2024 Ineos Grenadier review

Ineos Grenadier Cons

Finally, we're getting to drive the Ineos Grenadier on home soil.

Born after Land Rover wouldn't sell the tooling and manufacturing products for the original Defender to British billionaire and chemical engineer, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Magna Steyr-assembled and BMW-powered Grenadier is a "back to basics" 4×4 with a rugged ladder-frame chassis being pitched as a proper go-anywhere vehicle.

The Grenadier is aiming straight at the big hitters in the 4×4 world, despite Ineos Automotive as a brand only being a few years old.

It's available in several variants, with a litany of options and accessories to suit your lifestyle. It's prepped with the requisite wiring, mounts and the like to accessorise it further with your favourite aftermarket bits.

While it starts at over $100,000 before on-road costs after a couple of price adjustments, Ineos is reporting a solid response from Australian consumers – with over 800 to be delivered through to the end of 2023 despite first cars arriving in June.

We joined the Australian media launch in Victoria, with a focus on off-roading in the Macedon ranges combined with a shorter stint on-road – how does it fare?

Ineos Grenadier Utility Wagon

Ineos Grenadier Station Wagon

Prices exclude on-road costs

In an age of huge displays and ever reducing levels of physical switchgear, the Grenadier is a proper throwback.

There's hard buttons and toggle switches littering the centre stack and on the overhead console, in addition to a high-mounted touchscreen infotainment system running a proprietary interface. Everything feels solid and has a nice satisfying action to it – fit for purpose, even.

One odd design trait is the lack of a conventional instrument cluster, with just a cluster for various function icons like headlights, diff locks, indicators and that sort of thing. There's a digital tachometer and gear readout, as well as a speedo on the driver's side of the infotainment system – sort of like what we've seen in the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y.

Recaro seats feature as standard in the Grenadier, and no they're not like the kind of sports seats you'll find in something like a Ford Focus ST. Instead they're comfortable, supportive chairs designed to keep you secure while adventuring.

The driver's seat in particular – which is manually adjustable – is really well shaped to keep you locked in even while bouncing around over rough terrain. Even with the strong bolstering, I didn't get out feeling fatigued or sore. You feel this way regardless of whether you get the cloth or leather trim.

The upright design and straight lines create a real impression of space, given this thing is a massive box on wheels with big, tall windows to see out of.

It's got a bit of old Land Rover and Toyota LandCruiser about it but also some aero-inspired elements. Numerous journalists and social media messages likened the Grenadier's cockpit – in particular the overhead toggle switches – to the cockpit of an aeroplane.

As Alborz noted in his international launch drive, the layout and ergonomics are generally really good and are a refreshing hark back to simpler times, but there are some quirks of the right-hand drive model.

The main one we experienced is the massive driver footwell intrusion caused by the BMW engine's exhaust manifold in right-hand drive configuration. Basically, your left foot is forced to sit higher than you'd probably be used to, and if you happen to use the car on something like a farm with big boots this further exaggerates the problem.

It also means finding the right driving position can be a little confusing at first, because you have to balance the distance from the throttle pedal with making sure you aren't too cramped up with your left foot on the rest.

One cool option fitted to the test cars was the Saddle Leather Driver's Pack, which sees the standard Nappa leather trimming for the steering wheel, handbrake lever and passenger grab handle swapped out for beautiful saddle brown hide with contrast stitching.

"This tough yet tactile leather will age and wear with the vehicle, making it unique to every owner over time," Ineos says. Obviously the vehicles on the launch were pretty new and weren't showing any signs of ageing, but it's a gorgeous finish that I would recommend considering.

Standard 'Utility' trim is a combination of cloth and vinyl on the standard variant, but there's also genuine leather available in either Black or dual-tone Grey/Black. Leather comes as standard as part of the Fieldmaster Edition.

The 12.3-inch touchscreen is running an in-house interface despite having some similarities to BMW's iDrive system.

Wireless Apple CarPlay features as well as Android Auto, while the Pathfinder navigation system is more coordinate and positioning than factory mapping. If you want turn-by-turn prompts, use your phone software.

You can use touch inputs or the iDrive-style rotary controller on the centre console. The actual user interface is quite simple and easy to use, with my pick being the off-road menus with widgets and gauges to show data like geometry, tyre pressure and temperature, as well as other vehicle information.

