Surprising price for Ineos Grenadier

The four-wheel-drive born in a pub will take the fight to Land Rover and Toyota with a back-to-basics approach to off-road motoring.

The four-wheel-drive born in a pub will tackle established off-roaders head-on, adopting prices to rival Land Rover’s Defender and the Toyota LandCruiser.

Priced from $84,500 plus on-road costs, the new Ineos Grenadier splits the ancient Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series ($71,350) and new LandCruiser 300 Series ($89,990), slipping between Land Rover’s diesel ($81,166) and petrol ($92,236) two-door Defender models.

The Grenadier promises to tackle rough regions.

Designed as a rugged alternative to luxurious four-wheel-drives, the Grenadier is a response to the sentiment that modern cars have “gone a bit soft”.

The car’s rugged styling was a sore point for Land Rover, which unsuccessfully argued that the Grenadier ripped off the classic Defender, losing an important court case in 2020.

It comes from a petrochemical company with experience buying thousands of off-roaders for work in rugged landscapes.

Ineos chief executive Jim Ratcliffe, at one time Britain’s richest man, met with mates in a pub named the Grenadier to discuss the possibility of building a better Land Rover or LandCruiser.

The result is currently testing in Australia ahead of going on sale next year.

Jim Ratcliffe with an Ineos Grenadier prototype.

The Grenadier will feature a choice of BMW-sourced 3.0-litre petrol or diesel engines for the same price, each mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel-drive system.

Entry-level prices apply to two-seat wagon-bodied variants.

Five-seat wagons are likely to cost a little more, while figures for the upcoming Grenadier ute have not been finalised.

We don’t know what safety features will be standard. The brand does not plan to provide cars to ANCAP for an independent safety assessment, and its bare-bones approach suggests Ineos might not jam-pack the car with driver assistance measures.

The brand will have a small number of basic showrooms in major cities. Expect the car to go to popular field days, camping shows and industry events to drum up interest in coming months.

The new Grenadier four-wheel-drive promises to be modular and customisable.

The manufacturer is following the likes of Honda and Mercedes with a direct sales model, dealing directly with customers as opposed to selling cars to dealerships, who then on-sell them to motorists.

Customers can buy the car online without setting foot in a showroom, or take a traditional test-driving and tyre-kicking approach.

Inside the Ineos Grenadier, which shuns the trend for enormous touchscreens.

Australian boss Justin Hocevar, a former Land Rover and Renault executive, said Ineos will have a strong service network through a partnership with Bosch and reputable four-wheel-drive service and repair centres.

Keen customers on remote trips will also be able to work on cars themselves, with Ineos promising open access to repair manuals, design schematics and parts catalogues to help adventurers find their way home.

The Grenadier will be available as a wagon or ute.

Hocevar said the car was aimed at serious four-by-four folks known as “overlanders”, along with tradespeople, company fleets, emergency services, and agricultural businesses such as surveyors or veterinarians.

The brand will start taking deposits in the first week of October, ahead of accepting orders in early 2022.

Customers will start receiving cars in late 2022.

Originally published as Surprising price for Ineos Grenadier