One of the most popular demo events at Overland Expo East was the Ineos Grenadier test drive, so we took full advantage.
The test course was well designed, with staggered holes, stacked logs, ruts, humps, rocks, and a steep mount to climb and descent. Add in a lot of moisture that turned the thick red dirt into slick, sticky mud and it made for a great chance to see what the Grenadier could do.
Video Review
This overview shows the vehicle in action, plus a walk-around of its key features, chats about the cockpit and controls, and a tech deep dive with their experts on its unique drivetrain and suspension. More pics and words about all this below…
Grenadier Exterior
There’s no denying its similarity to the Land Rover Defender models, mixing a few nods to both classic and modern iterations. Its boxy shape is softened with rounded corners and shoulder, giving it a more polite presence…which is good for sales because there will undoubtedly (and shamefully) be plenty of these that never get dirty.
Ineos has a plethora of accessories and options to make it extremely capable off-road, but they also make it easy to add your own third party bits and bobs, too.
Slotted accessory mounts nearly surround the exterior, with tracks on both side doors and rear quarter.
Additional tracks and grooves on the top make it easy to add racks and more. And integrated power supply ports make it easy to add lights, a winch, and other powered accessories to the roof and bumpers. And they’re all pre-wired to the dash and roof switches, making it literally plug-and-play.
Grenadier Drivetrain & Suspension
One of the most unique features of the Grenadier is its flip-flop use of CV joints and universal joints. Where most vehicles use universal joints on the drive axle, the Grenadier has CV joints instead, which they say are lighter and offer smooth articulation.
But then the steering is handled by a universal joint, which is more robust than CV joints, making it great for the added stresses at the ends of the solid front axle.
Everything from control arms to shock mounts to hardware appears incredibly robust, and it has center, rear, and front locking differentials plus a two-speed (Hi/Low) transfer case.
The Grenadier is powered by a BMW B58 3.0-liter inline six cylinder turbo engine mated to a proven ZF transmission with heavy-duty torque converter.
Test Drive Impressions
What struck us most was how smooth and comfortable the ride was, even on very bumpy terrain. Yes, the Grenadier was impressively capable, crawling through snot like a tractor and seemingly unfazed by trees and rocks, but its panache whilst doing so left us wanting more.
Full-size trucks aside, the Grenadier’s only real modern competition for a dual solid-axle design is a Jeep, and this thing felt way more controlled and comfortable.
Add in the very cool retro-modern fighter pilot cockpit full of analog switches and buttons, plus very cozy seats and plenty of window space, and it’s obvious that all of the work that went into making this a premium, fully modern off-road SUV (er, sorry, “wagon”) paid off.
Even more impressive, they’re already working hybrid and full-electric versions as well, and even dabbling in hydrogen-powered powertrains. Which is saying a lot considering parent company Ineos is one of the largest oil & gas companies in the world…even they see the writing on the wall.
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