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By the look of it those front seats are almost all the way back and can go forward a lot and still be comfy for driving position.
However, I agree the focus seems more on passenger space than rear cargo space vs the defenders big back and knee killing second row and compact front position.
Looks good. The only things I would miss in the D2 that are not in the Grenadier are:
* separate temp controls for driver and passenger - use this all the time.
* SLS - but I assume Ineos have done lots of development on their progressive rate coils to manage the ~1 T payload.
Trying hard to think of why I don’t want one, but I’m struggling!
Thanks for your report and pics Robmacca:BigThumb:
Re. the fuel range... I went on 28 Jan and the Ineos chaps were talking about the 'pressure' to get the vehicle from Sth Australia (Tarcoola) in time for the scheduled demos at the Scenic Rim Adventure Park, given the delays due to the floods. Most of the fellows flew from Adelaide to Brisbane. They only had three or so days to get the vehicle to Queensland and one of the team (who wasn't there on the day) did most of the driving ... I got the distinct impression that he did it by himself although there may have been a passenger. One of the fellows was quite specific that the driver had "topped up in Mildura" and then "topped up again in Goondiwindi"!! I didn't comment at the time, but that's 1,300 km. It has a 90L (nominal) capacity. Assuming he had 5L min at Goondiwindi remaining that's at least 85/13 = 6.6L/100km. As I said, that was the "scuttlebutt" amongst the crew when I asked about the trip to Beaudesert .... that's not bad range for a 'prototype'!
I was at Glenworth Valley today and spoke to Rick Bates who was the one who drove the Grenadier from SA to Qld. I enquired about fuel consumption and he referred to that trip - he wasn't mucking around and although the vehicle is limited to 110kph he said that he managed to get somewhat more than that out of it. Re the fuel, he actually refuelled at Coonabarabran and said that he got about 10.8l/100km, Coona..... is 908km from Mildura, I'm not sure how much fuel he put in but with a capacity of 95 litres, if he was running 'on the smell of an oily rag' then he returned 10.5 l/100k. Probably no load though, apart from an overnight bag.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hoges
I also enquired about consumption off-road and he thought it was probably similar.
Interesting day today and there was a nice looking Perenti stalking around, keeping an eye on things..........:whistling:
https://www.aulro.com/app/data/1462/...0209133042.jpg
many thanks Roger for the clarification... the non-stop effort to Goondiwindi seemed to be a tad optimistic but that's what I gleaned. It's still pretty good economy nevertheless at those speeds with a drag coefficient of a brick! [biggrin]. Rick Bates eh. as in the rally champ? Excellent!! Ineos seem to be not mucking around in terms of the experienced talent they've recruited locally to get the show well and truly established. What struck me was the genuine, dare I say 'infectious' enthusiasm and excitement the Ineos hosts displayed on the day I attended towards their opportunity to establish the 'brand' in Australia.
That fuel consumption is only slightly better than I got from the County driving non-stop from Melbourne to here (it has an aux. tank).....with nearly 700,000km on the engine.
What does it weigh,its weight that increases the fuel burn?
I am guessing something like 2.6T,at least,so fuel economy pretty similar to other late model vehicles around same sort of weight,in real life driving.
After arriving at Glenworth Valley yesterday and registering we had time to talk to the Grenadier people and have a close look at the vehicle before being driven around a dirt track by Rick Bates. Rick’s driver training & rally expertise keeps him in demand around the world. He has even donned the famous white suit appearing as ‘The Stig’ on Australia’s Top Gear. Rick is one of Australia’s most experienced off-road drivers.
Overall, I was very impressed with the vehicle:-
Pros:
- Comfortable Recaro seating
- Range of approx. 900km with standard 95 litre tank
- Approach & departure angles
- Ground clearance (265mm)
- View from driver’s seat - after various adjustments.
- Proven engine & transmission with adequate power & torque
- Heavy duty proven drive train, with optional diff locks
- Underbody protection
- Internal & external tie down points
- Rear passenger legroom
Cons:-
- Rear load space – only about 950mm from rear seats to rear doors. Would prefer to sacrifice some of the rear passenger leg room to gain increase in rear load space. Unfortunately I didn't take the opportunity to fold the rear seats forward and measure the increased load space. However, from other's pictures, the seats appear to fold quite well.
- The smaller of the split rear doors is IMHO too narrow to access rear load space.
The fact that Ineos only brought one Grenadier to Australia for these drive days and testing says a lot for their confidence in the reliability of the vehicle. And they've given it a bit of unplanned extra work due to the flooding they encountered in SA - Towing a broken (due to water ingress to engine) Pajero, towing a 2.5 ton generator out of a mine (which the Pajero was sent to do - shouldn't have sent a boy to do a mans job!) and the express 2,300km run from SA to Qld.
I haven't ordered one .................................................. ........... yet [bighmmm] :whistling:
well I can't see any problem with a range of 900+km
thats the approx range of my vehicle and nowadays there is fuel available all over Australia every 4-500km
long range tanks are a waste of space and weight , I've carried 1 x 20litre jerry all over Australia and never had to open it..
Spot on - it's like numerous accessories that people fit to 4WD's that usually cost an arm and a leg but are very seldom needed/used.Quote:
Originally Posted by ramblingboy42