MOTORS: Ineos Grenadier puts right some of the Land Rover’s inadequacies
You wouldn’t expect a two-seater sports car to tackle a ploughed field and equally a Transit van isn’t designed for off-the-line performance... although some white van men seem to think it is.
To really test a proper off-roader, the best thing is to take it away from the tarmac and allow it to show what it can do when the going gets tough.
I’d already driven the Ineos Grenadier - unfairly called a Land Rover Defender clone - on the road and found it a bit unsettled on the bends.
But having got the chance to take it into its proper environment I can appreciate just what a splendidly competent machine it is.
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In this case it was on the 25,000 acres of the Glen Tanar estate in Aberdeenshire. Ineos Automotive, part of the multinational empire headed by petrochemicals billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe had come to Royal Deeside to show off their machine.
Sir Jim had tried to buy the rights to the Defender when Land Rover pulled the plug. When that failed he invested the best part of £2 billion developing his own version.
Apparently he and some pals drew up the plans in his favourite London pub - called the Grenadier, which he now owns - and took the best of what was available from specialists, including development partner Magna-Steyr in Austria, BMW for the proven 3.0 litre, straight-six, twin-turbo diesel engine which has been specially tuned, tractor maker Carraro for axles and ZF for gearboxes - and built in all the elements that a serious off-roader needs to tackle difficult terrain wherever that may be.
The original plan was to build it in South Wales but that was abandoned when a former Smart production plant in eastern France became available.
At first glance the Grenadier bears more than a passing resemblance to the classic Land Rover but it is a completely different beast, putting right some of the Landy’s inadequacies while introducing a pack of innovations which allow it to tackle inhospitable terrain with barely a whimper.
The designers also brought fresh ideas. Each switch is labelled with writing rather than icons for immediate recognition and is chunky so can be operated while wearing gloves; toggle switches are on the headlining like an aircraft cockpit with pre-wiring for roof lights or a winch; heavy duty roof rails provide substantial anchorage and along the side is a racking system to hold a work bench, tool store or even a mobile operating table for a vet, literally working in the field.
Another quirky touch is the red Toot button on the steering wheel which gives a subdued warning, rather than the full-blown horn, to alert cyclists and horse riders.
Around the vast Glen Tanar estate I was able to try out the Grenadier’s Pathfinder navigation programme which unlike on-road satnav, uses map references as a guide. Rather than show a road, where often one won’t exist, it has a compass-like display to indicate the general direction to take, regardless of whether or not there’s a track. It takes a while to get used to but along with the vast array of other toys in the cockpit, it is very clever.
The off-road technology, including differential locks centre, front and rear, is complex and on our excursion we tackled deep, claggy mud and brutal rocky tracks with some disturbing bangs and grinds from underneath but the 2.8 tonne Trialmaster Edition Grenadier carried on regardless.
The raised air intake snorkel and wading depth of 800 millimetres allowed confident crossing of several fast-flowing rivers.
There’s a huge list of options, including a £3500 winch, on top of the £76,000 list price. As well as the Station Wagon, it comes as a Utility van, a Quartermaster pick-up or an electric Fusilier.
You can configure your own Grenadier online or through the sole sales centre in Edinburgh and there are four Scottish service centres in Dingwall, Huntly, Kilmarnock and Stirling.
CAR: Ineos Grenadier Trialmaster Edition
PRICE: from £76,000
ENGINE: 3 litre BMW straight six cyl Twin Turbo Diesel 8 speed ZF auto
POWER: 249 PS
TORQUE: 550 Nm
TOP SPEED: 99mph
0-62mph: 9.8 secs
TOWING CAPACITY: 3500kgs
ECONOMY: 24 mpg
CO2 EMISSIONS: 308 g/km