As noted earlier, almost half the screen is dedicated to a driver cluster display in lieu of a conventional instrument binnacle. It's relatively simple and easy to read, but I personally prefer a more traditional layout with stuff like rev and speed information positioned ahead of the driver – particularly in a performance car or off-roader.

In the rear of the Station Wagon there's good space for adults behind adults, though it's far from palatial despite the hefty vehicle dimensions.

Rear air vents feature, as do USB-A and -C charging ports, while the front seat backs are scalloped to offer more knee and legroom. ISOFIX anchors are fitted to the outboard pews.

There's a massive driveline hump though, so if you carry three adults abreast the centre passenger may have to 'man-spread' a bit which impedes comfort and space.

The rear seats split and tumble to open up more room, and there's a decent step to the rear seat backs in this configuration. The vehicle battery is housed under the rear seat, which the company says is to keep it dry, and out of harm's way.

Ineos quotes 1152L maximum luggage capacity behind the second row, and 2035-2088L behind the first row. These figures are measured to the roof.

Utility rails feature in the rear of Trialmaster Editions as standard, and are optional on other grades. Further, there's a litany of accessories like cargo management systems, cargo barriers, dividers, tie-down rings, and netting to suit your tastes.

At launch, a pair of BMW-sourced inline six-cylinder engines are available with the Ineos Grenadier.

The bulk of the media drive was through the off-road trails at Lerderderg State Park in Victoria's north-west, with some pretty gnarly trails and crossings that were a good test for Ineos's go-anywhere 4×4.

We started from the town of Woodend and headed straight for the trails, starting in the diesel-engined Trialmaster – bringing BFGoodrich KO2 AT tyres, and front and centre differential locks compared to the standard centre lock.

Early on it was pretty that the Grenadier is a heavy-duty 4×4 in the way it drove on the road. It's not uncomfortable or unrefined, but you have a good feel for what's going on underneath you, and the controls are fairly heavy.

We took the Ratcliffe Track which is a pretty challenging trail, not something you'd be taking on with a regular SUV. I actually did a similar route on the Mazda BT-50 SP launch a year or so ago, which served as a good reference point.

This track features uneven surfaces, jagged rocks, loose dirt, even a water crossing – which was fairly low on the day. It didn't matter what presented itself, the Grenadier charged over it with no fuss.

With permanent all-wheel drive and an excellent eight-speed ZF auto with low-range transfer case, the B57 diesel-powered Grenadier was more than up to task with getting this big ol' wagon over every obstacle.

This oiler is already very accomplished, serving in the BMW 5 Series, 7 Series, X3 and X5. In this application, which has been extensively revised for low-down torque off-road and high-range performance on tarmac, the 3.0-litre straight six diesel was super tractable, with great throttle modulation and response.

Peak torque of 550Nm comes in at just 1250rpm, and stays on tap through to 3000rpm. This band is pretty much where we spent our entire driving time in through the Ratcliffe Track, giving the Grenadier muscular and effortless response on the rough stuff.

The eight-speed auto is controlled with a wand you'd notice is straight out of a lot of previous-generation BMWs. It's positioned next to a ball-shaped four-wheel drive shifter for the low-range transfer case – which required some more determined yanking to get in and out of low-range on occasion.

There's a lofty 264mm of standard ground clearance, 800mm quoted wading depth; as well as approach, breakover and departure angles of 35.5/36.1/28.2 degrees respectively. It also offers 9.0 degrees of front axle articulation and 12 degrees of rear axle articulation.

For reference the Grenadier Wagon measures 4896mm long on a 2922mm wheelbase, while the relatively short front and rear overhangs are quoted as 887mm and 874mm respectively. The heavy-duty coil suspension features a five-link setup on both solid beam axles.

Not once did we hear a bump or scrape despite some of the more uneven or jagged terrain we encountered, while the tall panoramic glass house and big mirrors made for excellent side and rearward visibility.

Up front, the long bonnet and steel bumpers have a similar effect to the Jeep Wrangler in that it's sometimes hard to judge where the nose is, but optional front parking sensors alleviate that in certain situations. It would be good to see something like a surround-view camera, or even just a front-facing one with off-road mode so you could get a better view of what's ahead on a crest or incline.

After doing the same trail in reverse with the B58 3.0-litre inline six petrol, it was pretty clear the diesel is the choice for 4×4 ventures if that's what you plan to do with your Grenadier.

