The beauty of English women and the taste of English food have made the British great explorers, great travelers and the best off-roaders. No sooner had the classic «def» retired than it was replaced by the equally all-terrain Ineos Grenadier.
Once upon a time, there was Jim Ratcliffe, a classic self-made man who rose from the son of a carpenter from proletarian Birmingham to become one of the three richest men in the UK. The chemical engineer turned out to be a natural corporate investor, a kind of Wall Street shark. He bought, absorbed, split, and merged, eventually building a chemical empire on the level of BP and BASF, consisting of 194 companies scattered across 29 countries on all five continents. And all would have been well, but Land Rover was about to discontinue its beloved Defender – it was no longer possible to fit the legendary SUV into the approaching safety requirements.
It should be noted here that for the British, Land Rover is not just a car. In the provinces, this car is still inherited along with family heirlooms, saddles, and hunting rifles. In other words, no matter what car modern gentlemen and squires use to get to work, their parents’ Land Rover is always sleeping in the barn in case of all kinds of emergencies. Including Martian attacks on London and the fourth ice age.
Jim Radcliffe starts his mornings in the gym and doesn’t sit down to dinner until he’s run 10 kilometers. He even celebrated his 60th birthday by running — during the South African super marathon — 90 km uphill. He returned to Europe on a motorcycle, having traveled all over Africa alone. Mr. Radcliffe equally owns the most successful F-1 stable with Mercedes and even involves its specialists in his yacht and cycling teams. They are also very successful. This is his way of turning unprofitable businesses into profitable ones.
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Radcliffe tried to negotiate with Jaguar Land Rover to sell the rights to produce an SUV because he knows how to negotiate. But Utley considered this idea to be the madness of an aging millionaire. Which they most likely regretted more than once. Because that refusal only emboldened the head of the petrochemical empire Ineos: against the backdrop of «Brexit» Radcliffe promised to revive the British automotive industry. January 2016, when «def» was finally discontinued after 67 years of production, can be considered the starting point for the Ineos Automotive division.
As with «def», the true potential of Grenadier can only be discovered far from civilization. But not where the asphalt ends, but where the navigator stops navigating. Unfortunately, no one was allowed to drive at the presentation — just like in the early noughties, you could only drive «carcass». So we’ll have to wait until the qualifying races of the «Car of the Year» competition to draw conclusions. But it’s already clear that the Grenadier’s off-road ability will be hard to beat.
The appearance of the «grenadier» is perhaps the most controversial point. Some people take it for a Chinese Land Rover clone, while others take it for a modernized Spanish Santana, which collected «hyphens» from 1961 to 2011. The first thing that came to my mind when I met it was that this is what the Defender could have looked like if Jaguar Land Rover hadn’t had the «to do with the» in 2016. After all, it was this model, like a Gogol’s overcoat, that later became the Land Rover company, and later the Range Rover, Bowler, and Special Vehicle Operations brands.
If Defender is a defender, then Grenadier (from the French grenade) is more of an attacker. At least initially, «grenadiers» were the name given to selected units of assault troops.
In any case, it’s hard to believe that Ineos Automotive has an entire design studio headed by Toby Acquire. Moreover, it works side by side with the much more crowded legal department. It was there that the necessary list of visual differences was formed, which allowed Ineos to fend off Jaguar Land Rover’s copycat lawsuits. At first glance, it seems that the «Grenadier» has only slightly different lighting and door handles, a redrawn hood and wheel arches. In fact, it does not have a single interchangeable part with the «def».
In terms of geometric cross-country ability, the Grenadier was better than the current Defender. The declared suspension travel is 585 mm, ground clearance is 246 mm, and the passport depth of the ford is 800 mm. The entry/exit/ramp angles are 35.5/36.1/28.2 degrees, respectively.
Since Ratcliffe intended his child to be both the ideological and spiritual heir to the classic «def», its design had to be just as simple, reliable, and robust. Therefore, not only the exterior was copied. The SUV is also based on a ladder frame, body panels are made of aluminum, and the suspension architecture is similar with one-piece axles and springs. And, of course, permanent all-wheel drive, a locking center differential and a lower gear.
