Ineos Grenadier: A new contender emerges in the off-road arena
For serious off-road enthusiasts, there’s a new player in town: the Ineos Grenadier. This utilitarian beast boasts the most coveted twin solid-axle configuration, a feature increasingly rare in modern 4WDs but prized for its unmatched off-road prowess.
Four-wheel drives that run the tried and tested twin solid axle format, especially with coil suspension front and rear, are without a doubt the most capable vehicles for serious off-road work. There is a reason why you only see these sorts of vehicles used in comp truck 4WD builds: the twin solid axle configuration gives vastly superior flex over modern-day IFS counterparts, and the solid axle format is simply stronger and less likely to fail under off-road abuse.
Unfortunately, the majority of modern-day 4WD offerings have now moved away from this format to the independent front suspension design, which is better suited to on-road driving but still retains an acceptable level of off-road prowess. Only the Toyota Landcruiser 70 series and Jeep Wrangler/Gladiator have continued to retain the twin solid axle configuration over the years, with the Land Rover Defender being discontinued in this format in 2016.
Enter the new kid on the block, Ineos Automotive, and its first vehicle, the Grenadier. The back story here is that the owner of global chemical giant Ineos, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who also happens to be a billionaire, was quite the Defender enthusiast and, to say the least, was not very happy with Land Rover’s decision to discontinue the old school Defender in favour of a more modern version that dropped the vehicle’s signature hard lines, riveted panels, and solid axles.
From this, the Ineos Grenadier was born. The vehicle was designed in the United Kingdom based on the original 110 series Defender, with the design brief to produce the world’s best utilitarian 4WD vehicle, which Ineos now does out of a former Mercedes-Benz factory in Hambach, France, that was purchased by Ineos in 2020.
When Ineos started to show up on my social media news feeds, to say my interest was piqued is an understatement. In my opinion, there was a major market niche for a hardcore off-road 4WD that retained coil-sprung solid front and rear axles yet also featured many of the modern comforts that we now expect in new vehicles. I actually came very close to putting the $500 deposit down at the initial expression of interest to secure a spot in the production line, and considering the price has since gone up about $30K, I really wish I had! So, as you could probably imagine, when the opportunity to test drive the Ineos Grenadier for two weeks came up, I was pretty excited!
One of the truly unique aspects of the Grenadier is the incredible level of customisation available with each build. Ineos operates a sales model unlike most other manufacturers, whereby you ‘build’ your dream Grenadier online and then delegate which dealership you would like it delivered to. Being able to choose between things like side steps or rock sliders, diff locks, and auxiliary batteries and associated wiring for accessories as factory-fitted options is something avid four-wheel drivers have been chasing from new vehicle manufacturers for years. You can even choose the colour of your chassis rails!
The pricing for these add-ons is also surprisingly reasonable; in most cases, the prices are cheaper than what it would cost for you to add the accessory as an aftermarket option. This is certainly something to consider when looking at the higher-end price tag of the vehicle (starting at $110K plus on-roads), as many 4WD enthusiasts will commonly drop another $20K on accessories to get a vehicle up to touring spec immediately after purchase. With the Grenadier, you can actually have the vehicle delivered in a state that requires minimal additional touring modifications.
Upon first viewing, the best way to describe the Grenadier would be as the love child of a 110-series Defender and a Mercedes G-Wagen. The front end leans heavily on the old-school Defender’s lines, but the rear end has clear G-Wagen styling built in. The appearance really fits the utilitarian design brief well, but still includes more modern offerings such as LED head and tail headlights.
My test vehicle was the six-cylinder BMW 3.0L twin-turbo diesel-powered option (you have a choice between this and a petrol-powered BMW option; no price difference) in the Fieldmaster variant, meaning it came with the optional smooth pack (anti-theft alarm and immobiliser, front parking sensors, power-heated exterior mirrors, heated windscreen washer jets, a lockable central storage bin, puddle lamps, ambient door lighting, and auxiliary charge points) and safari windows, the latter of which really add a nice sense of extra space to the cabin. Ride height is more than ample from the factory, and although the vehicle comes supplied with 32-inch tyres, the guards should easily be able to fit 33’s.
The engine bay is incredibly tidy; however, there is very little remaining space. The cranking battery and associated fuses are all located under the rear passenger seat, with the optional auxiliary battery under the rear driver’s seat. These are actually great design features, as they keep the weight of the batteries down low and away from exposure to engine heat. However, if you decide to fold down the rear seats and load up the rear cabin, then access, if needed, would be problematic.
Opening the driver’s door, the cabin appears luxurious but functional, with the centrepiece being the centrally mounted large infotainment screen, which is flanked by utilitarian-styled switches. These switches also feature on the roof console and are akin to what you would see in an aircraft cabin. One really notable feature of the Grenadier is that there is a switch present for most of the major vehicle functions, meaning that you don’t need to do a deep dive through screen menus to turn things on and off when you want to do it quickly. The central screen is controlled by a rotational dial mounted next to the handbrake, and I found it easy to navigate the various menus.
