Jeep v. Ineos Grenadier

[smlobx]

@Raider2 and I were fortunate to be invited to try out the, soon to be available, Ineos Grenadier in Uwharrie National Forrest at the OEX facility. Unfortunately I only got a few pictures but I will share them here along with my impressions of how the Grenadier handled their off-road course.

First, this comparison would be better matched up against a Wrangler but since I don’t have one you’re stuck with this!

Size wise the Grenadier is bigger than the Wrangler and in my mind, has more usable space. As we know Jeeps have the body tucked into the wheel wells and this body is flush with the outside of the wheels thus giving it more interior room. As far as looks go it looks very similar to the old generation Land Rover Defender. In fact I believe that LR tried suing the company but obviously it didn’t go well for them. The financial backing behind Ineos is Sir Jim Wratcliffe, who happens to be the richest person in Britain and was absolutely livid when he found out that LR was forgetting their routes so he put his money where it counted and started Ineos.

Anyway, on with the specs, as I remember them! This is a full frame on body configuration with boxed rails that have been specially coated to prevent any rust and the vehicle comes with a 12 year anti corrosion warranty.

It has solid front and rear axles that aren’t Dana’s and are much more substantial than the 44’s found on our trucks. Depending on how you spec the truck there is an abundance of under carriage shielding including both diffs, the engine, fuel tank etc. All are beefy steel.

The engine is the venerable BMW straight 6 that is twin turbocharged and puts out a decent amount of power, more so than our Gladiator’s It is mated to a ZF 8 speed transmission similar to ours.

The interior is an amazing combination of old school and aircraft technology. Most adjustments are done through switches that are located both in the lower dash as well as on the roof between the 2 individual manual skylights…really cool. BUT the most impressive part of this whole vehicle are the seats! Yes the seats. They are Recaro’s, both front and back and, to me, are the most comfortable and supportive seats that I’ve ever sat in in an SUV.

Here are some pictures taken with my iPhone..

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[smlobx]

In the third picture above you see a really large roof gutter that must stick out about 2 inches. When I asked one of the reps there he explained that that was to be able to carry extra weight above the roof. The roof itself can carry 300# so you can actually walk on it but with the addition of roof rails it can support a staggering 900 pounds of static load…

However the weld seams that are displayed look pretty rough as you can see in the picture. Hopefully they will improve the production models.

 

[smlobx]

So you ask, “How does it drive?” Well the 10 units that were there were not approved for road use (no airbags and other safety equipment installed yet) so we were only able to drive on a 1-2 mile off-road course that had a lot of off camber turns and steep hills.

We had the suv in 4 low and we’re able to drive the course with a guide accompanying us. As I said above the seats were very comfortable once you adjusted them manually to your liking and the visibility along the front and sides were fantastic. It was very easy to place the truck exactly where you wanted it on the trail. I deliberately put the truck on a line that I wouldn’t normally do to see how it handled and even the the axles weren’t locked (both axles and the center diff locks) the traction was amazing even when a wheel was off the ground. Overall, this vehicle is very capable possibly as capable as a Rubicon….time will tell.

 

[smlobx]

Lastly, is cost…while no prices were mentioned they did say that pricing and order placing will be available this May. Most people there thought that the basic version would start about $70K and go up from there which would make them $10K+ more than Wranglers… They expect to have the first orders delivered in December.

We asked about mileage and they said to expect 18 mpg combined but given the size and weigh of the vehicle I’m thinking that might be a bit optimistic…

Other things to note include an amazing 1800 pounds of carrying capacity which is wild! I didn’t get the towing capacity but it would have to be at least 5000 pounds if not more.

As far as service goes, they are rolling out 22 service centers across the US with one being near their US headquarters in Raleigh, NC. They also mention that there will be one near Atlanta.

Finally, I have to say I was quite impressed with the vehicle off-road and it can certainly handle anything I would want to Overland on (I’m not into rock crawling). It would be interesting to see the road manners and if it wanders as much as our Jeeps.

For more information and some cool videos visit their website at:

https://ineosgrenadier.com/en/us/

 

[Chunky White]

Looks like its more in the Grand Wagoneer category too me but I haven't seen one in person. I had a neighbor who owned and probably still owns some Defender 90 and 110's that I always liked growing up. Its too bad the new Defender isn't more like those

 

[Rahkmalla]

I really like the aviation aesthetic on the interior. That being said the PRND shifter looks completely out of place. This vehicle is too expensive for my blood so it's not like making a change to that will convince me, but let's hope for others who have the interest and the cash to buy one of these that the PRND shifter you saw was just part of the prototype.

If i were to nitpick... that hood doesn't do it for me. I know it harkens back to an original defender design, but I keep seeing Fiat Multipla.

 

[smlobx]

Looks like its more in the Grand Wagoneer category too me but I haven't seen one in person. I had a neighbor who owned and probably still owns some Defender 90 and 110's that I always liked growing up. Its too bad the new Defender isn't more like those

‘It’s no where near as large as the Grand Wagoneer and much more along the lines of the 110. It fit very well along some of the tight trails we went on.

