Grenadier rental review

[CarGuy]

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[BobbySaggz]

No passive entry for the locks or push button Start. Which after unpacking and repacking a car full of luggage every couple days was noticeably a bit annoying putting down arms full of stuff to pull out the key and unlock the vehicle.

no rear window lockouts for kids.

there were a couple times where I was reversing out of a spot and the car slammed itself in park.

All of the strangeness that comes with a first gen foreign off roader.

There were just too many examples of these oddities when the vehicle was doing as it was designed and I kept thinking what happens when things actually go wrong…especially considering the service situation.

Passive entry / pushbutton start
- is there a physical key to lock/unlock doors, or a fob requiring a button press?
- is there a keyed ignition?
I'm all for a standard physical key (that isn't a blade inside a fob) and zero passive entry or pushbutton start if it's the former, but require passive entry if it's the latter (like the Bronco's fob).

Automatically going into park while reversing
- give me a manual transmission or give me death
Reverse camera quality
- solved by keeping it analog

Rear window locks
- make a 2 door option and problem solved!

I dig the Grenadier (and Quartermaster) but I can't get behind the four door dimensions/look and the auto BMW gearbox. The oil change light and some other quirks are frustrating but aren't a huge issue until you consider the price point. All in, I couldn't see myself in one without stumbling upon a crazy deal.

 

[jaruss01]

Passive entry / pushbutton start
- is there a physical key to lock/unlock doors, or a fob requiring a button press?
- is there a keyed ignition?
I'm all for a standard physical key (that isn't a blade inside a fob) and zero passive entry or pushbutton start if it's the former, but require passive entry if it's the latter (like the Bronco's fob).

Automatically going into park while reversing
- give me a manual transmission or give me death
Reverse camera quality
- solved by keeping it analog

Rear window locks
- make a 2 door option and problem solved!

I dig the Grenadier (and Quartermaster) but I can't get behind the four door dimensions/look and the auto BMW gearbox. The oil change light and some other quirks are frustrating but aren't a huge issue until you consider the price point. All in, I couldn't see myself in one without stumbling upon a crazy deal.

It’s a fob with a switchblade style key. Lock/unlock/alarm buttons on the fob. No passive/proximity entry so it doesn’t detect you. Hit the unlock button, flip out the key and use a keyed ignition. Basic stuff.

Doesnt give off a noticeable beep when you lock it. Just noting that because there were plenty of times someone didn’t shut their door properly, and I thought the car was locked and came back to find it unlocked. Wouldn’t be a me/driver problem, but imagine it would be a common annoyance with wife/kids/guest passengers

 

[Desmolicious]

I really like the idea of the Grenadier. But there is so much BS in the actual implementation. Remember, they were starting with a clean sheet design that was just meant to be paying tribute to the old OG Defender.

On my positive list:

Looks awesome with great paint selections
Great forward visibility
Permanent 4wd with triple lockers
Safari windows
Cool toggle switches
Excellent clearances
Excellent underbody armour

On my negative list:

Absolute BS service requirements requiring a visit to the dealer.
Very few dealers which makes the above even worse
Terrible rear visibility due to the decision to have a split tailgate for no practical reason.
Terrible rear view camera which is inexcusable given that $20K cars have better ones. And it is needed due to the awful visibility.
BS excuses of not having standard electronic features given the claim of decreasing reliability. This is 2026, all those features that Grenadier omits have been proven reliable for decades now.
Mechanical key in the ignition is another fake touch. Turning it sends electronic messages to the ECU etc so the facade of mechanical simplicity is just that - a facade.
Absolutely hate the empty panel in front of the driver, that just illuminates for warning lights. Which look like they came out of a mid 1980s car. That panel could be mult-functional and just illuminate the warning lights when needed, showing 'standard' info the rest of the time like every other freaking mfg on the planet.
Following on to that.. because Grenadier puts a large and sh1tty quality panel in the middle that does that - so it is not exactly like they are eschewing electronics for mechanical reliability. They just came up with a really sh!tty interior design. Who actually prefers their speedo to be in the middle of the dash instead of infront of them?
Awful A/C
Activating the lockers is a slow and sometimes frustrating process.
Power steering pump whine - are any louder than this?
Awful turning circle - barely improved for 2026
Really poor steering feel - the claim 'it's because of solid axles Sir' is more BS. My Wrangler with solid axles was fine (not as nice as a Bronco but still fine) AND it had a tight turning circle.
The claim that it is built 'so simple' you can fix it with a hammer and rock out in the wild is 100% BS. It has a twin turbo BMW motor (a very good motor but still) with a ZF auto transmission, poor parts availability that can only come from a dealer etc.

So, a clean sheet design starting from scratch and all those basic design issues?

