From Forbes yesterday:
No More Soft Stuff: Ineos Grenadier 4X4 To Arrive This Year
Michael Taylor Contributor Long experienced in auto journalism, Taylor is based in Italy.
Feb 8, 2023,08:58am EST
Off-road startup Ineos will deliver its first 4X4, the Grenadier, in the US in the second half of 2023, from around $50,000
Pros: Old-school, no-nonsense practicality meets comfortable ride, BMW power and unstoppable off-road ability.
Cons: Fiddly details, cabin storage space, slow and vague steering.
Competes with: Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, Ford Bronco, Mercedes-Benz G-Class, Land Rover Defender.
The world of off-roaders has evolved into the world of comfort-focused SUVs, and start-up automaker Ineos is banking that plenty of people want to turn back the clock with its all-new Grenadier 4X4...
... But not turn it back far enough that they miss out on high-tech, reliable engines, one of the all-time great automatic transmissions and terrific ride quality.
Ineos, founded by petrochemical billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, set out to make a modern interpretation of a no-nonsense, hard-core, robust, multi-use 4X4 in a shape and style abandoned even by its originator, Land Rover.
And it has, but in a modernized way.
As a first effort, the Grenadier is a remarkable piece of development, delivering a solidly no-nonsense vibe, massively strong mechanical pieces and a somewhat disjointed, slightly disfunctional interior.
The significant, hefty parts of the Grenadier work remarkably well for a vehicle conceived in Great Britain, developed in Germany and built in France, but there are parts of the cabin that feel like they were either low priorities or not thought through. Thankfully, they are generally smaller issues and fast adjustments to make.
Pricing for the US-spec Ineos Grenadiers will be available in the second half of this year, along with the US-spec aftermarket equipment, but Ineos is aiming for a number around the $50,000 MSRP mark, plus or minus a few thousand dollars.
That would put it above the Jeep Wrangler Renegade and the Ford Bronco, below the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen and more or less on top of the car that replaced its spirit animal, the Land Rover Defender.
At Its Core
Mechanically, the Ineos Grenadier 4X4 mates a wonderfully rigid ladder-frame chassis (made by Germany’s Gestamp) with two solid-beam axles (made by Italian farm-equipment specialist Carraro) and permanent all-wheel drive.
The extra slippery scenarios are met via a two-speed Tremec transfer case and up to three lockable Eaton differentials (but for the base models, it just one in the center) and an old-school steering box takes care of where you point it. Sort of.
Inside all of this, Ineos fits a re-tuned BMW-sourced 3.0-liter, turbocharged gasoline engine with 282 horsepower and 332lb-ft of torque, mated to an off-road tuned ZF eight-speed automatic transmission with off-road tuning.
By US standards, it’s not a huge SUV, sitting at 192.7 inches long and 80.7 inches high, on a 115-inch wheelbase that is good for just two rows of seats, for a maximum of five people.
There is a longer cab-chassis version on the way, so people can still seat five people, but attach custom bodywork on the back for custom jobs. And that’s likely to be heavier than the
Grenadier’s 5732lb.
No Frills, No Nonsense
Ratcliffe saw a world being stripped of its no-nonsense 4X4s in favor of high-refinement, low-capability urban soft roaders; none of which he fancied driving.
So he built a machine so no-nonsense that you get the feeling the Ineos Grenadier would be happy to live its life off the blacktop completely.
Ineos says the Grenadier has 10.4 inches of ground clearance, can tilt to 45 degrees (we saw a maximum of 42) and delivers nine degrees of front axle articulation and 12 degrees at the rear.
It has 23 inches of wheel travel, too (a subject of much debate internally during the Grenadier’s formative months), combined with a 35.5-degree approach angle, a 36.1-degree departure angle and a 28.2-degree ramp-over angle.
That puts it ahead of the vaunted Mercedes-Benz G-Class and the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited, but just behind the Jeep on ground clearance by a half inch.
There is a long list of optional tires developed for the Grenadier, but the standard offerings are either a 265/70 R17 Bridgestone Dueler all-terrain or 255/70 R18s as an option. There’s also a Bridgestone 3PMSF (three peak, mountain snowflake) winter tire (which we made use of in Scotland) and the robust BF Goodrich K02.
BMW squeezes 380hp and 398lb-ft out of this B58 in-line six for the X5, but Ineos asked for it to be re-tuned for more torque down low, with less concern for the power peak, and it also uses a much longer, more forgiving throttle response.
That’s why it has “only” 282hp from 3250pm to 4200rpm and 332lb-ft from 1250 to 4000rpm, and takes 8.6 seconds to hit 62mph, instead of the 5.4 seconds in the X5 xDrive40i.
Combine that with the 2.5:1 low-range ratio in the Tremec transfer case and the Grenadier crawls at 1.26mph.
Even if things get a bit steep for the compression ratio in the B58, there is a hill-descent control, activated by a ceiling-mounted button, that can hold things down to just 2mph, and can be adjusted on the cruise control’s buttons.
The base version of the Grenadier uses only a locking center differential, while the Trailmaster has a more robust off-road focus, delivering three diff locks and a snorkel air intake, while the Fieldmaster is more luxury focused, with heated seats and leather trim.
It also wades through 31.5 inches of water (or whatever other fluid takes your fancy), which isn’t bad for a spark-ignition motor.
The biggest query we have on the entire mechanical package is the old-fashioned recirculating ball steering box.
Ineos insists this is necessary to cope with the nine degree of front-axle articulation, which no rack-and-pinion system could manage. Besides, it’s tough and easy to fix if something goes wrong with it in a remote location.
And, off-road, it works just fine. But life isn’t just off-road, not these days.
........