- Incredible off-road
- Built like a tank
- Classic G-Wagen, Defender looks
- Sharp as a hammer on-road
- Steering doesn’t fully self-center
- Extremely basic interior tech
Overview:
— Pasadena, CA
Specificity. Clarity of purpose. These things are not super common in today’s cars. Every carmaker has designed all their cars to do everything, and this is, in large part, why many cars look and behave the same. This wasn’t always the case. There was a time when you’d buy a 4x4 and expect that it’d be bad (or at least not ideal) for a lot of things but rugged and brilliant off-road. The Ineos Grenadier is a return to that way of thinking, and love it or hate it, it’s damned good at its job.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Grenadier’s unique set of charms, it started as the beer-fueled fever dream of British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who lamented the lack of new, stripped-back, barebones off-roaders after Land Rover killed off the old Defender in favor of the much more sophisticated new version. That’s relatable, but what’s less so is that he decided to actually do something about it that only a billionaire could – he made one.
Why It’s Great:
Don’t get me wrong, the Ineos Grenadier is a deeply flawed vehicle, but it’s not fantastic in spite of those flaws; it’s fantastic because of them. For example, where most vehicles have bailed on the whole solid front axle design, Ineos kept it thanks to its ruggedness and increased suspension articulation. Sure it makes the handling not great (see: Jeep Wrangler) but it’s better off-road and so that’s how it had to be.
Aside from the rugged chops, the Grenadier is just a cool space to spend time in. The aircraft-style switchgear, deeply un-luxurious but fully expedition-spec materials, and borderline ridiculously high seating position are all unique, and they make you feel ready to tackle the Camel Trophy back in 1995. There are optional creature comforts, but my Trialmaster model lacked most of them, instead focusing on – you guessed it – off-road bits.
The exterior design seems to be just as polarizing as the rest of the car, with people either loving it or hating it. Critics seem to complain that it looks like a mashup of the old Land Rover Defender, the Mercedes G-Wagen, and the 70-Series Toyota Land Cruiser. Frankly, those are all positives in my book.
The boxy shape and dirt-focused design pays dividends in things like ground clearance (10.4 inches) and approach (35.5 degrees), departure (36.1 degrees), and breakover angles (28.2 degrees. It’ll also wade through 31.4 inches of water and has a crawl speed of 1.26 mph. Comparatively, the Mercedes G550 has 9.5 inches of ground clearance, approach and departure angles of 30.9 and 29.9 degrees respectively, a breakover angle of 23.5 degrees, and a max fording depth of 26.4 inches.
The powertrain is also really interesting. Ineos buys BMW’s B58 3.0-liter inline-six engine, but in a tune that better suits the Grenadier’s unique needs. Where the BMW engine normally has two turbos, the Grenadier only has one. Other areas have been detuned as well, which means that an engine that normally produces upwards of 382 horsepower now makes just 282 – and that’s a good thing.
Why would less power in a heavier platform be a positive? Reliability, friend! The engine is considerably less stressed in the Grenadier, and while the standard B58 engine has proven to be fairly robust in stock form, I’d suspect that this version will be even more trouble-free for much longer. This engine suits the Grenadier in other ways. For example, it’s paired with a retuned ZF eight-speed automatic transmission. This combined with the low-end shove provided by that 3.0-liter six means that the Ineos is quicker than you’d expect and feels more like a diesel than you’d think.
Another benefit of the downgrade in power is that the engine will be much happier running on lower-quality fuel than it would be otherwise. This is important because as an adventure vehicle, the Grenadier may end up in places where Top Tier 91-octane simply doesn’t exist.
The last thing that I really want to highlight about the Grenadier is the way that Ineos designed it to be repaired and modified. Unlike most manufacturers who will balk at the idea of an owner fixing their own vehicle, Ineos encourages it. Body panels are designed to be easily fixed or replaced. There are tons of threaded inserts in the chassis to bolt on things like winches and rock sliders. You can even get the Grenadier prewired for electrical accessories with common and weather-resistant Deutsch plugs preinstalled all over the body.
The Grenadier knows exactly what it is and what it isn’t, and Ineos seems to have a very clear idea of who is going to buy it. That kind of clarity is rare these days in the automotive industry, and I think it’s pretty refreshing.
What It’s Missing
The Grenadier has a lot going for it, but that single-minded purpose also means that a lot of other convenience features that we’ve become accustomed to over the years have been tossed to the wayside. For some people, the lack of certain modern conveniences in an $80,000-plus vehicle is just a bridge too far.
