2023 Ineos Grenadier video review: International first drive

The 2023 Ineos Grenadier is a unique proposition, in many ways. How many times can you say that a wealthy person (extremely wealthy) seemingly impulse-decided to kick off a car company? Sure, there have been a few failed attempts (like the Dyson and Apple cars, for example) of people and companies attempting to break into the automotive scene, but the Grenadier seems like one that is here for the long haul.

When the original Defender finally succumbed to progress and was killed off – and was set to be replaced by something significantly more modern, advanced, luxurious and complex – there were countless conversations between enthusiasts around the world.

Conversations of sadness and dismay, reminiscing about a collective love for the old icon. I had a few of these myself: the trips, the breakdowns, the oil leaks, the conquered obstacles and that special bond, seared into your memories like a cattle brand.

It was like you were fondly farewelling a loveable but flawed old friend, who had a life well lived.

And while there is a lot to like about the new Land Rover Defender, such as capability, comfort, safety, technology, design and practicality, there is no doubt that it’s a radical move away from the raison d'etre of the original.

Many of these conversations were the same, finishing up with an ‘oh well’, and maybe a quick perusal of the classifieds to see what a good second-hand model was going for.

If the stories are to be believed, there was one conversation in a London pub that started similarly but had a vastly different conclusion.

The pub was called the Grenadier in the guts of London. A stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace, and not much further to Trafalgar Square.

The main difference to note here is that one participant in that conversation, while intently swilling around a half-filled pint (presumably), figured that he had the financial wherewithal (and business gumption) to do something about it.

His name is Jim Ratcliffe (Sir Jim, actually) and just so happens to be one of Europe’s wealthiest individuals. The source of that wealth is a company called Ineos, whose main trade is in chemicals and is one that he started.

He’s also a bit of an adventurer and traveller, as well as being a fan of the rough, raw and righteous old Defender. And after he unsuccessfully attempted to buy the rights to continue producing the original Defender, he decided to pony up and make his own.

This is an important thing to note about the Grenadier: it’s a self-funded operation from a private company, which doesn’t need any kind of shareholder input or revenue raising to operate.

Ineos Automotive has spent somewhere north of €1 billion so far, and a break-even point is somewhere in the distant future. However, Jim (and Ineos) has deep enough pockets (and long enough arms) to play the long game.

While Ineos is a British company, the Grenadier is an international affair. It's being engineered by Magna Steyr in Austria and built in a repurposed Mercedes-Benz facility in France. The powertrain is a melting pot, with a German engine (BMW) and gearbox (ZF), Mexican/American transfer case (Tremec) and Italian differentials (Carraro). Germany gets another guernsey with the seats (Recaro), and America gets another couple of nods in driveline components: CV joints (Dana) and diff locks (Eaton).

And after four years of in-the-open development, we are finally given the opportunity to get behind the wheel of this all-new car from an all-new player: the 2023 Ineos Grenadier.

This vehicle has an old-fashioned heart. Whereas many four-wheel-drive manufacturers like Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and even Iveco have moved away from old-fashioned live front axles, this Grenadier goes against the grain. It's live axles, front and rear.

That’s joined by coil springs and disc brakes all round, with a steel ladder chassis and body-on-frame construction. Only the Jeep Wrangler/Gladiator and Suzuki Jimny are similar, and recreational vehicles without the same work-ready, heavy-duty bent, while the Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series has stuck with leaf springs in the rear.

Prices did recently get jacked up by Ineos, which cites production costs as the cause. It now starts from $97,000 before on-road costs, which means it's a six-figure job by the time it hits the road (despite skipping the costly luxury car tax). All Grenadier wagons, options and accessories are exempt, after Ineos Automotive lobbied the Australian Taxation office on the basis that the vehicle is designed for commercial usage.

It is also worth noting that the base offering is a two-seat model, so opting for a five-seater costs $1000 extra.

And although the Grenadier is a utility vehicle at its core, there is still going to be a big lifestyle proponent of buyers who are drawn to that appeal. Most of these buys will be eyeing off the Trialmaster and Fieldmaster specifications, which both add a bit over 10 grand to the asking price.

