Bronco vs. Grenadier vs. the world

[5GENIDN]

The Bronco’s advantage for ground clearance is the use of portal axles as opposed to the beam axles on the Grenadier.

I think my Wildtrak had a whopping 7 or 8 inches more clearance on 35’s vs the 33’s on my Grenadier.

Although, the Bronco’s portal axles can lend to some severe leverages and may be a factor in the frequent tie rod issues we hear about. I’ll leave that to the engineers.

What???? You had a Widtrak with portal axles? Okay.... But you were running 35s???? With Portals??? Rather unusual but okay...

What Portals were you running? And as far as frequent tie rod issues.... They are are not frequent... You probably hear about every single one but they typically have NOTHING to do with portals. That is because VERY few people have broncos with portals. I would guess less than 50 in the entire US. (other than the racers)

Something is just not sounding right here.

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[bikesandguitars]

Definitely wrong. In my minds eye, I see an axle lift on my old Bronco and just assumed they were portals.

 

[5GENIDN]

Definitely wrong. In my minds eye, I see an axle lift on my old Bronco and just assumed they were portals.

What do you mean by an Axle lift? The only Axle lift that I know of is a portal. And when you say "old" Bronco you are talking about a gen 6? correct? The Wildtrak that you mentioned.

The only other lifts that I know of are suspension lift or body lift. Now there are lots of different types of those but they all fall into one of those three categories.

Axle lift is a rather new term although portals have been around a long time. Volkswagen used them, the Mercedes Unimog and Pinzgauer, the original H1 Hummer. Off road racers have been expirementing with them for a while now (10 to 15 years) but they are only now really coming into the aftermarket as an available option. I think the Tibus has been available in the US for the Bronco for a little less than a year and the 74 Weld portals have only been shipping since the first of the year. Werewolf has been available since last summer but I have yet to see a set on a Bronco. Have seen a couple on Mercedes G wagons though.

 

[5GENIDN]

Here is what my "Axle lift" portals look like next to a BRaptor that has 37 inch tires from the factory.... (I am on 40 inch tires)

and this is what I looked like on 35 inch tires right after I installed portals.

Kind of looks like it missed leg day at the gym.

 

[1st 75th ranger]

Below is the definitive op-ed for the state-of-the-art in 2024 for overlanding capable personal transportation. No further discussion will be necessary, and all youtube reviewers can move onto compact sedans from here onward.


Since the richest man in England made the announcement in 2017 he would be bringing to the market the classic Land Rover replacement, as it seems Land Rover decided to stop making utilitarian vehicles. The off-road world has been abuzz with what it will be or should be. The story is he tried to buy the rights to the Defender from LR along with all the tooling, they said no, so in true billionaire spirit he said he'll just make his own. Fast forward some years later and the Ineos Grenadier is hitting car lots around the world, including North America. I applaud Sir Jim Ratcliffe for keeping an English icon alive. This is on par with FCA stopping the production of the Wrangler and a private person taking up the task.

The history of Land Rover was that it started as an attempt at England's copy of the USA's Jeep. After the Jeep freed Europe in '45 many were left there and some Englishmen recognized the usefulness of such a piece of equipment. Below is a Drivetribe video which may be of interest, however they do skip the whole part that they made a bad copy of the jeep to start the whole thing off in the UK and that their version was NOT the "grandfather of all 4x4's" but that was indeed the Jeep; in the same vein they do skim over the whole American revolution as well in their education.



The Grenadier is the English answer to utilitiarian personal transportation. I will say in this modern age I am glad to see such a vehicle being produced and welcome it to the market, especially to the North American market. With this in mind the Grenadier answers an English question in a very European way. What is this question you ask? And, does this answer suit America's question?

For those that have been to the other side of the pond, one can easily notice the parameters of a vehicle are substancially different than in the USA. Size and historical use bear on what is fit-for-use in the UK vs. USA. The Grenadier is considered a large heavy duty vehicle in the UK, while it is the same dimensions as the four door bronco, a mid-size vehicle in the USA. For some reason, what we call a truck, never caught on in Europe, they went down the path of station wagons as their do it all choice. The Grenadier is a bronco sized SUV, with a heavier frame and springs and rated to pull over twice the trailer weight. Grenadier weighs 1,000lbs more and has more interior room, 1,500lb payload and can tow 7,500lbs, in the same size package as the desert runner Bronco. It indeed is the marriage of a workhorse and a station wagon; it is the modern day equivalent of a shetland pony. Fit for the purpose of hauling weight in tight spaces. If this is your purpose then the Grenadier is a great solution.

How is the Grenadier designed? What you have is 5 link coil sping suspension front and rear on a robust fully boxed ladder frame, a turbo charged BMW inline 6 cylinder backed up by a ZF 8 speed auto transmisison, a full time lockable transfer case which is gear driven, and ~8.5" (same size as dana 44's) differentials that have optional lockers. With a quality body sitting on this drivetrain. Not one single thing is rewriting the book, what is amazing is they are doing old school in a way to pass modern 'safety' regulations and have completed the R&D to make sure their design has reliablity, in contrast to LR historically. Also, it must be stated the driveline is made in the LR and LC method of both differentials being offset to one side. There are clearance advantages to this for ground hugging small tire vehicles, burdens we in the USA do not have.

If one (or two) needs to live out of a vehicle while exploring unknown roads of all kinds, the Grenadier can be a world class choice. Robust design, small package, tested and proven design, and an engine with worldwide support are all kinds of goodness. How many of us really need that, Scott Brady most of us are not. Any American style truck will do a better job of carrying a load, livestock feed or groceries, and cost less all the way around, including MPG. Any AWD suv will get the kids to the soccer game at a much lower cost. The bronco badsquatch or jeep rubicon with 35" or larger tires out perform the off-road capabiities of the Grenadier. You can also throw in the fact the Grenadier is made in Germany at a time when their production capacity is in great question; many global economic factors could spell the end to such a start-up in the near future, leaving current owners with a curious and exotic piece of conversation material, on the other hand with the base model being ~$70K usd, will never be this cheap again. Are the benefits worth the $20K premium to you? If you are in the situation to be able to afford such a toy and have the use for it, now is a great time to buy. My personal choice would be the base model with the rough package, and would suggest Scot Brady and all other world traveling dreamers do the same.

We are truly blessed in the USA with an abundance of choices, OEM and aftermarket, to satisfy any niche task we desire to take upon ourselves. At the same time we are one of the largest markets in the world so almost all major manufacturers want a market share. The consumer wins from this competition. The Grenadier is a welcomed factor to this equation, however unless the Grenadier answers the exact question you are asking there are other choices better suited in our market.

uuhhh we like broncos here not toyotas or land rovers wanna bes
2021 bd 4dr 2.7l softy area51 running sas with 36x12.5x17 blow off valve tints k&n air intake borla exhaust bronco buster tire rods and a few thousand in stereo equipment lol

 

[StickerFab]

I hate to be on the other side so quickly after your post, but I kind of dig them. Wouldn't mind to have one. We took up to St. Petersburg and had a little test drive last Friday.

It's a maybe.

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