 

[smlobx]

I really like the aviation aesthetic on the interior. That being said the PRND shifter looks completely out of place. This vehicle is too expensive for my blood so it's not like making a change to that will convince me, but let's hope for others who have the interest and the cash to buy one of these that the PRND shifter you saw was just part of the prototype.

If i were to nitpick... that hood doesn't do it for me. I know it harkens back to an original defender design, but I keep seeing Fiat Multipla.

I have to agree with you about the shifter. It’s straight out of a BMW and is not very intuitive. My wife had a BMW and that was one of the things she never got used to.

 

[dcmdon]

It's absolutely nothing like a grand wagoner.

It's reasonably sized, not a hoary behoemeth like the Grand Wagoner. Its somewhere between the Gladiator and Wrangler in size.

Body on frame
Solid axle.
Box frame

The real deal.

100% BMW engineered drivetrain, so you get the wonky shifter.

I've been following its development for several years.

Wratcliffe was very disappointed by the new Defender. As a rich guy and a fan, he asked Range Rover if they would sell him the rights and the tooling to the old Defender. They refused.

So he built an "old" new defender.

It is probably the most capable stock overlander you can buy. They also sell a slightly different version to fleet owners with a more basic interior for missionary work and things like that. That fleet version has the rear seat set a few inches forward so there is less rear seat leg room, but more cargo room.

A friend of mine has an order in for one, I can't wait to see it. I'm very interested, but tend to keep my vehicles for a long time, so I'm not willing to roll the dice with a first year release.

 

[Heater]

Looks like they have enough interest to go forth with the truck version:

https://www.autoblog.com/2023/03/14/ineos-grenadier-pickup-truck-spy-photos/

 

[smlobx]

It's absolutely nothing like a grand wagoner.

It's a reasonably sized, not a hoary behoemeth like the Grand Wagoner, its somewhere between the Gladiator and Wrangler in size.

Body on frame
Solid axle.
Box frame

The real deal.

100% BMW engineered drivetrain, so you get the wonky shifter.



I've been following its development for several years.

Wratcliffe was very disappointed by the new Defender. As a rich guy and a fan, he asked Range Rover if they would sell him the rights and the tooling to the old Defender. They refused.

So he built an "old" new defender.

It is probably the most capable off the dealer floor overlander you can buy. They also sell a slightly different version to fleet owners with a more basic interior for missionary work and things like that. That fleet version has the rear seat set a few inches forward so there is less rear seat leg room, but more cargo room.

A friend of mine has an order in for one, I can't wait to see it. I'm very interested, but tend to keep my vehicles for a long time, so I'm not willing to roll the dice with a first year release.

I understand your reluctance to spend serious money on any newly hatched product. I’m in the same boat.

They are having these off-road driving opportunities throughout the US in the next several months. You might be able to find one near you here…

https://grenadierevents.com/

They also mentioned that Radcliffe wanted to build a vehicle that you could easily have for 12 to 15 years which was a breath of fresh air as I also tend to keep our vehicles for about 10 years.

 

[FloridaMan655321]

Thats a great engine, but I'd love to see the manual as BMW has one of the better manuals out there. The steering wheel doesn't happen to be the sweet thick M style one, does it? That would be kind of sweet.

 

[dcmdon]

I understand your reluctance to spend serious money on any newly hatched product. I’m in the same boat.

They are having these off-road driving opportunities throughout the US in the next several months. You might be able to find one near you here…

https://grenadierevents.com/

They also mentioned that Radcliffe wanted to build a vehicle that you could easily have for 12 to 15 years which was a breath of fresh air as I also tend to keep our vehicles for about 10 years.

I'll let all the rich guys on 3 year leases test them out for the first few years. Ha.

My friend who has an order for one, has the income to shake off a big repair bill without it even causing him any second thoughts. He will probably keep his for years, but won't put many miles on it. It will be used hauling family to Nantucket and driving on the beach there.

Either way, it's a very interesting and totally welcome addition to this class of vehicles.

 

[BearFootSam]

Looks like they have enough interest to go forth with the truck version:

https://www.autoblog.com/2023/03/14/ineos-grenadier-pickup-truck-spy-photos/

That would be a compelling alternative to the gladiator, very cool. As much as I like the SUV version, I couldn't live without the bed utility of our trucks. I would definitely not be tossing bags of cement in the back of an Ineos. I hope this takes off.

 

[Froggy]

Looks like its more in the Grand Wagoneer category too me but I haven't seen one in person. I had a neighbor who owned and probably still owns some Defender 90 and 110's that I always liked growing up. Its too bad the new Defender isn't more like those

From what I gather, that's exactly why this Grenadier exists, because the CEO was so disappointed in the new LR Defenders.

I don't get the controversy though. The new Defenders don't look the part but they're every bit the off-roader the originals are.

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