The Trialmaster – which is pitched more towards serious off-road use – adds in the 'Rough Pack' as standard: locking differentials front and rear, and BFGoodrich all-terrain tyres (instead of the Bridgestone Duelers). There's also a tow bar, auxiliary battery system, compass with altimeter, raised air intake, interior utility rails and an awesome ladder on the back.

It's not Trailmaster, either. Trialmaster comes from Ineos's connection with fashion brand Bellstaff and its Trialmaster jacket, which was designed around the Scottish Six Days Trial motorcycle event.

Fieldmaster foregoes the Rough Pack, but instead picks up leather seating (with heated front seats), carpeted floor mats and 17-inch alloy wheels.

Both of these specs also get the Smooth Pack, which includes front parking sensors, auxiliary charging points, heated side mirrors and washer jets, lockable centre console, puddle lamps, and an 'advanced anti-theft alarm and immobiliser'.

There is also a high amount of customisation available on the Grenadier, along with a big range of accessories to choose from as well. In other words, you can burn some serious hours on the configurator.

How big is the Grenadier? It’s difficult to get a gauge on this when you’ve never seen the car before, and when there is no previous generation for reference.

With 4856mm of overall length and 2036mm of height, the Grenadier certainly has a big presence. Compare that to some of the more commonly referenced vehicles to get an idea.

The wheelbase of the Grenadier is relatively long, and the boxy shape yields a high amount of squared-off interior space. 

Following on from the bespoke platform – designed by Magna Steyr for Ineos – the interior is unique to the Grenadier range. Only the gearshifter, which is similar to BMW vehicles, tends to stick out as something not wholly ground-up designed for this application.

It’s a hard-wearing, to-the-point interior, which (importantly) hasn’t fallen into the trap of feeling too spartan or sparse. The central stack protrudes squarely out from the dashboard with a complementary mix of materials used throughout.

Mostly, it’s hard plastics. However, there are softer materials where your elbows fall and atop the dashboard, and the mix of colours and textures feels right for the Grenadier's positioning (along with a good sense of build quality).

The interior isn’t perfect. The pool-ball-shaped stubby lever for low-range requires an almighty tug at times to move about, and the plastic material of the shifter feels a little cheap in this application (and price point). Something more solid-feeling – either rubber, plastic or metal – would be nice. 

Another thing worth noting is the size of the footwell for right-hand-drive models. Clearly, the exhaust side of engine plumbing (which includes particulate filters, exhaust gas recirculation systems and turbochargers for both petrol and diesel models) needs some room, and has eaten into the space that one would normally place their resting left foot.

Instead, there is a landing point further backward that has your leg at more of a 90-degree angle rather than being stretched out. For the record, my short-ish legs and and driving position didn’t yield any issues after driving for two hours. Longer stints, longer limbs, and personal preferences could be a cause for issue.

There’s a swathe of buttons and dials available in the Grenadier, which was clearly a conscious decision for usability and tactility, with things like gloved hands and long night-time drives. The buttons all have clear illumination, a real mechanical feel in their operation, and plenty of spacing between.

Below the infotainment display are things like single-zone climate control, demisting and volume control, and up above hosts the more serious four-wheel-drive stuff: off-road driving modes, diff-locking, chassis controls, and a host of pre-wired accessory switches. 

The second row of the Grenadier is decent without feeling overly spacious. Think of it as offering as much legroom as a big medium-sized SUV, perhaps a Kia Sportage or even a Mitsubishi Outlander. Headroom is plentiful and visibility is good.

Amenities in the back seats include air vents (that push a good amount of fresh air), room for bottles in the doors, and USB-A and USB-C power outlets. 

At the back, you’ll find old-fashioned barn doors (which I haven’t seen in a new four-wheel drive in many years). Open the smaller left-hand side first before swinging the next bit open. It works well, and you’ll find a boot that’s not necessarily long, but quite wide and with loads of height to work with. There are plenty of tie-down points in here, and a 12V plug, along with same same hard-wearing ethos as everywhere else. 