For example, the Grenadier doesn’t have a traditional gauge cluster. There’s a small binnacle in front of the driver filled with warning lights, and then things like speed and RPM are displayed in the high-mounted center infotainment screen. I have seen some reviews where people just couldn’t get past this, but I got used to it quickly.
Obviously, because the Grenadier is being sold in the US, it has to have certain driver assistance features like a backup camera, lane departure warning, and automatic speed warning, but it doesn’t offer adaptive cruise control or active lane-keep assist. Also the speed warning feature defaults to on every time you start the car, so you have to go into the menus and disable it every time or it will bing and bong at you constantly. I’d assume that at some point, some intrepid owner or shop will figure out how to code this out, since it’s not legally required for the US.
Other sacrifices made to the gods of off-roading include a steering rack that’s numb at best and doesn’t fully self-center. This was done for a reason – specifically to prevent the wheel jerking around on rough trails and tiring the driver – but it’s weird and not that pleasant. Ultimately, within a couple hours of driving it, I got used to this quirk and I would imagine most others would as well.
My Trialmaster version came on steel wheels and BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A K02 tires in 265/70R17, which look the business but make all kinds of noise on the freeway and aren’t ideal for around-town driving. Some much more tame Bridgestone Duelers are standard on the base model, so there are ways around this. 18-inch steel wheels are also available, as are 17- and 18-inch alloy wheels. The steelies look way cooler though.
The 70/30 rear barn doors look awesome, but because of the cargo area–mounted spare wheel, the small opening is a little awkward to use by itself and the larger side of the door can be tough to use in parking lots or other tight spaces. The rear cargo area also has a very high load floor, so smaller drivers might struggle somewhat to hoist heavy items up there. Cargo space is decent at 40 cubic feet behind the second row, plus the Grenadier will also tow up to 7,716 pounds.
Arguably the biggest thing that the Grenadier is missing, though, is a recognizable badge. Being a new company that’s a subsidiary of a chemical company that sponsors cyclists, many people won’t recognize the name Ineos and those spending nearly six figures on a niche SUV generally want some brand cachet to go with the vehicle itself. The Grenadier has none. Further, because the car company side of things is so new, people might be nervous about its longevity. Look at what happened with Fisker and the Ocean. That’s a bad situation for any car owner to be in.
Also Try:
The Grenadier doesn’t have a ton of competition, but if you want a mega-capable SUV with way more creature comforts for a ton more money (the starting price for the 2025 model is expected to be around $145,000), the Mercedes G550 is a good option. It also has front, center, and rear locking differentials and despite its status as a luxury item, it’s first and foremost an off-roader.
The new Toyota Land Cruiser and Lexus GX are going to be very capable off-road and much, much more comfortable than the Grenadier, but considerably more complicated too, thanks to their hybrid-electric drivetrains. While they’re still too new to say definitively whether they’ll be as long-lived and reliable as their forebears, they don’t have the same kind of stout feeling that the Ineos has and inevitably, they’ll be less friendly to owners who want to modify them extensively.
The new Land Rover Defender is technically a competitor but has gone in a vastly different direction than the Ineos with its refinements and technology. This is also true of the Ford Bronco. Both are awesome trail vehicles but neither feels like they’ll offer the same kind of ownership experience as the Grenadier.
Is It A Forever Car?
For the right buyer, the Grenadier is absolutely a forever car. It does things differently than anything else on the road and it’s built in such a way that it encourages continual repair, modification, and improvement rather than outright replacement. The Grenadier is a nearly blank canvas for people into overlanding or, more likely, people who want to look like they’re into overlanding.
The 2024 Ineos Grenadier starts at $75,100 which puts it in spitting distance of a loaded Land Cruiser and nearly half the price of a G-Class. My Trialmaster test vehicle was more expensive with an asking price $83,100 to start and the addition of a 5,500-pound integrated winch and a few other accessories saw the sticker rise to $88,986. It’s not cheap by any means, but it’s also less expensive than I expected to be when the vehicle was announced a few years ago.
Base Price: $73,100 including $1,600 destination
As-Tested Price: $88,986
Engine: 3.0-liter Turbocharged I6
Output: 282 Horsepower / 332 Pound Feet
Transmission: Eight-Speed Automatic
Drive: Part-time Four-Wheel Drive with Two-Speed Transfer Case
EPA Fuel Economy: 14 City / 14 Highway / 14 Combined
0-60: 9.6 Seconds (claimed)
Top Speed: 99 Miles Per Hour
Weight: 6,173 Pounds
Seating: 5
Cargo Capacity: 40 Cubic Feet (behind second row)
