INEOS Grenadier 2021 Shotgun Review

The 2023 INEOS Grenadier may have a familiar design, but this new off-roader is blazing a trail in many respects. INEOS says the Grenadier is designed to fill the void in the 4x4 market left by the departure of the previous Land Rover Defender.

That the INEOS Grenadier’s blocky body so closely resembles the old Defender is down as much to its utilitarian focus as it may be to evoke nostalgia for the iconic Landy. It’s a body to which you can easily mount accessories, offers voluminous internal space, and delivers excellent all-round vision, while still remaining compact and sure-footed.

But the Grenadier, which has been billed as the ultimate, no-compromise 4x4, will also sport high levels of comfort and overall refinement, along an innovative agency and service network that will span auto, off-road and RV specialists, plus Bosch Service Centres.

Backed by INEOS Group, a now massive multinational chemicals conglomerate founded by Ratcliffe, INEOS Automotive has brought the Grenadier to life in just four years, in no small part by collaborating with a range of proven partners.

BMW supplies the engines – a 3.0-litre straight six in either a turbo-petrol or twin-turbo diesel format – while there’s an eight-speed auto from ZF, differentials and axles from Italian tractor maker Carraro, and overall engineering expertise from Austrian off-road specialist, Magna Steyr.

But this is no pipe dream. INEOS has purchased the old Daimler-owned Smart production facility in Hambach, France, to build the Grenadier, with production slated to commence in mid-2022.

Reservations are already being taken – $800 seals your place in the queue – with the first local deliveries expected by the end of 2022. Sales here will be overseen by INEOS Automotive Australia, the new division based in Melbourne and headed up by auto industry veteran (and former Renault Australia chief), Justin Hocevar.

Available initially as a two-seat panel van with indicative pricing of $84,500, or a five-seater wagon for under $1000 more, a dual-cab pickup with the same chassis but a longer wheelbase will follow, while the company is already working with Hyundai on a hydrogen fuel-cell (FCEV) version.

Testing is well underway, with a single Grenadier ‘2B’ prototype recently touching down in Australia to begin the local leg of a global validation journey that will see 130 Grenadiers rack up 1.8 million test kilometres in harsh theatres around the globe.

The program will also see customers invited to view and ride along in the proto, and INEOS says their impressions will then plugged back into the vehicle’s development.

Needless to say, when carsales was invited to rural Victoria to get up close and personal with this innovative off-roader, even if only to experience it from the passenger seat, we didn’t need to be asked twice.

Anyone with a soft spot for the old Defender is sure to go all trembly when face to face with the 2023 INEOS Grenadier. As it swings into view at our test location, it looks every inch the purpose-built tool its maker intended.

INEOS says it’s targeting four key customer groups for the Grenadier: big fleets that operate in harsh environments (like mining); smaller businesses like, say, tour operators or remote vets; adventurers who need a daily drive that can also handle long overland trips; and hardcore off-road enthusiasts.

Riding on 17-inch steel wheels shod with BF Goodrich All Terrain tyres (18-inch alloys and more road-oriented Bridgestones are also available), our test vehicle – a prototype five-seat wagon – is festooned with practical features.

There are two rated recovery points front and rear, airline rails for mounting accessories on the side of the vehicle’s body, and tie-down lashing rails either side of the roof, with rubber roof strips on the roof itself for securing a load if you don’t have a roof basket or platform.

There’s a three-piece steel bumper so any damage can be more easily and affordably repaired, with LED projector headlights and LED driving lights as standard. A 30/70 split rear door arrangement – the only set-up offered – affords quick and easy access, with the smaller door requiring only minimal clearance.

Fixed to the larger door, the spare wheel has a lockable cover to form a storage compartment – handy for recovery gear, for example.

It’s all underpinned by a steel ladder-frame chassis with excellent clearance, plus healthy approach, ramp-over and departure angles. There’s ample underbody protection, with the option to add even more.

Hopping inside, the prototype lacks the smart finish revealed earlier this year but has the same pragmatic layout. There’s a mechanical lever for the (cable-operated) dual-range transfer case on the centre console, next to a BMW-style shifter and a mechanical handbrake.

All the comfort controls are found on a panel below the 12.3-inch multimedia touch-screen, and there’s a central rotary wheel for navigating the latter’s menus on the centre console. This means you don’t have to touch the touch-screen – handy when wearing gloves in cold weather, or when your hands are just plain dirty.

The multimedia unit itself – with inclinometers, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, but no integrated sat-nav – sits atop the centre stack, while a compact instrument display will sit forward of the multifunction steering wheel (with a ‘toot’ horn button, to politely alert others of your presence without dishing out a full blast!)

Look up and you’ll see a further bank of toggle switches in an overhead panel. This is where you’ll find all the off-road controls: switches for the (optional) front and rear diff locks, hill descent control, and rows of auxiliary switches for myriad accessories. The panels screw out for easy wiring, while metal loop guards lend some protection to the switches themselves.

But comfort is no afterthought. There are broad window sills on which you can rest your arm, and quality Recaro seats with washable, stain-resistant fabric. Rubber floor mats will be standard, with drainage plugs in each footwell so the vehicle can be hosed out.

Overhead ‘safari’ roof hatches provide extra ventilation or can be removed entirely, and INEOS says all the Grenadier’s electrics have been positioned high in the vehicle – the battery is under the rear seating, with room for a second nearby.

