A lot of motoring enthusiasts were tremendously upset when the old Land Rover Defender went out of production in 2016.
The new Defender is superb, and extremely capable off road. The only trouble is it’s now too fancy to take into the rough stuff. The interior is far too nice to sit in with filthy wellies or throw a wet dog into the boot.
Into this muddy gap steps the Ineos Grenadier. Scottish billionaire Jim Radcliffe – owner of the Ineos petrochemical group – decided he wanted to build a utilitarian 4×4 that would be exceptionally rugged and capable.
He came up with this idea over a pint in the Grenadier, a pub in London.
The result is the car tested here. The Ineos Grenadier is an uncompromising, stripped back, old school off roader that is designed to handle the roughest of terrain.
Floors Castle
I travelled to Floors Castle in the Borders to try it out on an off-road course on the Duke of Roxburgh’s sprawling estate.
It would be easy to mistake the Grenadier for the old Defender. Both have a boxy, no-nonsense look about them that shows they mean business.
The Grenadier comes as a Utility Wagon with either two or five seats. This is classed as a commercial vehicle and is designed primarily to carry big loads to remote places. Or you can have the Station Wagon, which is the five-seat passenger version and the one that I spent an afternoon with.
There’s loads of room front and back – it’s a huge vehicle – and the massive 1,255 litre boot can carry all the gear you’d need for an extended family camping trip in the wilderness. There are even rails on the side you can attach camping tables or shelves to.
Ineos sourced the engines and gearboxes from BMW and the Grenadier is available with 3.0 litre diesel or petrol engines paired with BMW’s excellent eight-speed automatic gearbox. Both engines have been tuned for the Grenadier’s needs, offering much more low range power.
Offroad prowess
I tried out the diesel version and spent an hour tackling some of the estate’s woodlands and hillsides. Even driving down a steep hillside of wet grass or crawling up a rocky incline we barely even scratched the surface of the Grenadier’s abilities.
It can wade in up to 80cm of water and has superb ground clearance. It will also tow up to 3,500kg. In an off-road contest, the Land Rover Defender and Jeep Wrangler are the only two cars I can think of that could hang with it.
The interior is smart but utilitarian. The Recaro seats are comfortable enough for full days in the saddle and have side bolsters to keep you in place when jolting over rocks. Visibility is superb and you sit higher up than even Range Rover or pickup truck drivers.
All the switchgear is oversized so you can use it with gloves on. Meanwhile, the heavy duty flooring can be hosed out, with water exiting through drain holes.
On-road the Grenadier is…okay. It’s way better than the original Defender but not nearly as good as the current one. Ride quality is a little bouncy and the steering wheel has so much play that it’s easy to run wide round corners are you frantically spool the wheel.
Royal assent
With an official fuel economy of less than 20mpg you wouldn’t want to regularly commute in it either. Couple that with a price tag starting at around £65,000 and it’s clear the Ineos Grenadier is only suitable for those who regularly go off-road and who need the very best vehicle for that job.
A few weeks ago I hiked the White Mounth circuit in Aberdeenshire. A couple of hours into this challenging walk I saw a Grenadier driving down the hillside towards me, containing two dapper gents in tweed.
These fellows, it turned out, were two of King Charles’ courtiers. Ineos had loaned the King a Grenadier for his summer residence at Balmoral and they were putting it through its paces.
If it’s good enough for royalty it’s good enough for me.
Facts
Price: £78,730
0-62mph: 9.9 seconds
Top speed: 99mph
Economy: 19.5mpg
CO2 emissions: 310g/km
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