My gf - who is much smarter than me (she is a physician, degrees from Harvard, Oxford and Edinburgh) - said she way prefers the Bronco even if they were the same price. And I'd agree with that. For me as the Grenadier sits, it's something I'd buy if I had so much money that the purchase would not matter as I had other vehicles too.
It makes no sense when comparing it to what else is available.

 

[wjtinfwb]

The Grenadier slightly piqued my interest so I rented one on a family trip and put on 1,000 miles. Flew into SFO, so had it in San Fran, Yosemite and Monterrey/Big Sur.

Thought I would share some thoughts. I didn’t take it off road unfortunately but this is more around everyday use -

I liked it, not as much as I thought I would. If it were strictly driven by me and me alone that’s one thing, but it was pretty flawed/compromised for everyday driving / family passengers. The steering and turning radius is lacking for around town driving. I think this has been improved slightly for the 2026, mine was a 2025.

The steering doesn’t really snap back to center and takes a bit getting used to. You need to manually turn back to center when coming out of turns. It feels weighty which is nice but there’s a lot of input needed. I got used to it but my wife pretty much hated the feel of it.

The turning radius is probably one of the worst of a recently manufactured vehicle for this size, and is the primary common complaint. Lots of corrections are needed around a parking lot. Especially tight lots - Turning into spaces flanked by occupied spots usually required a 3 point turn which is a bit crazy. Or for example, pulling out of a parking lot aisle with someone passing, you would need to completely stop and wait to have enough room to turn. There were a few awkward moments of others seeing you stop, then they stop and wave you on, and you roll down your window to explain that they need to move or reverse because your unable to make the turn without hitting them. They just don’t expect you to have the turning radius of a semi truck when you’re in a defender looking suv.

in general I would say just…finicky…My wife and kids were successful about 50% of the time to fully close the doors. And sometimes the car would throw itself into park when reversing out of a spot, to the point you think you hit something, but it was really because a door wasn’t 100% shut with a thud. It could have also been provoked by seatbelts not being buckled but I doubt it - pretty sure it was the doors. This happened a bunch.

constant rear rattle. Seemingly the tailgate or ladder.

No passive entry for the locks or push button Start. Which after unpacking and repacking a car full of luggage every couple days was noticeably a bit annoying putting down arms full of stuff to pull out the key and unlock the vehicle. One of those features you get accustomed to with modern cars that becomes obvious when it’s not there. The sticker on mine was 83k BTW.

no rear window lockouts for kids. Probably no big deal for most, but dealing with a toddler in the backseat constantly not listening and messing with the windows got old quick. Seems trivial, but when driving around the Big Sur wildfires, and trying to keep out the smoke it actually was an issue - pulling over multiple times arguing etc, for something that could so simply be resolved with a feature every other vehicle has. Or my toddler opening up the window while exiting the car (happened often given the allure, since we’ve always had the lockout feature) then you walk around, take out the key (since it doesn’t have keyless) turn back on the car and roll up the window. You forgive these things because it’s a pretty cool truck, but also think why am I dealing with this in 2026 on a 83k vehicle. It’s not even an option. And they figured this tech out 30 yrs ago.

some technical issues. Like an off road mode flashing error on the screen that stayed on for a couple hours.

Everything else (minus the price) was to the positive. Huge cargo, very nice seats. I loved every second of the airplane cockpit and safari windows. If it I wasn’t using it for family use I probably would have enjoyed it more. Also I think the 2026 improved the turning radius some (5%), and the steering feel a bit.

edit - looking into it further - here are the things missing (I don’t think these are options but I could be wrong) but my $83k spec fieldmaster did NOT have: power front seats (obviously no memory), rear heated seats, adaptive cruise, blind spot monitoring (obviously no lane keep assist), passive entry locks, push button start (obviously no remote start), child rear window locks. Etc. not really being a princess here since it only include tech that’s absolutely necessary, but the main point here is there’s about $10-15k worth of content missing when comparing this $83k sticker to competitors.

some pics

I also think they look fantastic and no doubt would be capable off-road. But for 80k plus, there's way too many sacrafice, bugs and engineering issues for me. Add to that the BMW mechanicals and some electronics and I'll definitely pass. And I'm not bagging on the refinment and driving, I have a 44 Excursion and Bronco so I'm used to unrefined driving dynamics. But the other issues and the expensive to repair BMW bits would send me to the Lexus dealer for a GX Overtrail.

 

[jtgensler]

A work vendor drives one, so got to see one up close. They look really cool, just not in my price range really. Plus it's another one of those vehicles that looks like it could go offroad, but you never see them lol. Similar to the Hummer and Defender.

