Ineos Grenadier review

For music fans, tribute bands can be a great way to experience their favourite artist's music live, long after the original act has retired. At first glance, you might think the Ineos Grenadier is playing that role with the original Land Rover Defender in mind – and we don't blame you.

After all, this SUV was originally conceived in a pub called The Grenadier, and its very existence pays homage to that legendary off-roader. In fact, for many people, it’s what the latest Land Rover Defender 110 should be.

That’s an ambitious goal for a new car company to start out with, but Ineos is very aware of that fact. As such, the team formed to work on the Grenadier included designers and engineers with the Mercedes G-Class at the top of their CVs.

It won’t be plain sailing, because it needs to keep up with the Defender and G-Class while proving more accomplished than the likes of the Jeep Wrangler, Land Rover Discovery and Toyota Land Cruiser.

Does the Ineos Grenadier really have what it takes to be the pick of the off-road- focused SUVs? Read on to find out...

Regardless of whether you want your Ineos Grenadier to run on petrol or diesel, you’ll find a 3.0-litre turbocharged six-cylinder engine under the bonnet. The engines are sourced from BMW in a bid to ensure plenty of power and (hopefully) reliability.

The 282bhp petrol is refined and smoother than the diesel, although its rather spiky power delivery can make it tricky to set off smoothly. Officially, that version can sprint from 0-62mph in 8.6 seconds, which is a second slower than the equivalent Jeep Wrangler.

The 246bhp twin-turbocharged diesel offers more torque at low-revs – 406lb ft compared with 332lb ft for the petrol – making it less effort to take on just about any obstacle.

We think the diesel Grenadier is the one to go for, especially if you plan to spend a lot of time on unforgiving trails. The 0-62mph sprint time of 9.9 seconds feels slow when you compare it to the Land Rover Defender D250, which does the sprint in 8.3 seconds.

Whichever engine you choose, you get an eight-speed automatic gearbox. It changes gears smoothly, but in the petrol version it has a tendency to flick between the two top gears at motorway speeds. As a result, it doesn't cruise as calmly as rivals.

The Grenadier produces plenty of engine noise at all speeds and lots of wind noise on motorways. Plus, the chunky off-road tyres generate a constant rumble, and the diesel engine at idle transmits vibrations through the seat. There's a stop-stop system that can turn off the engine at times, but it's not as smooth or quick as in a Defender with mild-hybrid tech.

For some owners, all that compromise will be worth it because the Grenadier is brilliant off-road. All versions come with permanent four-wheel drive, a locking centre differential and a wading depth of up to 800mm, so it has the tools needed to hit the ground running.

In fact, even when faced with a very steep ascent, it won’t show signs of struggle. That’s especially true when you opt for the Trialmaster trim or if you add the optional Rough Pack – they include front and rear locking differentials, and beefier BFGoodrich All-terrain KO2 tyres.

Even without those extras, the Grenadier’s coil suspension proves superb. Over sharp rock shelves, it takes the sting away and helps you to maintain control, easily matching the Defender, the Mercedes G-Class and the Toyota Land Cruiser for off-road ability.

It's a different story on a Tarmac road. You’ll wish you were in a current Defender with air suspension rather than the more compromised Grenadier.

Even the latest Land Cruiser has a better balance of feeling tough off-road with a moderate level of refinement built in. The Grenadier’s firm ride matches that of the G-Class, but there’s plenty of lean through faster corners and the suspension transmits most lumps and bumps you drive over.

The steering is very light and has loads of lock, which is great when you want gentle inputs during off-roading but means you have to turn the wheel so much more than every other rival when cornering. Plus, the lack of self-centering means you have to unwind the wheel yourself. Even on a straight piece of road, you have to move the wheel more to stay on course on roads.

In short, the Grenadier requires a more physical driving style than other rivals. Many owners will love that but for some it will take a bit of getting used to – or be completely off-putting.

"As someone who used to have an old Defender, I wholeheartedly appreciate that the Grenadier improves on that car with punchy engines, an automatic gearbox and brakes that actually feel powerful." – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

If you want a high-up SUV driving position, you'll like the commanding seat height of the Ineos Grenadier. Indeed – as with the Jeep Wrangler – you have to climb your way in using handles and are greeted by a great view of all four corners of the car.

What isn’t so great is the fact that, while the steering wheel lines up with your body, the pedals are set far out to the right. Meanwhile, your left foot is placed on what is effectively a tall foot rest, which stops you fully relaxing or stretching out that leg.

It all takes getting used to and can mean you struggle to find the perfect position, even though the seats offer plenty of manual adjustment. It’s also a shame that there’s no adjustable lumbar support, even as an option.

The Grenadier's seats are comfortable, and most trims come with easy-clean cloth seats and exposed rubber floors. The exception is Fieldmaster trim, which is aimed more at lifestyle customers and gets heated leather seats. All versions have drainage plugs in the floor so you can hose out the interior and boot.

You get a clear view ahead over the bonnet, although like in the Wrangler you can’t see how far the front bumper sticks out. Thankfully, all versions except the entry-level trim come with front parking sensors. Unfortunately, the narrow door mirrors make it difficult to see what’s in the lane beside you and the view out behind is obscured by the split doors and spare wheel.