If you've spent time in a LandCruiser 70 Series or old Land Rover Defender, this Ineos Grenadier will feel familiar... To a point. Defender-esque vibes fall away when your right elbow finds a natural place to fall, and when you realise the handbrake isn't in the footwell. Perhaps the LandCruiser is a better starting point, but this Grenadier feels a little more ergonomic and comfortable overall.

One element of the Grenadier that I do like is the location of the starter battery, as well as the provision – and option – for an auxiliary system below the second-row seats. There's loads of room here, and it makes sense from a weight and accessibility point of view to fit your batteries here. There isn't much room in the engine bay after all, but at least that alternator is mounted up high.

And a big bonus point for adding in drain bungs in every footwell and the boot for five in total. That means you can hose out the car, and even the switchgear is water-resistant to splashes and spills. So keep the gurney pointed down around the pedals and you'll be okay.

Infotainment comes from a 12.3-inch central touchscreen display that includes features like Apple CarPlay (wired and wireless) and Android Auto (wired only) as well as digital radio. We didn't get a chance to really test out the features and operating system of the infotainment display during our test drive, but first impressions were good.

Some features of this system are quite cool, like the Pathfinder system that can use a third-party off-road mapping system to help your planning and exploring. One can even upload and download GPS files via the USB outlet in the centre console, and use a 'breadcrumbing' feature to keep track of your route.

If you've got an optional auxiliary 12V system fitted, you can also track the state of charge, and rates of charge and discharge, through the infotainment display. Awesome.

In front of the driver is no instrument binnacle, something of an advent for the vehicle. Instead, there is a small display there for things like warning lights and other indicators. The benefit here is that you get a nice clear field of view in front with visibility for off-roading improved.

To check your speed, you need to dart your eyes left-and-down to the centre display, instead of just down. It's not a deal-breaker for me, but still is worth noting.

The Ineos Grenadier isn't the safest car that one can buy. It's missing some key technology that is commonplace these days, like autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, and lane-departure warning.

Considering this, the Grenadier would likely not get a good score through ANCAP or NCAP. However, that kind of testing seems unlikely to happen in the future.

Also, the 3550kg GVM of the Grenadier in Australia – which is 50kg higher than other markets around the world – makes it ineligible for testing through our local crash-testing arm ANCAP.

The Grenadier will eventually pick up some additional safety equipment, like autonomous braking, driver monitoring and others when it becomes legislated as a minimum requirement in global markets.

It's also worth noting that even without an ANCAP safety rating, the Grenadier will meet minimum requirements of Australian Design Rules in Australia.

So as you can gather, there are a few elements missing here. No autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keeping assistance, or traffic sign recognition for the 2023 Ineos Grenadier.

This will change in the future, though it remains to be seen how much of this technology becomes standard fare and how much is set up as an option.

There are six airbags in the Grenadier (dual front, side and curtain airbags), which is six more than the original Land Rover Defender has. It's also got the basic chassis controls like stability control and traction control.

One interesting element here is that Ineos is moving to keep the knowledge and data on maintaining and servicing the Grenadier as a freely available resource for individuals and workshops alike. The company is working on an online portal that will include things like an electronic parts catalogue (EPC) for identifying and ordering components, as well as step-by-step guides for repair and service.

So if you want to do your own maintenance on your Grenadier, or you are forced to do so by circumstances (out in the field or at a workshop on the road), you can be well informed and well resourced to do the job.

Naturally, this comes with a caveat that doing so – and doing a substandard job – could have a detrimental effect on the warranty. However, it's refreshing to see a manufacturer come to the market with such an 'open source' mentality.

This initial drive of the Grenadier wasn't a great opportunity to get a gauge on fuel economy, because we were swapping between spec levels and powertrains regularly. Checking on the consumption levels at random intervals indicated that fuel consumption was a little higher than the claims, as is often the case.