The supply of engines (inline 3-liter «six») was agreed with BMW, and the 8-speed «automatic» – with ZF. The Bavarians reconfigured the cooling system to suit the specifics of the SUV, slightly deforming and rethinking it. As a result – The B58 gasoline turbo engine produces 286 hp and 450 Nm, and the B57 N57 biturbo diesel engine – 249 hp and 550 Nm.
Eins, Zwei, Polizei! Drei, Vier, Grenadier!” — Both diesel and gasoline engines are supplied by BMW. In a rare case, the choice of engine type does not affect the price.
It is clear that a company without an automotive background cannot teach even such a conservative and repeatedly tested design to drive well. Therefore, the best engineering bureaus were involved. The Austrian company Magna was responsible for the chassis, and the brakes – Brembo, and general support was provided by the Mercedes MBtech division. As a result, the manufacturer provides a 5-year warranty with no mileage limit. But this is only in Europe and the Middle East, while for the United States and Canada, the limit – 60 thousand miles, and for African countries – 100 thousand kilometers.
Unlike the exterior, the interior is much more original and independent. Instead of army austerity – numerous «complications of», as watchmakers say. According to Ratcliffe, «is everything you need and nothing more» – The design of the dashboard, center, and ceiling consoles was inspired by the cockpits of airplanes, ship cockpits and agricultural machinery. More precisely, the most functional interiors.
The same conduit toggle switches, buttons, and levers are made unusually large and spaced apart with a margin of — to make it easy to use blindly. Personally, all this decoration reminds me of the remote controls in mobile TV stations and the control panel of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
A distinctive BMW joystick, which is adjacent to the old-school Tremec billiard ball control, falls out of the general square-nested picture. Just like on a Soviet «Niva». Front seats – by Recaro, under a 3-seater sofa – a case for valuables that should not be left in the trunk. And it’s airtight — there are drainage holes in the floor for hosing down the interior.
So far, only two fixed configurations are offered, which differ ideologically. The Fieldmaster is aimed at maximum comfort for the driver and his passengers. Everything in the vehicle is servo-driven and electrically heated. Instead of wear-resistant materials and water-repellent fabric upholstery – The interior is made of genuine leather, not imitation. And the anti-slip flooring has been replaced by high-quality carpet.
In contrast to the luxury Fieldmaster, the expeditionary Trialmaster is packed with everything the company offers in terms of off-road capability. From the snorkel, perimeter bodyguards and bonus 12-volt battery to the «toothy» BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 and electronically controlled Eaton center differential locks.
Whereas the regular Grenadier has neither a panoramic roof nor sunroof, the Fieldmaster has two at once, both above the heads of the front riders.
Grenadier Quartermaster pickup truck turned out to be the most affordable – Its price list starts at UAH 3,690,179. For the 2-seater cargo and passenger version of the Grenadier Utility Wagon, the price is UAH 3,963,694, while the 5-seater version will cost UAH 4,994 more. And finally, the most popular of the «Grenadiers» Station Wagon – will cost at least UAH 4,137,239. That is, it will compete in price with the Lexus GX 550 Overtrail (4,157,588 hryvnias) because a comparable 3-liter Defender (130 X-Dynamic SE) is asked for 4,772,341 hryvnias. And to close the topic of frame SUVs, the most affordable Geländewagen (G 500) is currently estimated at UAH 9,290,477 – as three top-of-the-line Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited.
| Equipment | Price |
| Grenadier Station Wagon Trailmaster Edition | 4 137 239 ₴ |
| Grenadier Station Wagon Fieldmaster Edition | 4 137 239 ₴ |
| Grenadier Quartermaster | 3 690 179 ₴ |
| Grenadier Quartermaster Trailmaster Edition | 4 137 239 ₴ |
| Grenadier Quartermaster Fieldmaster Edition | 4 137 239 ₴ |
| Grenadier Utility Wagon (two-seater) | 3 963 694 ₴ |
| Grenadier Utility Wagon (five-seater) | 3 968 688 ₴ |
In Ukraine, AWT Bavaria, which has received distribution status, will sell and service the SUVs. The manufacturer has set high standards – in addition to the general «five-year warranty» a 3-year warranty for paintwork and a 12-year warranty – for the absence of body corrosion. 7 feet under the kilt!
| Body, type | Pickup truck |
| