Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster 2024 Review

The 2024 Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster is priced from $102,000 plus on-road costs for the cab-chassis model.

You’ll then need to buy something to put on the back, whether that’s a basic tray or a more elaborate camping set-up.

If you want the fixed ute tray, pricing kicks off at $105,000 plus on-roads.

The Ineos Quartermaster was first revealed in July 2023 and prospective buyers can choose between three basic grades: entry level Grenadier, more off-road focussed Trialmaster and the luxurious Fieldmaster.

Those Trialmaster and Fieldmaster models start at $115,000 each, or $118,000 with the ute tub.

Each is available with a diesel or petrol engine, each the same price, and Ineos has affirmed its commitment to combustion engine power for its vehicles moving forward.

The entry-level 2024 Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster comes with single-zone air-conditioning, power windows, reversing camera and a 12.3-inch central screen that incorporates the instrument cluster, matching the specification levels of the Grenadier wagon.

It also comes with 17-inch steel wheels shod with Bridgestone all-terrain tyres and vinyl floors so it can be easily hosed out, which is a nice touch.

The Quartermaster Trialmaster variant that comes with more off-road goodies, including three locking differentials (centre, front and rear), a raised air intake and chunkier BF Goodrich tyres.

Plus it gets a second battery to help run camping gear and other accessories.

The Fieldmaster is the equal most expensive model and focuses more on the luxury side, with 17-inch alloy wheels and the less aggressive Bridgestone tyres.

There’s also no cost option leather trim, heated front seats and the safari windows that are like a miniature sunroof above the two front seat occupants. A premium sound system with a subwoofer under the back seat is also fitted to Fieldmaster grades.

The three main models focus on the basics but there’s a raft of accessories that allow for customisation and personalisation.

It starts with a roo bar ($2510), roller tonneau cover ($4115), rock slider rails ($1759) and various roof rack accessories (including a $210 spare wheel bracket) and load organisers.

Then there’s 10 colour options costing between $1155 and $1520 extra, with only Britannia Blue (a dark blue) offered as the standard colour.

Servicing is required every 12-months or 15,000km and costs $4626 for the first five services for diesel models, with annual service costs varying between $813 and $996.

Servicing the petrol variants costs $4896 for the first five services, with prices varying from $742 to $1197.

The Quartermaster is covered by a five-year unlimited kilometre warranty.

Safety isn’t the 2024 Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster’s strong suit.

Yes, it’s got six airbags and the company claims it offers good occupant protection in a crash. Because it’s classified as a light truck it doesn’t undergo ANCAP testing, so independent verification of how it compares with other ute rivals isn’t available.

And it’s seriously lacking in active safety features and driver assist systems.

For example there’s no radar cruise control, nor autonomous emergency braking, no blind spot warning, no speed sign recognition and no lane departure systems.

Ineos argues buyers in this market don’t want that, which may be partially true. However, there are three child seat top tether points in the rear, which is unusual given its commercial vehicle status.

Like the rest of the 2024 Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster package the emphasis is on going off-road and doing it simply and effectively.

So don’t expect a whole lot in the way of gizmos and tech!

The 12.3-inch screen is as techy as it gets. It doesn’t even have navigation but instead provides the functionality through the integrated Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

There’s no wireless phone charging but there are USB-C ports throughout, including two for the back seat.

The 2024 Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster is powered by engines supplied by BMW.

There are two options, both 3.0-litre inline turbocharged six-cylinder power pumps, one petrol (with one turbo), one diesel (with two turbos).

Given the love of diesel in large four-wheel drives it’s no surprise that’s the one providing more popular in the Grenadier wagon, something expected to follow suit in the Quartermaster ute.

The diesel dual-cab ute punches out 183kW and 550Nm, the latter available from just 1250rpm.

The petrol engine steps up the power but winds back the torque, or pulling power, with 210kW and 450Nm. The torque peak arrives a bit later than the diesel at 1750rpm.

Each engine is matched to an eight-speed auto transmission supplied by respected German specialist ZF.

Ineos is also toying with the idea of a twin-turbo petrol V8 version of the Grenadier, which will get the green light for production if customer demand is there.

If it happens, it will deliver thunderous AMG G-wagon-slaying performance thanks to the fitment of BMW’s S63 biturbo V8, that should be good for an eye-watering 460kW/750Nm.

With its commercial vehicle classification Ineos doesn’t have to provide fuel figures as part of the Australian certification process.