If the shape of the Grenadier is any indication, fuel economy will likely shoot up noticeably when doing highway speeds – owing to the flat windscreen and big, boxy shape. We will know more about the economy of the Grenadier when we get to spend more time with it in Australia.

If you’ve had any amount of time behind the wheel of mechanically similar vehicles (old Defenders, Patrols and LandCruisers, even a Mercedes-Benz G-Class), you will be struck by a sense of similarity in this Grenadier. It feels more involving and engaging to drive than most new SUVs, and requires more of your neurons firing at the same time.

The BMW B57 diesel engine is a 3.0-litre inline six that dates back to 2015. In the case of the Grenadier, it uses two turbochargers in a sequential format. One small unit for low-rev torque and a bigger unit for high-rev power.

It’s the latest iteration of BMW’s six-cylinder diesel engines, which has been building a good reputation of being a stout and mostly reliable powertrain in the long term. Perhaps not to Mercedes OM606 levels, but quite good regardless.

In the Grenadier, both petrol and diesel engines feel relatively unstressed. These are engines that make significantly more power and torque in other applications, but here we have something that feels well suited to the application.

There’s certainly enough performance on tap for when you need it, but general driving, both on-road and off-road, feels relaxed and torquey. This experience is mirrored by the data sheet, which shows peak torque coming on tap very early in the rev range – 1750rpm for petrol and 1250rpm for diesel, both impressively low.

The petrol engine is faster overall, revving more happily for a claimed 8.6-second 0–100km/h dash. The diesel-engined Grenadier has a claimed figure of 9.9 seconds, which is still plenty fast enough.

The engines feel and sound mechanical, with a rewarding noise of induction and combustion coming into the cabin under acceleration. Both are managed wonderfully by the eight-speed automatic gearbox, which feels well calibrated for the application. It’s the well-known ZF 8HP gearbox, which (according to a quick count on Wikipedia) has been used in 135 different applications.

The ride quality of the Grenadier is good and seems to suit the application. It’s not firm and shuddering, nor is it floating and overtly comfortable.

Progressive-rate coil springs up front are matched to single-rate rear springs, which change according to specification and options. Despite the payload, the ride quality feels balanced between the front and rear, and body roll isn’t copious.

There’s a lot of weight to contend with, and the Grenadier is not a sporty drive in any real sense. But it feels balanced and controlled, for the most part.

Its steering is a classically old-school affair. A solid front axle means there’s no fancy rack-and-pinion steering set-up available here. It’s a classic ‘box-and-beam’ set-up with a steering box, pitman arm, and track rod.

More connections, more moving parts, more vagueness. It's a familiar feeling if you’ve got experience in older vehicles. But the Grenadier’s steering will feel agricultural if you come directly from a vehicle with more modern underpinnings.

It’s most noticeable on straight highway runs, when you need to constantly wiggle the tiller back and forth to stay on the straight-and-narrow. Around town, and when running through corners, it’s less noticeable: the steering feels well weighted in terms of speed and response, along with a heaviness that is typical of this style of hydraulic assistance.

The Grenadier uses approximately 35 ‘computers’ to run, and the engineering team explained that they actively looked to reduce and simplify the amount of electronics and wiring within the vehicle.

For example, sticking with a manual handbrake and lever-operated transfer case would have eliminated the need for additional computers. Engaging and disengaging the front and rear locking differentials side-steps any additional computers as well, instead using the existing wheel-speed sensors of the ABS system to communicate.

However, experiencing this first-hand did take some getting used to. While disengaging should be (theoretically, at least) instantaneous, one needs to drive through a corner in order for the light to stop flashing and turn off. The worst that one can do is press the button more than once and cause some confusion between vehicle and driver.

In a word, yes. When you compare the off-road specs of the Grenadier to important competitors, it scrubs up well. Only the Land Rover Defender – with its trick height-adjustable air suspension and independent all-round suspension – is able to better it comprehensively.

