Tackling the Elements with the Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster and Wagon

July 21, 2024

Roberto Baldwin

Spinning up a new car company in the 2020s typically means there's a new electric crossover being unveiled that may (or may not) come to market sometime in the next four years. British petrochemical company Ineos went in another direction.

The company's petrol and diesel-powered Grenadier lineup resembles the Defenders of the ‘70s and ‘80s. An homage to a time before fuel injection, touchscreens and backup cameras, the Grenadier lineup has all of those features but still looks like something from the time before CDs.

Ineos knew that trying to build many of the elements required to create a modern vehicle would be capital- and time-intensive. So, the company went shopping. Under the hood lies the award-winning B58 BMW 3.0-L turbo inline-six engine, paired with the same ZF 8-speed transmission that BMW uses in its vehicles.

The engine itself has been tuned specifically for the Grenadiers outputting 281 horsepower and 331 pound-feet of torque versus the B58's default 382 hp and 369 lb-ft (500 Nm). This is to match the off-road focus of the vehicle, which uses an actual mechanical shifter next to the BMW-sourced automatic transmission lever to shift the vehicle to lower gearing.

This is where those who have driven off-roaders from the ‘70s, ‘80s, and early ‘90s will enter the nostalgia zone. Ineos wanted to reduce the number of ECMs in the vehicle to reduce cost. The company also wanted to recreate the off-roading vibes of long ago – and has succeeded. As I shifted (more like crammed with a satisfying thud) the vehicle into low ahead of some rock crawling during a recent test drive, memories of doing the same thing in my youth flooded back, and I immediately understood why someone would purchase a Grenadier.

On a triple-digit day on a dusty trail in Joshua Tree, I drove both the Quartermaster pickup and Grenadier Station Wagon. While from a new company, both felt extremely capable of tackling the rocks, ruts, and sand of the desert course. With a locking center differential and optional front and rear locking differentials, the vehicles were never overwhelmed by the terrain. Even during extreme articulation, where I sat shotgun, the off-roader never strained. I complained about the lack of drama to the driver who then descended "quicker than normal" to appease my need for excitement.

One of the more interesting decisions Ineos made was to use a recirculating ball instead of the more common rack-and-pinion steering. The reasoning is fair. Recirculating ball technology is more robust and less likely to be damaged during difficult off-road sessions. It also allows for a more incremental steering experience while tackling the environment. There's also the benefit that the steering is less likely to snap back while on rough terrain.

Frequent off-roaders typically keep their thumbs out of the inside of the steering wheel to reduce the chances of their thumbs being injured when a snap-back occurs. Because the Grenadiers' steering ratio is so high, this is less of an issue. It all sounds great, but…

On asphalt, this design could present a problem for some potential owners. Both vehicles experience quite a lot of play in the steering. There's also a lack of self-centering. It's a feature, not a bug. But for those coming out of, say, a new Land Rover or Toyota, it's an entirely different steering experience. Greg Clark, executive vice president of Ineos Automotive, told SAE Media that new customers often require a bit of a learning curve to adjust. After about 20 minutes, new owners typically become accustomed to the difference, Clark said.

In my time behind the wheel, I found it to be not great on-road but also not a deal breaker. It'll never be a back-roads carving machine. On tight corners at high speed, well, this is not the vehicle for high-speed cornering. Ineos is upfront about this. Enthusiasts who have purchased or pre-ordered the vehicle likely understand the tradeoff. Those looking for something different to impress friends and their community will just have to prepare themselves for a new experience.

The interior experience mirrors the exterior. Instead of the touchscreen taking care of all features, it's mostly there for the speedometer, gear and fuel information, off-roading attitude details and connecting your phone to handle music and navigation.

Large, satisfying-to-push buttons below the screen handle volume control, climate adjustments (including defrost) and even parking assistance. On the ceiling you’ll find controls for differential locks and a series of aux switches for lights, winches, or whatever else an owner wants to install and power on the vehicles. Again, these are all controlled by large buttons. Besides the aesthetic appeal, there’s value for those who live in colder climates as these can be operated while wearing heavy gloves.

While Ineos is a bit of an outlier bringing an ICE vehicle to market while other startups are going all-in on EVs, there is electrification in its future. The Fusilier is slated to land in 2027 as a BEV or a series hybrid. Ineos has been mum on most of the details about the vehicle, but it'll be interesting to see if the interior continues with the automaker's analog-centric aesthetic.

When asked about the electric future, Clark said he was confused by some of the hatred directed towards the powertrain and said that electrification is inevitable. Of course, for Ineos, the future is wrapped in nostalgia and purpose-built vehicles powered by both gasoline and electrons that are ready to tackle terrain with ease.

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