We’re in full swing preparing for this year’s Autocar Awards next month.
Everyone and his mate gives out awards nowadays (as with the road test in 1928, we pioneered them around 35 years ago), but in most cases, they’re shamelessly exploited for advertising purposes. “You’ve won our SUV With Shiniest Hubcaps award,” say the circling advertising reps. “Now show us your money.”
However, we do it differently: our big gongs go to people, because it’s our pleasure and duty to recognise the world’s great car creators of the year – and it was in pursuit of a pre-awards interview with just such a car hero that I found myself in a far-flung European capital today.
It turned out that by far the easiest means of getting about was Uber. Photographer Max Edleston and I spent the princely sum of £44 on five journeys, waiting less than five minutes each time to be picked up.
For now, our Ubermobiles had drivers (all pleasant, like every Uber driver I can remember), but the experience made a powerful case for driverless cars in city centres and for getting back and forth to airports. I used to think the so-called robocab threatened car ownership (still dear to my heart), but it just doesn’t. Bring it on.
Tuesday
We’ve done some preliminary testing of the Ineos Grenadier and liked it a lot, so it was interesting to chat to a friend and former top Land Rover engineer (far enough removed to maintain anonymity) who along with several work pals was recently offered access to a car. Here’s their no-frills assessment…
“We weren’t allowed driving, but the ride felt okay. Front seat room was good, rear seat room not. Quite a long wheelbase, at 115in, and with coil springs, the breakover angle might not work too well in rutted conditions. The on-road price of around £60,000 means it’s not a utility vehicle and not a luxury SUV either, so it’s hard to understand their market.
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The farmers etc who used to buy Land Rovers, and now buy HiLuxes still need a vehicle. Some might prefer a more traditional looking off-roader to a HiLux or the new Defender, eg. towing a horse box to a prestigious horse show. The Ineos would look the part here.
But it's going to be £48k + VAT. That's not Hilux money or utility vehicle money to the majority of utility buyers.
What's interesting is many of us have been saying what the press won't about INEOS and the Grenadier that it made sense as a £30k+VAT utility wagon/van but never will with the mission-creep of a BMW six cylinder engine, ZF box and all the electronics it now contains. We've also said it looks way too much like an old Defender in the metal something journalists have been convinced isn't true...
Whether it is good or not isn't the issue (unless it really is bad) the issue has always been that there isn't sufficient market for it at the price it now is to ever recoup the hundreds of millions (perhaps even a billion) pounds spent developing it. It's one of those products like a lot of what Dyson makes - and even his car too - that look great until you hear the price then they're not even under consideration.
The Grenadier is aimed at specific market, it remains to be seen if it's accepted by that market. Land Rover competes with itself, no one else.