As those who have been guardian to a Defender know, there really is no vehicle like it. None. And because of that, it is impossible to find a suitable replacement short of having one built from a kit. Knowing that my beloved 28-year old Defender is beginning its second life, at some point I will have to ask myself if I am prepared to go through the same cycle that I have been through these last 28 years. So, until a suitable replacement comes along, the Defender will stay with me, come hail or high water, and it has seen both, and more, much more.
But besides wanting to avoid the trials and tribulations, not to mention tows, that come with owning a Definer, I am getting to the point where it would be desirable, if not necessary, to have a vehicle I can sleep in when push comes to shove, as it has many times on my journeys. If I had a Defender 110, I would be able to do that, but it is impossible to do so in a 90, which I have. And I do not see myself moving down one notch on the on-the-road means, pulling a tent camper, and certainly never beyond that. It would not be the same kind of journey without a Defender or my dogs). So my search continued.
SAs it turned out, my search really turned into a wait. Several years ago, when Land Rover announced that they would be discontinuing production of the three-decades old Defender worldwide (they discontinued shipping to the US in 1996 or 1997), Sir James Ratcliffe, a Defender enthusiasts, and the founder of the British chemical complex INEOS, pleaded with them to continue it. Land Rover ignored him. He then asked to buy the name and plans, and they ignored him again. Not one for giving it, Sir James vowed to start up his own production company and make the best utility vehicle on the market. Today, INEOS announced that vehicle, which they are calling the Grenadier, after the pub in England where the idea was conceived. Although I had been following the sparce press on this for years, I accidentally saw a news article on it today. I immediately got online as soon as the reservations opened up and was able to secure with a deposit a reservation number in the 9000s. The vehicle will be shipped starting in 2022, but not to the US until 2023, so my Defender will be with me until then, if not beyond.
The Grenadier is shown in the photo on the left, while a Deferens 110 is on the right. If they look alike, it is because they are mean to. On a scale of 0 to 10, if the luxury rating of a Defender is a 0, and a 10 for one of those very capable Mercedes G-Wagons, which are never seen where they belong, in the wild, the Grenadier is supposed to be somewhere in between, and very, very sparse on electronics.
Right now, this is only a pipe dream for me, but at least I have some security on being able to turn that dream into a reality. My only hope is that Donner is still here with me to take a step up in comfort in any new vehicle I end up getting.
Incidentally, the Grenadier is by no means a sure thing for me. While there is much that I like, it has shortcominngs: no manual transmnissionl no soft top; a 3.0 liter 6 cylinder engine, which is less that my Defender had with its original engine, and rear seats that when folded take up valiuable space in the back, which I need tfor sleeping , But we will see.
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