an awful lot of Casper trans and things, right? Good [00:04:30] company.
Speaker 1: We've got the center diff, which is locked in this and we're in low range. We haven't got the front and rear diffs on this at the moment, but there's enough in here to get an idea of what it's like and what it is capable of. Overall, the sort of the first impressions of this are that it sort of sits, I think somewhere between an old defender and a new defender. So you can clearly feel that [00:05:00] it's, it's got live axles, BM axles, and it's got coil Springs, but there's definitely more refinement in this. It's much easier to drive than an old defender. It's just, it's much more relaxed. It's much smoother. You've got a surf of talk from that 600 engine up front. So it's yes, you sort of, you know, you don't have that air suspension ride quality to it, but equally it's not beating you up in the same way that [00:05:30] an old defender would Things that I'm perhaps not so sure about this steering wheel. I have to say, it's something I'm struggling a little bit to get used to it's um, steering itself is very light. It say it adds that element of it all taking everything it's stride, it being very easy to drive, but the fact that it looks exactly the same, whether it's the right way up or upside down is just sort of, I think definitely I'd want this top marker to be in a very bright color
Speaker 1: [00:06:00] If I had one, just so I was absolutely certain of where that top was, because you really do want to know that you've got your wheels straight.
Speaker 2: Are we,
Speaker 1: Of course we are. Right. And obviously on percent like this fine, we haven't got a manual gear box, but you also pop it across to there. Hold it in first. And then it's like, basically, [00:06:30] Probably back into drive. I say, I have been down one of the steepest descents I have ever been down in, um, one of these
Speaker 2: Today,
Speaker 1: Which was, um, quite high widening. So in terms of descent capability, I have absolutely no qualms about that. What the brakes actually talking [00:07:00] of sort of the, the normal brakes rather than engine breaking, that takes a little bit of getting used to, because it is a very light pedal in this. I'm not sure where that'll change on the production vehicles or not, but that definitely takes just a little bit of clientization and you're wearing big boots or so, um,
Speaker 2: It
Speaker 1: Sort of, I'd probably like a bit more resistance from that, with this easy steering and all the talk,
Speaker 2: Actually,
Speaker 1: It's a [00:07:30] surprising, you can be nice and sort of relaxed with this and feel pretty secure. And knowing that you've got the capability, obviously within the chassis, but also within the drive train. So you don't feel like you've got to sort of have a run up at things or really sort of make sure you're absolutely in the right gear. Obviously you've got the automatic gearbox anyway, but because you've got all that talk to rely on, it just makes it
Speaker 2: Smoother,
Speaker 1: Easier. It really does as say it feels like if was perhaps a couple [00:08:00] of generations before the current new defender, this is where that sort of sits.
Speaker 2: It
Speaker 1: Feels like a very solid vehicle undeniably heavy, but quite reassuringly. So, and I don't think a day behind the wheel would leave you feeling physically knackered, even though this was prototype with plenty of things unfinished, it felt UN demanding to drive and the lack of assistance systems and locking front and rear diffs didn't seem to hamper it. Even when I stopped in some fairly DFT [00:08:30] places. That's what you shouldn't do. You see, you shouldn't stop on a slope like that, where it's slippery, but I did, uh, it's still gonna have absolutely fine. Despite the fact we're running relatively hard tire pressures today, and it is extremely slippery and muddy and boggy.
Speaker 1: If you are interested in numbers, the maximum approach angle is 35 and a half degrees. Breakover angle is 28.2 degrees departure angle is 36.1 [00:09:00] degrees. The ground clearance is 264 millimeters and the maximum weighting depth is 800 millimeters, more than enough to tackle most situations. In some ways the ground air has quite an easy, but also quite a difficult task today because it could almost only fail it. Hasn't I can tell you that now it's done everything asked of it and more, but because this is such an honest vehicle, because it is [00:09:30] designed to look robust, to be utilitarian. You look at it and you expect it to do everything that it's done. If a cash kit had done everything that this has done today, I would be amazed, but this it's lived up to expectations, lofty expectations, but expectations. Nonetheless, The next thing. Well to drive the final vehicle, Look forward to.