There are lots of sturdy buttons and dials, with an overhead panel with controls for the locking differentials and off-road driving modes, and breakers for the power outlets. The buttons are easy to use when you're wearing gloves, but their sheer number seems a little overwhelming at first.

Every Grenadier has a 12.3in infotainment touchscreen on the dashboard with a dial controller and shortcut buttons beside it. The screen's response times could be quicker but it looks sharp, and thanks to the physical controls around it, it's less distracting to use than touchscreen-only systems. There are lots of functions to help with adventures, including an off-road specific sat-nav app.

On top of that, you get ordinary sat-nav and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring. The only slight distraction is that you have to look across at the touchscreen to see the speedometer because you don’t get a separate driver's display. As a result, you can’t view apps in full screen.

You don't get the luxurious materials you’ll find in the Mercedes G-Class but the Grenadier's interior is fine. There are rugged and scratchy materials in places, but given its intended use for off-roading you’ll be less precious about it getting dirty or scuffed. Everything also feels well constructed and solidly built.

"I like the idea of being able to wash the Grenadier’s footwells if they get too dirty, which explains why you don’t get electric seat adjustment." – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

There’s no shortage of space for those sitting up front in the Grenadier. In fact, even with the removable skylights, which come with Fieldmaster trim, there’s more than enough head room for six-footers.

There’s loads of leg room in the front, and while the interior isn’t as wide as it is inside a Land Rover Defender or Toyota Land Cruiser, you won't be rubbing shoulders with whoever’s sitting beside you.

Front storage isn’t as generous as in the Jeep Wrangler. You get two cupholders, a small cubby in the centre console for your phone, and door pockets that’ll each take a large bottle of water. The glovebox is quite small.

The Grenadier's boxy shape has its advantages in the rear too, where there's more than enough head room for two six-footers in the outer back seats. There isn’t quite as much knee room as there is in a Defender but it’s more generous than inside a Land Cruiser, with indents in the backs of the front seats and space under the seats for their feet.

You sit high up in the back, giving you a better view ahead above those sitting up front. It’s just a shame you don’t get a fold-down centre armrest, which seems a bit mean for a car at this price.

Unlike in some rivals, the middle seat isn’t raised, so the centre passenger won’t struggle for head room, but they will have to straddle a large transmission tunnel due to all the underfloor gearbox gubbins.

The entry-level Utility Wagon version doesn't have back seats – there's a large flat-floored space for cargo instead and you should be able to fit a standard Euro pallet back there.

On Grenadiers that do have back seats, they split and fold down in a 60/40 configuration. Annoyingly, with the rear seats folded down, there’s a slight step up from the boot floor to the seatbacks, making it trickier to slide in long items.

Talking of the boot, you’ll find 1,152 litres of boot space in the back of the five-seater up to the roof. We usually quote figures up to the parcel shelf – but the Grenadier doesn't have one.

For comparison, a Defender 110 has 1,075 litres up to the roof while a Land Cruiser has 949 litres. In real-world terms you won’t struggle to fit in lots of shopping or all the stuff you need for a weekend of adventuring.

The side-hinged rear load-bay doors give you a huge access area but it does require leaving a bit of space behind the car to open them fully. That said, having two smaller ones means it doesn’t require as much space as the Defender's larger, single-piece door. It weighs less too.

Alternatively, there's the pick-up truck version. To read about that see our Grenadier Quartermaster review.

"There’s plenty of room in the Grenadier for my family and their luggage but the height means they heave themselves up. You can get optional side runners to help ease access." – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

As a cash purchase, the entry-level Ineos Grenadier Utility Wagon will set you back slightly more than the Land Rover Defender Hard Top (its utility-focused rival). Not many buyers want a two-seat off-roader though, and we suspect most people will be more interested in the Trialmaster (aimed at off-road enthusiasts) or Fieldmaster (aimed at lifestyle customers).

In those cases, the Grenadier's price becomes a bit of a sticking point because each will set you back more than the equivalent Land Rover Defender or Jeep Wrangler. The Grenadier is expected to lose its value faster than the Defender and pricier Toyota Land Cruiser but hold on to more of its value over three years than the Wrangler.

The Grenadier isn’t the best company car choice if you want to keep costs down because its high CO2 emissions put it in the highest BIK tax band. Fuel economy is poor too, with the petrol officially returning around 20mpg and the diesel 23mpg. That's less than you can expect from a Wrangler.

The recommended trim depends on how much you want to spend and what you intend to do. As well as the Utility Wagon, there's a Station Wagon version, which adds rear seats. Those versions and the Quartermaster pick-up come with LED headlights and auxiliary grille lights, cloth seats, rear parking sensors, a central locking differential, lots of off-roading goodies and plenty of infotainment features.

Trialmaster trim comes with 17in steel wheels, a ladder to get on to the roof, an auxiliary battery under the rear seats, locking front and rear differentials, a rear-view camera, heated windscreen washers and heated wing mirrors. Fieldmaster – the top-spec trim – adds 18in alloy wheels, leather upholstery, heated front seats and carpet floor mats.

Ineos has not yet featured in our What Car? Reliability Survey but all versions come with a five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty. That’s slightly longer than the three-year cover offered by Land Rover.

"I think it’s great to see an array of accessories to go with the Grenadier, including a fold-out table integrated into the tailgate, a jerry can mount and a shovel that can be attached to the roof." – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

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