Why? That old-fashioned design of a ladder chassis with the body mounted high atop. The Grenadier is also endowed with a healthy wheelbase (115 old-money inches) relative to the size of the body. So even if the tyres are a not-huge 31.6 inches (265/70 R17), there is plenty of clearance on offer.

Another benefit is good protection: all of the important mechanical elements are tucked away between the chassis rails and away from damage. Steering linkages and control arms all look pretty good as well, especially now that Ineos engineers moved the rear lower control arms to a higher point on the chassis rails. Differentials are designed with clearance in mind, and the car looks like it will mostly slide over pinches instead of getting hung up.

And if you do run out of clearance fore and aft, standard steel bumpers front and rear will be able to handle a whack much better than something more plasticky.

A 2.5:1 Tremec-sourced transfer case matches well to the differential and transmission gearing, which goes a long way to helping the Grenadier feel at home off-road. Engaging the off-road mode helps with throttle control and gear selection, and engine gearing feels good in standard form.

Hill descent control is smartly tuned, and can be controlled via the steering wheel down to around two or three kilometres per hour. There's also a wading mode that works to disengage engine fans to reduce the chance of damage, as well as pause diesel particulate filter regeneration in case incoming water causes rapid cooling.

Don't expect the Grenadier to flex up through the ruts like a GQ Patrol with no swaybars, as it's not that kind of vehicle. In order to keep on-road driving at a decent level of decorum, articulation seemed to be good without being amazing.

That being said, we weren't able to push the Grenadier right to the limit off-road during our initial drive. The tracks were slippery, reasonably steep and quite rutted, but I got the sense that the Grenadier had more in the tank from a capability point of view. I'll be exploring this more when the vehicle lands in Australia.

Decent tyres, good clearance and locking differentials mean traction is often easy to find, and the Grenadier feels stable and planted when negotiating ruts and side-angles. Although it's quite a heavy vehicle, you can feel that most of the weight is down low (in the chassis and powertrain), and mostly central.

Visibility is good from the driver's seat, and the turning circle is quite big (13.5m). So expect to do some cut-and-fill on those tight tracks, like you're in a dual-cab ute.

Perhaps what is most impressive from first impressions of this Grenadier, from an off-road point of view, is the generally stout nature of how everything looks underneath. Monotube shock absorbers, made by ZF, are bigger than your average, and steering linkages look massive.

And being live-axled front and rear, doing things like suspension upgrades comes with less compromise and caveats than you get in an independent set-up. For many, this will be a big breath of fresh air.

Control arms, with a five-link set-up front and rear, aren't long, but they are enough for the Grenadier to have a claimed Ramp Travel Index (RTI) of 585 on a 20-degree ramp. I don't think I've ever seen such a thing in manufacturer press material before.

The Grenadier isn't for everyone, let's make that clear from the get-go. But one of the best things about this car is the fact that Ineos knows that as well: this isn't some cure-all that is marketed to all-and-sundry as the best thing since sliced bread. Rather, it's a focussed and honed vehicle that is clearly designed to fill a specific need for practicality, durability and capability.

The capability is there, and the design is as well. Important elements of clearance, protection and payload are well covered, and the interior suits the intentions of somebody properly using the Grenadier regularly.

Durability? That's something to be judged in the coming years and decades, but it's worth saying that the initial impressions of component size and build quality look quite good.

For some, this car will be manna from heaven. And they will rejoice in the news that it seems to be well made and well executed overall. However, it's worth noting the compromises.

The steering feels heavy and can be vague at times, the driver's footwell is small, and it's a noisier and less refined driving experience than most other SUVs at this price point. It also scores low on the safety front. It's heavy, the turning circle is big, and recent price rises have knocked about the value-for-money equation quite a bit.

I can sense that many won't care, however. Those who can afford it will love the Grenadier, and others – who maybe have had enough of pouring money into an old Patrol or LandCruiser, or are on the endless waiting list for a LandCruiser 70 – will be quite interested in this new proposition.

Like I said, it's not for everyone. But for those select few who subscribe to the same mantra, then this Grenadier is just the ticket.