Ineos Grenadier review

We've now driven Grenadiers everywhere from central London to north Wales and from the M1 to as far north in Scotland as you can get before you fall into the North Sea. We’ve even run one as a long termer for over 10,000 miles. Aside from sticking door buttons, they’ve never let us down. But that’s reliability. Let’s talk driving.

The Grenadier doesn’t get involved with terms like ‘steering feel’, ‘linearity’ or even ‘handling’. You turn the wheel and soon the vehicle changes direction. The Grenadier uses a recirculating ball set-up, a heavier and more ponderous solution than its rack and pinion equivalent but also much more robust and shock-proof off-road. It needs 3.85 turns lock-to-lock and doesn't self-centre, so driving the Ineos in town can be quite the workout. You get used to it, but it makes the whole car feel ponderous and old-fashioned.

The turning circle is also massive at 13.5m (or 14.5 if you go for the Quartermaster), which makes any manoeuvring in tight spaces a real pain, especially as the steering pump struggles to keep up assistance levels if it’s being turned quickly from lock to lock. The wheel itself is a chunky multi-function item, whose buttons include a prominent red one called the Toot button to alert cyclists and horse riders.

What’s the on-road ride like?

It actually rides extremely well, its suspension using a five-link set-up front and rear to support the beam axles, with progressive rate coil springs (from Eibach). The cushioning is good, and the suspension isolates you well from hard knocks and thumps off-road. The chassis insulates you well from those, but not so well from wind noise. This is not a sophisticated car, and it can be tiring on long journeys.

It sits on 17in steel wheels as standard, with 18in steelies and 17 and 18in alloys as options, all of them using a six-stud pattern. You can choose between standard bespoke Bridgestone or optional BF Goodrich all-terrain T/A KO2 rubber. It looks grand on the smaller steel wheels, but you can’t help wondering what a fully murdered-out LA-spec car might look like. Someone’s bound to do it.

Is it noisy or quiet?

Despite its barn-door aerodynamics and body-on-frame chassis, it’s pretty refined. Eight special mounts help isolate the body from the chassis, reducing vibrations. The BMW petrol engine is a noticeably more enjoyable companion here than the diesel, not just generally more alert and characterful, but a good deal smoother. That said, the diesel is more in keeping with the Grenadier’s overall demeanour and has a mighty shove of torque.

And anyway, the Grenadier is hardly targeting the Rolls-Royce Cullinan in terms of its NVH, and for a no-nonsense off-roader it’s very tolerable, way ahead of the Jeep Wrangler in everyday use. Braking, despite the beefy Brembo brakes, (316mm diameter vented front discs and 305mm solid items at the rear), is merely competent. There’s not much bite and you’re arresting an awful lot of weight – upwards of 2,740kg.

How is it in the rough?

As you’d expect, it’s hugely capable off-road, whether it’s rock crawling, wading (up to a depth of 800mm), or crossing undulating terrain. Once in off-road mode (click a button on the roof), the seat belt reminders, parking sensors and the engine start/stop are all switched off. There’s Downhill Assist and an Uphill Assist function.

Here are some off-roadie stats: the Grenadier’s approach angle is 35.5°, its breakover angle 28.2°, and its departure angle 36.1°. Its maximum ground clearance is 264mm. All good, and on a par with the coil sprung Land Rover Defender 110’s numbers: 31.5° approach, 22.2° break-over, 37.5° departure, with 226mm clearance (NB: on air suspension, the lily-livered Defender opens up a bigger margin).

What quirks does it have?

The wipers don’t reach far enough to the edges, leaving a mucky patch on the screen which conspires with the hefty A-pillars to create an annoying blind spot. There’s also a significant footwell intrusion on right-hand drive cars, due to the routing of the exhaust, which means the pedals are severely off-set. Rear knee room is tight with a tall driver in front, and rear visibility is hampered by the split door and spare wheel.

What’s it like on fuel?

It’s not hugely economical. In fact, it's not economical at all: we saw an average of around 19mpg in the petrol car, and 22.5mpg in the diesel, which is roughly what Ineos claims anyway. CO2 emissions for the Station Wagon are between 299 and 346g/km depending on spec. As for speed, a 2.7-tonne off-roader doesn’t really need too much of that or things would get out of hand. It accelerates to 62mph in 8.6 seconds (petrol) or 9.9s (diesel).