I know at least one guy who has thrashed one during Off Road rallies in WV, OH & KY.
He definitely abused it. Crunched the roof in an off camber section, shattered a forged wheel drifting a gravel road, separated the front diff cover on a rock & then he blew out the rear suspension in one event.
It's a cool rig, more for overlanding than hardcore wheeling, but it's fun.
I like the look of the quartermaster truck better.

 

[crenca]

How was the rearward visibility? The split door design w the high mounted spare sems like it would be an issue.

I really like the look and idea, but the deal killer for me is you CANNOT RESET THE OIL CHANGE LIGHT YOURSELF!!! You have to go the dealership where they have a proprietary diagnostic tool that is used to do that.
The problem with that is two fold:
1/ there are very few dealerships in the US. Many states don’t have any. CA I think has five.
B/ If you change the oil yourself but go to the dealer to reset the light, some charge up to $350 to just reset the light! Because they want you to do the oil change at the dealer and so stick it to you if you don’t. If they charge $350 to reset the light, how much is the full oil change?!

GTFO!

Seriously, there really is no way to reset oil change light beyond a dealer - no Forscan ODB equivalent a person can use??

If this is true it is my honest hope, and sincere prayer, that the the Ineos is an abject failure...though that is unlikely as even in failure these sorts of ventures too often end up being tax right offs or what not for their parent companies

 

[Desmolicious]

GTFO!

Seriously, there really is no way to reset oil change light beyond a dealer - no Forscan ODB equivalent a person can use??

If this is true it is my honest hope, and sincere prayer, that the the Ineos is an abject failure...though that is unlikely as even in failure these sorts of ventures too often end up being tax right offs or what not for their parent companies

Just found this:



So a month ago they came up with the ability to reset service settings. $500 for a 2 year subscription, only runs on a Windows computer.

Whereas in my Bronco I just go to settings, maintenance, reset oil life. 10 seconds tops and it's free.

 

[crenca]

Just found this:



So a month ago they came up with the ability to reset service settings. $500 for a 2 year subscription, only runs on a Windows computer.

Whereas in my Bronco I just go to settings, maintenance, reset oil life. 10 seconds tops and it's free.

Ridiculous. I'm with you, I like the idea of the Grenadier, but bullshite like this makes it a complete no-go...

 

[Mr Bacon Jr]

So I went from a 2023 Wildtrack to a 2024 Grenadier (base) in mid-March. My wife and I are 3 months into a 6 month road trip in it, both on and off road. I've got 12k miles behind the wheel of the Grenadier- my thoughts (in no particular order):

- This is the truck for those who hate big brother being able to track their every move. There is exactly zero connectiviy built into the truck. No cell, wifi, or OTA updates. No tracking. No remote opening. No app.
- Agile Offroad just released software that lets me reset the service indicator, adjust TPMS (the TMPS sensors do not automatically move on rotation), adjust most of the options in the BCM, with more abiltiy being released almost daily. If you are brave, programmer level access.
- It drives and rides like the solid axle truck it is; turning radis is measured in acres, not feet.
- The auto setting on the AC has a mind of it's own. I just don't use it.
- I have Fox 2.5 reservoir adjustable shocks on it which make a world of ride and control difference.
- Lack of steering return is easily fixed with Fox adjustable steering stabilizer.
- There are about 1/2 the number of ECUs in the truck compared to most vehicles. On purpose; less shit to break. No touch to lock/unlock, auto up windows, electirc seat with memory.
- These are not fancy trucks. Mine has no carpet. They all have drain plugs in the floorpans. Manual seats facilitate a good washout. My Bronco had far more features.
- All the third party addons come at premium. Think there is a Bronco tax? Check out the Grenadier tax!
- The going into Park thing is a "safety" feature for when doors are not closed. Offroad mode kills it; the Agile software will enable killing it in regular mode.
- Any orange waring that shows on the telltale screen can almost always be safely ignored. Most common is the speed assit warning because the system has not seen a speed limit sign for a bit. I can disable that with Agile software.
- ADS (lane keep assist) is available.
- The warning sounds are excessive- the low fuel bong is especially egregious. Disabled and adjusted by Agile software.
- You can pick up a new 2025 Fieldmaster for ~72k all day long; plenty of dealers willing to move a unit.
- As with every brand, dealer to dealer service varies wildly. There is NE dealer that apprently charges $350 to reset the service light. Sewel does it for free.
- Not a lot of dealers out there, but while on the road I am primarily using independent BMW shops for oil changes. They all have the right filter and oil for a B58 motor.

I did a ton of modifications to mine- it is defintely far from a stock Grenadier. 1.7/1.2 lift, Fox shocks, 35" Toyos (just replaced M/Ts with Toyo R/Ts becasue two of the M/Ts had sidewall failure), steering stabilizer. Fun truck.

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