INEOS says it’s taking an open-source approach to the Grenadier that will allow owners to easily fit a wide range aftermarket accessories, in addition to factory accessories including a snorkel, bullbars, the rear ladder, cargo barriers, and side steps or rock sliders, among many others.

The firm is working with a range of big-name firms to make this happen, like ARB, TJM, Ironman4x4 and Redarc, among others, as the offerings take shape.

“It’s a bit of an unusual thing for a car company to go out and help the aftermarket, but our business is making sure the vehicle sells and that people can get what they want for it,” says INEOS Automotive Australia’s senior aftersales manager, Glenn Boyd.

And the vehicle will be sold and supported here through a range of agencies spanning automotive, RV, off-road and even a motorcycle group, with vehicle orders placed online or in person.

The INEOS Grenadier will be offered with a five-year, unlimited-kilometre factory warranty with roadside assistance, with a five-year service package available at extra cost.

Powering the 2023 INEOS Grenadier is a choice of two BMW 3.0-litre straight six-cylinders engines: a single-turbo petrol, or a twin-turbo diesel. While INEOS is yet to announced claimed output, expect plenty of urge from either. And, in a move sure to please many potential buyers, there will be no price difference.

Either is mated to the sole choice of a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission. The Grenadier has a full-time four-wheel drive arrangement with a centre locking differential as standard, and optional front and rear lockers.

The centre diff can be locked or left open in both high or low range. As for gearing, INEOS says it will be low enough to satisfy the most demanding off-roaders.

Beneath the rugged exterior of the 2023 INEOS Grenadier lies an all-steel ladder-frame chassis, with beam axles front and rear and diffs from Italian tractor manufacturer, Carraro.

At all four corners are long-travel Eibach springs and shocks, although INEOS says it’s still working with a number of brands and options for the latter.

With a braked towing limit of 3500kg and a maximum payload limit of around one tonne, the Grenadier should well satisfy Aussies’ love of hauling big toys, like boats and caravans.

The specification of the factory-fit towbar is being finalised, but the vehicle will come pre-wired to accept an electronic brake controller.

This shotgun-ride experience of the INEOS Grenadier was brief and the terrain not overly taxing for the most part, but our time in the Macedon Ranges provided several insights into life aboard this unique and purpose-built off-roader.

The solid doors close with a satisfying thunk that’s increasingly rare these days, and while it’s a bit of a step up to get in, once you’re there the Recaro seating is very comfy and supportive – it helps to hold you in place as you’re bouncing along over broken terrain, and there are grab handles everywhere you’d want them. Reasonable leg and head room in the second row, too.

The suspension does a really nice job, recovering quickly after impacts and generally delivering a nicely plush but controlled ride.

While our speeds were modest – we stuck to the mountainside for the duration of the test – it seems the twin-turbo diesel has plenty to give and ample low-down grunt.

Power delivery seems smooth and responsive, at least as far as I could tell by the (passenger) seat of my pants, but what was more apparent was the high level of refinement.

I couldn’t detect any undue vibration and engine noise appeared well suppressed, with further gains likely before the vehicle reaches production.

And while the dash is quite high and upright, there’s excellent vision over the low-set bonnet, with an even better view again off the front corners thanks to their even lower flat guards.

The Grenadier should prove a very handy thing for threading through rocks or fallen timber, and for negotiating confined areas in general.

And I have to say, I love the logical layout of all the cabin controls, and the generally tough look of all those toggle switches and buttons. It’s clearly built with functionality in mind, and accessory-mad off-roaders will love how much gear they can hook up to their new drive.

While it’s clearly evident the INEOS Grenadier is tailor-made for off-roading, it’s not of course infallible. That was proved when, on our final run back to base, high tyre pressures, insufficient momentum and recent heavy rain conspired to halt forward progress over a particularly boggy section.

What is perhaps Australia’s first Grenadier recovery ensued but, to be fair, given the exact same circumstances, any other four-wheel drive would have also met its match.

It would have been a help to have those optional front and rear lockers (not fitted to this prototype, unfortunately), but at least it was a quick and easy process to hook a strap onto one of the Grenadier’s recovery points and haul it out of the quagmire…

The 2023 INEOS Grenadier appears ideally suited to our vast continent, and well matched to meet the demands of Australian adventurers and fleets for companies that operate in remote and challenging environments.

This is a highly functional off-roader in which – as INEOS puts it – form follows function, but anyone who gravitates towards four-wheel drives will surely appreciate the Grenadier’s rugged looks too.

While the Grenadier’s pricing puts the Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series and Jeep Wrangler in its sights, it will take bums on seats to pry those vehicles’ committed devotees from behind their steering wheels.

Still, for those looking to stand apart, the INEOS Grenadier has much to offer and, it seems, a solid plan to ramp up its operations in the years ahead.

Bottom line? The INEOS Grenadier has certainly caught our interest; we can’t wait for an opportunity to drive it for ourselves.

How much does the 2023 INEOS Grenadier cost?
Price: $84,500 (indicative pricing, two-seat panel van)
Available: Late 2022
Engine: 3.0-litre straight six-cylinder turbo petrol or biturbo diesel
Output: TBC
Transmission: ZF eight-speed automatic, full-time four-wheel drive, dual-range transfer case with centre locking differential (front and rear lockers optional)
Fuel: TBC
CO2: TBC
Safety rating: TBC