Ineos Grenadier Commercial | Review

Land Rover, who? When The old Defender was finally taken off sale in 2016 there was genuine concern that people who needed a robust workhorse vehicle would be left out in the cold with no suitable replacement. In reality, there were plenty of pick-ups and other off-road vehicles to suit varying needs.

That didn’t stop Ineos, though. It forged ahead with the development of the Grenadier, which initially launched as a passenger SUV. Credit to the brand, the Grenadier certainly meets its design brief. It’s been modernised in the areas where it matters and retained the sturdiness and off-road ability that the Defender provided.

Of course, Land Rover also reinvented the Defender for the modern era making it more high-tech, better to drive on road and more desirable.

But fleet operators don’t care about any of that. If you need a vehicle to do a job then that’s all that matters. Hence why this Commercial variant has been introduced.

And Ineos has been pretty smart in how it has engineered the Grenadier to meet the needs of businesses. Ineos is, after all, part of a major organisation that runs many fleet vehicles of its own.

The powertrain, for example, is straight from BMW. That means that most garages will be familiar with it and, more importantly, if Ineos were to go bust you’ll still be able to keep the thing going for the foreseeable.

If you crash it then there’s more good news. The body and trim has been designed to make repairs as easy and cheap as possible. Clip the bumper? No problem. It splits into multiple parts so you just buy the bit that’s bent.

In the load bay, the plastic lining panels can be removed and replaced if their damaged or simply to freshen the vehicle up at the point of resale to maximise its residual value.

The Grenadier is a fully-fledged commercial vehicle and attracts all the necessary tax advantages to suit business customers.

Its stripped out interior provides a cargo space that isn’t quite square. The wheel arches and door frames get in the way a little. But there’s a load volume of 2,088 litres and a maximum payload of up to 871Kg.

Ineos Grenadier Commercial loadspace dimensions:

• Maximum load length: 1,687mm
• Maximum load height: 1,047mm
• Maximum load width: 1,268mm
• Width between the wheelarches: 1,064mm
• Loading height: 899mm

With split opening rear doors, the Grenadier is capable of carrying a standard Euro pallet. Although we wouldn’t say it makes a great alternative for a van. Not unless your depot is halfway up a mountain.

That’s where the Grenadier Commercial really comes into its own. Once you step outside the normal uses for a commercial vehicle and start looking at the more niche requirements.

Towing is one such strong point. It pulls a trailer effortlessly, up to a maximum weight of 3.5 tonnes. Then there’s the off-road capability.

While a modern pick up can handle most off-road duties, if you put a vehicle through constant punishment day-to-day it’s going to take its toll. The Grenadier’s agricultural heavy-duty underpinnings are going to stand up to the harshest conditions for much longer.

That does have a knock-on effect when it comes to driveability. Where pick-ups are becoming more like luxury SUVs to drive, the Grenadier feels heavy. It rolls around corners. The steering is comedically unprecise. It’s not very comfortable, either.

But, crucially, it goes and goes and goes. And if you get stuck there’s levers and buttons to press that will get you going again.

Our test model was fitted with a 3.0-litre diesel engine. A petrol option is also available. Both are six-cylinder units from BMW.

This is where the Ineos claws back even more credibility. More so than any old defender managed, anyway. The BMW powertrain is magnificent. Paired with an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission, it shifts the Grenadier gracefully. If you’re careful it can even crack 30mpg.

The beefy exterior design is continued inside where there’s a big slab of dashboard covered in switches. If that’s not enough, a roof console with even more switchgear sits overhead.

Modern convenience is delivered via a central touchscreen with a rotary control knob. The system provides Apple Carplay, Android Auto, DAB radio and a variety of off-road menus. It also doubles up as an instrument cluster as there’s nothing in front of the driver other than a panel of waning lights. Constantly glancing at the central display to see your speed gets annoying, especially as there’s plenty of space for some ‘regular’ dials behind the steering wheel.

The rugged materials and clearly labelled switchgear give a purposeful look and feel to the Grenadier’s interior but this is conflicted by some elements such as the lack of instruments and the totally out-of-place BMW gear selector. The steering wheel also feels like it should be in a Mini rather than a beefy off-roader.

Pricing starts at £51,930 (CV OTR) and Ineos offers an impressive array of customisation options from roof racks and locking differentials to on board power supplies.

Running costs (provided by Cap HPI) put the Grenadier at the more expensive end of the market, when compared to rivals like the Defender or a Ford Ranger pick-up. Mostly, that’s due to the Ineos having a greater thirst for fuel but SMR costs are also slightly higher. It’ll cost around 70p per mile to run, while a Defender D350 Hartop is 60p per mile.