However, there are figures available from Europe for the 2024 Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster and they show the petrol engine uses a claimed average of 12.6 litres per 100km and the diesel 10.5L/100km (cab-chassis variants are claimed to use more).

Like the wagon, the Grenadier Quartermaster has a 90-litre fuel tank, providing a theoretical range of 714km for the petrol engine and 857km for the diesel.

Anything that’s decent off-road tends to have compromised on-road dynamics, and it’s no different with the 2024 Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster.

It doesn’t take long behind the wheel to realise it’s a rudimentary machine.

The steering is glacially slow and takes some encouragement to return to centre once you’ve completed a turn.

And with a turning circle of 14.5 metres – a full metre more than the Grenadier wagon that was already pretty average in the manoeuvrability stakes – it means there’s plenty of wheel work to muscle it around town.

Yep, it can be a chore in tight turns.

Tipping the scales at around 2.7 tonnes also means the big body loves to lean through bends.

Up to speed there’s a fair bit of wind noise, too; cruising at 100-110km/h has loads of rustling around the windscreen and side windows.

On bitumen, too, the BF Goodrich tyres can let out an accompanying grumble and there’s the occasional hint of whining from the drivetrain, too.

It adds up to a car that’s vocal at times, gently reminding you of the work it’s doing.

Once the road opens up the vague steering becomes less of an issue, although it often calls for corrections, even on mostly straight roads. But wind noise soon joins the journey, the rush of air past the bluff windscreen taking the edge off comfort.

The BMW engine, too, doesn’t have the silkiness it does in a BMW, with some gruffness and groaning that in some ways adds character to the big bush-basher.

But there’s no arguments about its performance.

The 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel is a classy unit with loads of grunt when you need it and the eight-speed auto faithfully holding gears when it makes sense or decisively plucking another ratio as required.

Push the throttle to the floor and it revs cleanly and with purpose.

The 3.0-litre six-cylinder petrol engine has more zing and is swifter if you want to blast away from a standstill or roar past a roadtrain but you need to rev the engine harder for the desired result.

It does it easily enough but in some ways that extra excitement doesn’t really suit the character of the car.

However, the petrol Quartermaster is surprisingly vocal. Cruising on a freeway there’s a drone that interrupts the ambience and it’s unusual for an engine that can be so sweet in BMW applications.

Like the diesel, though, the eight-speed auto is beautifully calibrated and shifts smoothly.

In terms of driving dynamics, the dual-cab ute deals with rough gravel roads easily, the suspension settling nicely after dispatching bumps and even after a solid washout or drain. Sure, it thunders into it but it’s usually one movement and the body quickly recovers.

It’s less convincing on lumpy bitumen roads where the body can get busy rollicking around. Throw some corners – and the associated leaning – into the mix and it can be a wild ride.

In some ways the Quartermaster pick-up truck seems more convincing on rougher roads, where the inherent toughness more convincingly shines through.

Riding on coil springs front and rear helps with that control but there’s still some ruggedness to the suspension, with a firmness that can leave it jiggling around. And at lower speeds it’s exacerbated.

This is where things get interesting and the rugged ute starts to claw back points.

Indeed, the 2024 Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster is a formidable weapon in tough terrain and that comes as no surprise given so much of its design was focussed on helping it clamber over anything but bitumen.

It starts with the underpinnings, which are old school four-wheel drive: there’s a ladder frame architecture (nothing unusual) and it has live axles front and rear. Most modern four-wheel drives have at least independent front suspension these days, and some even get independent all around.

The live axles not only gives it the toughness for rough roads, but also the wheel articulation that allows the suspension to mould around rocks, ridges, logs and whatever else.

It also has decent ground clearance, with 264mm between the underbelly and whatever it is you’re driving over.

A stubby nose minimises the chances of scraping a bumper when things get gnarly however, the longer wheelbase means it’s more likely to scuff its belly over steep pinches.

The ramp over angle has decreased from 28.2 degrees on the wagon to 26.2 degrees on the Quartermaster and with the longer tray hanging out over the back the departure angle has dropped from 36.1 degrees to 22.6 degrees, making it more likely to drag its tail.

Most of our off-roading was in sand and through creek beds, something it didn’t have the slightest issue with.

There’s an off-road mode that disconnects parking sensors and the stability control, better setting it up for slow speed work over varying terrain.

In soft sand there was ample traction and the grunt of the engines means it easily trudges around.

If there’s one criticism it’s the complexity of some of the systems.

