We’ve been talking about the Ineos Grenadier for the last 14 months, anticipating the spiritual replacement to the classic Land Rover Defender as the company drip-feeds new nuggets of information.

Eventually, though, you’ve got to show off something significant. Static models and gentle drives along tarmac won’t be enough to convince the buying public that they need to drop £40,000 or so on a vehicle that, externally at least, looks like it comes from another era.

Driving an Ineos won’t be a possibility this year, with the rugged 4×4 not expected to arrive until well into 2022, but we’ve had as much experience of the Grenadier as possible; we’ve been up close and personal with a prototype, fiddled around with the distinctive interior, been the first title to get a passenger ride in the UK – riding up the famous hill climb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, no less – and now we’ve had a gentle off-road experience.

Ineos Grenadier on Road and Track
Ineos Grenadier: On The Road

On a glorious summer day, we stepped into an early prototype of the Grenadier alongside Cameron Davies. The affable Welshman was Britain’s youngest rally champion, taking a title at the age of 14, and is raring to put the Ineos through its paces for its first run up the hill.

Frustratingly, strict instructions from the manufacturer mean full throttle isn’t allowed, a speed limit has been imposed, and there’ll be absolutely no drifting around the corners.

As we approach the first corner, I’m not sure Cameron got the memo. Braking hard, the tyres squeal in protest and the Grenadier starts to gently rotate around its centre. Power back on, the bonnet rises and the car drives out of the right-hander, the rear running ever so slightly wider than the front.

The speed limit frustrates on the straight sections, but then more corners appear, with Cameron expertly darting between hay bales and flint walls, each time demonstrating that this early Grenadier is impressively capable under pressure.

The body is well controlled, rolling little even under significant lateral load, while the suspension soaks up the (minor) imperfections on the Duke of Richmond’s driveway. You’d have no idea this was a ladder chassis with suspension tuned to tackle extreme terrain, without any advanced air suspension or computer gadgetry.

Even at seven-tenths, we’re still taking more drastic action than any Ineos driver is likely to, at least on the public road, and the Grenadier is coping with aplomb.

Power comes from a 3.0-litre diesel engine from BMW – there’ll also be a petrol option – which is as smooth and refined as you’d hope for. It’s been tuned for torque rather than outright power, providing a reassuring surge despite the obvious bulk of the Ineos.

Ineos Grenadier: Off Road
Ineos Grenadier on Road and Track

The prototype Grenadier that Ineos provided us has seen better days, and won’t be around for much longer. It’s very much a development vehicle, with an incomplete interior, emergency buttons festooned all over the cabin, and new parts being fitted whenever they’re developed.

The downside to all that is that the low-range gearbox was inoperative, and there are no locking differentials. Hill descent control was absent, too, along with a host of other electronic systems. We weren’t about to tackle the Darien Gap, admittedly, but some of those essentials would have been nice so we can get a better idea of how the Grenadier behaves

The ploughed furrows of the field, low and firm after blazing sun, were never intended to ask much of the car, with the BF Goodrich All-Terrain tyres more than capable of dismissing the ruts, but it’s the way they were kept isolated from the cabin that pleased. You can feel the ruts, of course, but the Grenadier rides across them relatively smoothly, getting calmer as speeds increase.

Recaro seats, usually the preserve of sports cars, hold you in place comfortably and make operating the functional but stylish cabin (at least it is on the static model we spent time with earlier) a cinch. Visibility from the cabin is good, with the corners of the car easy to place – something that was useful when trying to turn around in a rather compact clearing in the woods.

Ineos Grenadier on Road and Track

Climbs, descents and cambers presented little problem, but were rather gentle. There was enough to get a feel for the vehicle under mild pressure, certainly, but nowhere near enough to be convinced about its ultimate off-roading prowess.

For now, the initial impression is strong, but the list of caveats is long. There are still several months of development left before the finished product arrives in the UK but, on these early and limited experiences, there’s a very strong base to work from.

If that promise is fulfilled, the Ineos Grenadier could be an excellent working vehicle.

Phil Huff
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