It was by no means a distant second in terms of outright performance, given it managed the terrain just fine and even gave us a bit of a show with its silky smooth soundtrack; but the more rev-happy nature and reduced torque output (450Nm at 1750rpm v 550Nm at 1250rpm) meant it had to work a bit harder and wasn't as easy to modulate.

For the really rough stuff we had the vehicles in low-range with the centre differential locked in both engine variants, though we didn't try out the front and rear diff locks fitted to the Trialmaster-spec diesels. You can option these for both engine variants.

The petrol showed its best traits on a second tarmac drive leaving Lerderderg, where its free-revving performance was welcome. It accelerates swiftly and offers the sweet inline six engine note we've come to love from BMWs with the same engine, and it's a whole second quicker from 0-100km/h than the diesel (8.8s v 9.8s).

It's also thirstier. During our back-to-back off-road drive routes, the diesel was showing about 15L/100km while the petrol was anywhere between 19-21L/100km. Something to note if you're wary of fuel economy.

We also did a quick towing test with the diesel version, hooked up to a caravan weighing around 2.0t. I was quite impressed with how easy it was to drive the Grenadier with a decent load down back.

Other than a mild impact on acceleration and the extra length to account for when navigating intersections or tight streets, you barely felt the extra weight such is the load-bearing capability and strong performance of the diesel Grenadier.

We even tackled some high-speed (80-100km/h), undulating roads with the caravan hooked up, and other than some mild bobbing at the rear of the vehicle as the body came back into line over undulations with the added weight, it was pretty settled and confidence inspiring.

The brakes stood up well, offering solid stopping power – even if the pedal is a little light on for response on initial input. There's 316mm discs up front and 305mm rotors at the rear, with twin-piston calipers up front and single-piston stoppers at the rear.

The Grenadier offers a 3.5t braked towing capacity with 350kg max towball download, as well as a gross combination mass of 7000kg. The Grenadier Wagon quotes a kerb weight of between 2618kg-2718kg depending on specification, with Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) quoted as 3550kg across the range.

Grenadier highlights:

Chassis and Body

Performance

Exterior

Wheels and Tyres

Interior

Infotainment and Connectivity

Seating and Trim

Additional Equipment

Grenadier Trialmaster adds:

Grenadier Fieldmaster adds (over Grenadier):

Visit the Ineos Grenadier configurator for up-to-date specifications and pricing

Rough Pack

Smooth Pack

Contrast Ladder Frame

Contrast Roof

Wheels

Other

Visit the Ineos Grenadier configurator for up-to-date options and pricing

Solid

Metallic

The Ineos Grenadier hasn't been tested by ANCAP or Euro NCAP.

Standard features include:

Safety and Security

Assistance Systems

More sophisticated driver assistance systems are in the pipeline for overseas markets; including autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and lane departure warning, though it's unclear when these will become available to the Australian market.

Ineos Automotive covers the Grenadier with a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty.

Ineos Automotive recommends a 12-month servicing interval for the Grenadier, or six-month servicing "for continuous use in tough environments". There's no published pricing.

As well as servicing Grenadiers at its retail centres, Ineos has cut a global deal with Bosch Car Service centres to cater to more remote operators. "Flying Spanner" techs based in the Australian HQ are also said to be available, if the service network needs help.

For owners who intend to work on their Grenadier themselves, Ineos is providing online 3D interactive manuals with support from the technical team at HQ a call or a click away.

This doesn't feel like a first-generation product. Not at all.

It's a common line to say something is 'more than the sum of its parts', but the Ineos Grenadier is the sum of its parts in the very best way. With such goodness baked in thanks to its acclaimed ingredients and suppliers, it shapes up as a great alternative to the likes of the LandCruiser 70 Series and Jeep Wrangler.

This is a specialised product, so I wouldn't necessarily be cross-shopping it with a new Defender, Discovery or LandCruiser 300 Series as those vehicles are laden with creature comforts and safety features, and therefore more suited to daily driving if you spend more time in the 'burbs.

It's a shame there's no three-row option either; but if the Utility Wagon doesn't offer enough utility there's a dual-cab ute and cab-chassis range coming in 2024 – all based on the same solid underpinnings. It offers an endless list of options and accessories so you can tailor it to your specific needs, and that's before you even hit the aftermarket.

What Ineos has done is created a solid, well-rounded canvas for you to carve out a personal masterpiece.

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Content originally sourced from: CarExpert.com.au