Ineos Grenadier - long-term review

It’s the Fieldmaster, so I took it round some fields. First thing to point out is that I don’t really get Ineos’ naming strategy here. There are two Grenadier specs, Fieldmaster and Trialmaster. Or is it Trailmaster? Either way you’d be hard pushed to guess which is the supposedly lux version and which the more rugged, off-road version.

Trialmaster. That’s the right name and the one for venturing further. It comes with a raised air intake, front and rear diff locks and BFGoodrich All-Terrain K02 tyres. Those are all things denied the identically priced Fieldmaster I have, which instead benefits from a premium sound system and heated, leather front seats. Those are supplied by Recaro, which has recently gone insolvent and, it’s suspected, been the cause of the Grenadier’s production delays, likely stalled until early next year. Absolute shocker for Ineos (which was on target to deliver 20,000 cars this year) and waiting customers.

I’ve digressed. Mine has seats in it and they’re very good. Bit hollow backed and no adjustable lumbar, but nothing that should have caused bankruptcy. So off I go around the fields. The parking sensors instantly go nuts in the long grass. There’s a button marked Offroad on the overhead console. I love any excuse to jab buttons on the ceiling. A one second press gets the light flashing, another short press confirms it. This disables the parking sensors and door open warning chimes, reduces the ESC, disables the engine start/stop and allows you to drive without wearing a seatbelt. Ideal if you’re driving through fields and constantly hopping out to open and close gates.

The Fieldmaster has no trouble with actual fields. In fact it feels born to cope. I’ve said this before, but it’s off-road ride is very good. It rounds off bumps much better than other ladder frame/beam axle cars such as the Wrangler and Landcruiser with no lateral shimmy or harshness. It’s slopes that cause the issues. Steep, wet, grassy slopes. As I proved to myself, it doesn’t matter if you engage a centre diff lock or low range gears, if your tyres aren’t biting into the surface, you’re not going anywhere.

For £825 I could have upgraded the Bridgestone Dueller A/Ts to BFGoodrich All-Terrain K02s. Much knobblier and better able to dig into soft wet ground. I’m glad I didn’t because the Grenadier is currently spending 90 per cent of its time on road, and a steep, wet, grassy slope is the most difficult challenge any 4x4 can face. To be fair, I had a few runs at this 28 per cent incline bank, had no issues with approach or departure angles and made it up about 50 per cent of the time. But when I didn’t the wheels started to judder and spin and it all got a bit messy. Locking diffs would have upped the ascent percentage a bit, tyres would have done so a lot.

Nothing else around the fields phased the Fieldmaster. It lumbered across trenches and ruts, through mud and water with not a squeak from the chassis or trim. It does feel robust and well put together and I can’t think of another 4x4 that fits better in this landscape or copes with fields as well as this.

There’s also a Wading mode. Let’s give that a bit of a workout. It’s been a wet summer so my local ford is overflowing. SUVs get towed out of here all the time. Wading mode mimics Offroad mode, but in addition you have to be in low range and are limited to 18mph. Now the DPF is deactivated (I assume to ensure better exhaust pressure) and so are the engine fans. The Grenadier pushes a great bow wave and splashes back and forth for the camera many times.

No issues whatsoever. What I’m starting to do is trust the Grenadier. I’ve read the forums, I know some people are having issues, but they seem to be focussed around software issues, door seals and locks. If you’ve got one, I’d be very interested to know how you’re getting on. Comment below, please. But so far, I’m persuaded by its capability and durability. It occupies a small niche area between workhorse pick-ups and Land Rover’s Defender or Toyota’s new Landcruiser. It’s in odd territory there, neither one thing nor another. An over-priced farm implement then?

And yet the name is absolutely spot-on. I can’t think of another car that’s more suited to field work than the Fieldmaster.