The seats are supremely comfortable offerings from Recaro, and the ones in the test vehicle featured optional heating, which I am a massive fan of. I use these on long trips regardless of whether it’s cold or not, as I find them to be really beneficial for my lower back. The rear seats are also Recaros, and I must say it would have to be one of the most comfortable setups I have ever seen in a 4WD wagon, with plenty of leg room on offer. Opening the rear barn doors revealed a large storage area that was certainly not as wide as I am used to in my Patrol, but what it lacked in width, it made up for in height.
Driving out of the dealership, the first thing I had to quickly adjust to was the speedometer being located on the central screen. Instead of an instrument cluster in front of you, the Grenadier has a compact panel for displaying its warning lights. I think the design brief here is for you to have a really unobstructed forward view so you can focus while navigating off-road terrain. You certainly do get used to briefly looking to the left for speed checks, though, and after a short while, it became second nature.
A quick push of the accelerator resulted in sports car-like acceleration, delivered with exceptional smoothness through the eight-speed BMW transmission. This combination of BMW power and driveline really separates the Grenadier from the old-school Land Rover Defender it was designed around, which many would say was heavily underpowered. I cannot emphasise enough how nice the vehicle was to drive in terms of power and gear shifting; it certainly did not feel like I was driving a utilitarian 4WD!
The suspension is also very comfortable on-road, with minimal body roll. Hitching my 1.8T boat to the rear was noticeable but didn’t bother the Grenadier at all, still effortlessly accelerating away from a standstill at the lights, in fact, faster than most other cars, which is perhaps not so notable in Perth though! Fuel consumption was very modest for a 3.0L, six-cylinder vehicle, with 487km of metro driving producing figures of 12.9L/100km and a highway run to Busselton and back, combined with some metro driving showing 12.2L/100km.
With the supplied 90-litre fuel tank, this should see a range of about 700 km, and you can now increase that by another 500 km or so with an aftermarket auxiliary tank. As I didn’t tow for any substantial distance, I didn’t get a fuel use figure on this, but I would expect it to be somewhere around the 16L/100km mark. I should also note that these figures could come down slightly, as I was probably enjoying the power on tap that the Grenadier offers more than you would if you were driving this day in and out.
To test out the vehicle’s off-road prowess, I headed out to the ‘4WD proving ground’ that is Julimar State Forest in Perth’s north-east. Dropping the tyres down to 18 PSI, I engaged low range (with the centre diff lock engaged) and pointed the vehicle towards its first offroad obstacles, which were off-camber track sections and deepish ruts. Almost immediately, I had parking sensors alerting me that I was close to an object, which prompted me to engage the ‘offroad mode’ switch, which quickly turned all sensors off and even allowed me to drive without a seatbelt on (not that I would recommend this).
You can also select a very cool ‘offroad’ information screen, which provides details like tyre pressure and temperature, as well as oil and transmission temperatures. The Grenadier handled everything I pointed it towards with ease, offering huge amounts of flex and effortless control thanks to the automatic gearbox. I was especially impressed that the car didn’t really ‘run away’ from me in D during a steepish hill descent, which is common in most automatic 4WDs. Once I selected first gear manually, however, the crawl speed was even better, offering very precise control over the vehicle while descending steep terrain.
Popping the bonnet to air up at the end of the tracks did present me with a slight dilemma that Ineos have thought about, but perhaps not as well as they could have. With the batteries under the rear seat, attaching my 12V air compressor was not as straight-forward as normal. Ineos provide a single, large positive terminal in the engine bay for jump-starting, etc., but they do not provide a matched negative to the chassis rail. Instead, I had to find an earth through a bolt in the engine bay, which, although it worked fine, is not ideal for high-amp draw devices as the body is mounted to the chassis through rubber insulation mounts. Of course, I could have also accessed the battery from under the rear seat, but I didn’t want to ask my passengers to get out so I could do this, and I don’t think this would be practical while 4WD touring.
So, are there any negatives to the Grenadier? The short answer here is yes, but they are certainly not deal-breakers and could be dealt with in later iterations of the vehicle. Although the engine and automatic combination make for effortless metropolitan driving, the Grenadier really isn’t at home in car parks. Here I found a very poor turning circle—I would say as poor as a Toyota LC 70 series—resulting in three-point turns that I normally wouldn’t need to do.
The steering was also very heavy, despite being power-assisted, but was only really noticeable at crawl speeds. I guess this is the price you pay for the twin solid-axle configuration. The vehicle could also benefit from larger side mirrors (especially for towing purposes) with the addition of blindspot indicators, as the car does have large B and C pillars, which can make pulling into traffic a bit unnerving at times.
The biggest question, though, is: will the Grenadier be able to mix it with the likes of the Toyota LC 70 series and Jeep Wrangler? In my opinion, it’s a resounding yes. The Grenadier is really in a league of its own considering the proven BMW powertrain and driveline it offers, combined with twin solid axles, supreme levels of customisation from the factory, and incredible driver and passenger comfort.
Yes, there are some areas that could be improved on, but considering this is the first vehicle off the production line for Ineos, it really is an amazing achievement. With the upcoming release of the new Quartermaster variant in both dual-cab styleside tray and cab-chassis formats, the Grenadier will certainly give the Toyota LC 70 series a run for its money, offering more power and comfort and the ability to customise the vehicle from purchase so you get everything you want and nothing that you don’t. I think this review may end up costing me $120K or more in the coming years!
By Matt Payne
This review can be found in the 131st edition of Western 4W Driver at issuu.com
