Out of frustration at the demise of the off-road icon Land Rover Defender, a British chemical billionaire quickly founds his own car company. The thoroughbred off-road vehicle Ineos Grenadier has a sheet metal body similar to that of its role model. Now it’s on the market – how does it drive?
Here, the Englishman Jim Ratcliffe hardly makes the headlines. Although he is considered the richest man in his country with an estimated 16 billion euros. Football fans may know the boss and founder of the chemical giant Ineos as the owner of the clubs FC Lausanne (Switzerland) and OGC Nice (France), who is currently also bidding for Manchester United.
In addition, the busy Brexit fan is following in the footsteps of Tesla magnate Elon Musk, but is taking a completely different course with his own car company. The chunky Ineos Grenadier is a flawless off-road professional for whom no path is too steep and hardly any water too deep. So back from the future, without batteries and an electric motor as a drive, but a thick six-cylinder under the distinctive hood.
The story reads like a Netflix mini-series. Because he was publicly outraged at the beginning of 2016 that Land Rover sent its off-road icon Defender into retirement and replaced it with an SUV of the same name, Ratcliffe decided to build his own off-road vehicle. Because the idea originated in a London pub called the Grenadier, the term for a 17th-century “foot soldier” is quickly adopted as the giant baby’s name.
For their Ineos Grenadier, Ratcliffe and his team have been knocking on the door in the pinnacle of the accessories industry. The combustion engines come from BMW, the automatic transmission from ZF, the all-wheel drive technology from Magna in Austria and many parts of the electronics from Bosch. Finally, the new company buys the Smart factory in Alsace, which Mercedes no longer needs. The surprise package is put together, it can be delivered.
On the first tour of the Grenadier, it quickly becomes apparent how strongly the newcomer was inspired by the classic original Defender, at times even copied. The boxy structure, the full external dimensions, the rear ladder to the roof, the circular lights at the front and rear and the spare wheel mounted on the outside on the left half of the divided rear door. In order to let enough air upwards when crawling over obstacles or through deep furrows, the wheels do not completely fill the wheel housings, which are surrounded by solid plastic, and even look a bit lost when stationary off-road.
In order to swing behind the wheel, arm and thigh muscles should be in shape. The difference in height between the asphalt and the seat takes its toll, the driver pulls himself up on the steering wheel, the passenger on a handle on the roof pillar. Once inside, two worlds open up. In the style of the new, digital age, the central monitor houses, for example, the speedometer, speed, but also the navigation system.
As a contrast, the analog dominates in the center console. Meticulously labeled push and turn switches behind the two levers. The one on the right is the eight-speed automatic selector inherited from BMW. To the left of this is the classic operation for the drive reduction. Later in the harsh natural environment it should turn out that a lot of practice and patience are needed before the iron teeth snap into place as desired.
Another control panel is located in the middle of the headspace, like in an airplane. Here, for example, the three locks are activated or mounted accessories such as cable winches or additional headlights are controlled using a toggle switch. The ambience is appealing, leather seats from Recaro, chrome-plated handles or the encased steering wheel are in visual dialogue with the sober plastic. The main aim here is to remove the unavoidable traces of the wilderness at the destination. The floor tolerates the use of a water hose up to the underside of the seats, a removable valve then serves as a drain.
A nostalgic turn of the key awakens the six Bavarian cylinders, whose signs of life are strong but not intrusive. Thanks to lavish glazing and a high seating position, the overview is as sublime as one would expect from a real off-road vehicle. In everyday use on solid ground, there is a level of comfort that was completely alien to the model of the past.
The Grenadier convinces on the one hand with careful insulation, but also with a sense of space and seating quality. When it comes down from the road to mountainous paths, steep climbs over lurking boulders, the giant changes into the world of the fast-paced, daring rides of a funfair. From now on, the Grenadier belongs to the almost extinct breed of real professionals over hill and dale.
Like the outrageously expensive G-Class from Mercedes or the Jeep Wrangler, the German-Austrian Brit from France masters paths that only experienced alpinists would tackle on foot. Thanks to the locks, the two rigid axles with extreme interlocking and the controllable engine power, the Grenadier frees itself from deep mud, masters adventurous inclines or can accompany chamois on their way to the summit.
The supreme discipline is a water crossing where the wheels leave the daylight, witnessed in Morecambe Bay on the west coast of England. Of course only navigable on the soft sand at low tide, but interrupted again and again by deep furrows left behind by water and even a river crossing. A spectacle for the lugworms hidden deep in the sand, easy exercise for the Grenadier, even when the February wind slaps its waves against the front and doors.
The bottom line is that the off-roader, in which only the character is still typically English, increases the small group of remaining roughnecks, braces itself against the superiority of the SUV army. They can now also do “terrain”, but are not built for real adventures, if only because of the high prices. It’s different with the Grenadier. Even if an edition completely trimmed for off-road costs over 75,000 euros, a good 8000 euros more than the version intended primarily for non-professionals. The basic model, a two-seater classified as a commercial vehicle, is available from 65,890 euros.
Ineos Grenadier Station Wagon – specifications
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