Whereas modern four-wheel drives use electronics to simplify things such as engaging low range and differential locks, with the Grenadier Quartermaster you need to know a bit about what’s going on mechanically to maximise its extreme capability.

That could involve specific sequences for activating certain features, something that could require a lesson (or some familiarisation with the owner’s manual) before you set off.

The 2024 Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster has a 3500kg tow capacity, which is in line with most ute rivals.

Its payload of up to 907kg (or 832kg for diesel variants) is also in line with the more highly-specified versions of rivals, although that only applies to vehicles with the ute tub fitted and the payload of cab-chassis models will vary depending on what you fit.

With a gross vehicle mass of 3550kg there’s plenty to play with.

That said, its 7000kg gross combination mass (the combined weight of the car, everything in it and everything it’s towing) means that you can tow to the maximum and utilise almost the entire payload, something that’s a rarity in the ute category.

That makes it a handy jigger for adventuring, especially once you start loading the car up with accessories and gear.

Ineos expects 60 per cent of owners to choose the cab-chassis layout, allowing them to customise what they pop on the back. For the other 40 per cent choosing the styled tray they’ll have a sizeable ute space that comes with four tie-down points to help keep the load secured.

However, a chunk of the load space is taken out by the spare wheel.

Designers didn’t want to put it under the back because it would have impacted the departure angle, limiting its ability off-road.

You can also mount it on the roof, freeing up more space in the tray and that levels a cutout in the left rear corner to match a similar cutout on the right-hand side.

It may be big and bulky on the outside and adopt a different body to the wagon but that doesn’t translate to sprawling in-cabin space for the 2024 Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster.

The two share their front halves but there’s an extra 300mm between the front and rear wheels, allowing for the longer tail with its sizeable load area.

From the driver’s seat the Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster feels snug, with a slim windscreen and relatively narrow cabin. The available overhead safari windows are great at night and on cloudy days, but less endearing with the sun beating down.

And the intrusion of the firewall on the driver’s left foot (there’s shrouding to cover the exhaust system) leaves things a tad cramped.

With no instrument cluster there’s a strange void in front of the driver; the small panel in its place merely flashes up warnings. A glance to the centre screen provides the speedo and other information.

There’s also a mass of buttons and dials, something you don’t often see in modern vehicles.

Overhead is a fighter jet-like array of buttons and toggles. They control various off-road settings, lights and power for auxiliary items and accessories – lights or a winch, for example.

Controls in the central section of the dashboard look after ventilation and audio functions.

There are elements of BMW in the switchgear, including the gear selector that jars against the utilitarian flavour emanating from the dials and buttons elsewhere – and the retro second gear lever for engaging low range and the centre diff lock.

Some of the seat adjusters and window switches also look like their straight from Munich’s finest but elsewhere plastics are hard but functional and the exposed bolts and metallic highlights add to the industrial flavour.

Similarly, the materials on the seats and doors are hardy and functional, although the leather adds a rare flash of class.

In the back there’s good headroom but legroom can be tight, depending on how generous the people up front are feeling. And backseat backrests are unnaturally upright to allow more space for the load area, which makes it harder to relax on long journeys.

Storage in the cabin is also minimal. There’s a pair of cupholders up front and a modest binnacle beneath the front centre arm rest but the door pockets aren’t enormous.

And under the back seats – often a handy location in utes for tools or valuables – is taken up by the battery (and a second battery in the Trialmaster) and subwoofer of the Fieldmaster.

Only if you’ll be taking it off-road.

The 2024 Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster is an acquired taste, the sort of car that gets better the rougher the track and the more challenging the terrain.

Like a race horse that wants to run, the Quartermaster needs to be taken off-road to really appreciate what it’s capable of. Hearty BMW engines add to the muscles it manages to bulge effortlessly in the way it gets around.

But it’s far less endearing on the road.

All those on-road compromises suddenly come into focus when you try to manoeuvre it around town and while the utilitarian body looks eminently functional, it’s not overly spacious and lacks the luxury some may expect for a vehicle with a six-figure price tag.

In that respect the Ineos is a difficult car to apply scoring to; those who want to go off-road will love many aspects of it, but those who keep it confined to the bitumen may wonder what they’ve bought into.

But if you accept that a lot of that money has gone into the old school engineering goodness beneath the skin, it gets a lot easier to digest.

2024 Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster Trialmaster diesel at a glance:
Price: $115,000 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 183kW/550Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Fuel: 10.5L/100km (WLTP)
CO2: 276g/km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested

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