There are varied reasons to try and replicate an old kind of car that’s no longer in production, writes Brian Byrne. For Ineos Automotive, it was a belief that with the Land Rover Defender being morphed into luxury car with all the trimmings, there was a big hole in the market for something to replace it. Ineos is owned by a British billionaire, so he had the cash to throw at the project.
So far Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who makes his real money from chemicals production, has invested some £1.4 billion in the design and build of such a replacement, the Grenadier SUV and the pickup variant Quartermaster. The provided legend is that he named the SUV after his favourite London pub, where reputedly the whole idea for the project also germinated.
I learned my early off-roading in an old Defender and through the years had opportunities to drive versions of the car in a variety of both rough and on-road conditions. I would always say that driving a Defender on an ordinary road was the most difficult because that was where it was most uncomfortable. Once in the rough, though, it was unbreakable and arguably unbeatable as a simple-technology answer to negotiating extreme terrain. And if anything went mechanically wrong, it was fixable in desert or jungle with the fabled hammer and spanner.
The Grenadier styling follows the Defender image closely enough that Land Rover was prompted to take a case for trademark infringement. Which failed. There’s impactful presence, especially with all the black racks, bars and snorkel. The bumper sections in front are wide enough to be seats while taking an al fresco lunch in the wild or at the Pony Club competitions. The car has been in production since 2022.
My review vehicle was the Quartermaster version. Which is half a metre longer than the SUV, already a big beast at just under 4.9 metres. As there’s a full cab, much of that extra length is the load bed overhanging out back, though the wheelbase is also stretched by around 300mm to keep things in balance. Thanks to the big Bridgestone-shod wheels, it’s a high enough lift to throw anything in the back where the load bed is a tad longer than the Toyota HiLux's, a good deal shorter than that in a Ford Ranger crew-cab, but wider than either of those. Just for comparison, the Quartermaster is overall longer than both. It's also a lot heavier, but paradoxically doesn't have as big a payload.
It's a climb to get inside and that's when it gets a bit weird. I've always called for knobs and switches instead of fiddly and distracting prodding at touchscreens, and knobs and switches the Grenadier-Quartermaster has in spades. They're kind of gigantic, though, with the overall effect resembling the interior of a pre-digital era aircraft cockpit rather than a land vehicle. Even to having some of said controls set in a roof console, which, because the roof is relatively lower than in an aircraft, it's hard to read what they're for unless you're a short and, ideally, a short-sighted person. The centre stack of controls is topped with a low-definition screen, unfortunately angled to show reflections and glare rather than giving the driver a clear view of the navigation.
The width of the Grenadier-Quartermaster means that even with a wide console between them for the two transmission shifters and an old-style pull handbrake, there's plenty of room for both front occupants. Typical of crew-cab vehicles, rear leg-room is a little tight if there's a tall driver, but it's plenty wide for three adults.
The Grenadier comes with either petrol or diesel 3.0 BMW straight-6s, both with 8-speed auto transmissions. In my case it was the petrol, and the fuel consumption on road runs at a little less than 15L/100km. A good-sized wallet is required to stay the distance.
On the road, the Quartermaster, which won the Irish Pick-Up of the Year 2025 with Continental Tyres title, turned out to be a surprisingly comfortable car to travel in, nothing like the old Defender. But it has a very odd steering that doesn't self-centre, which means you have to constantly work to keep it from wandering. Also, the turning circle takes a much wider sweep than any of the competitors. My one-line description was "steers like a boat and needs a harbour to park", and I wasn't joking. Due to time and circumstances, I was only able to take it mildly off-road and it took ruts and ridges with aplomb, giving me a good sense that it would actually carry me anywhere really rough.
For the company's owner, should he choose to continue with the dream, that road will be rough and tough. Will be interesting to see how far Ratcliffe will drive it.
PRICE: From €68,995 + VAT. WHAT I LIKED: The owner's commitment so far, thanks to deep pockets.
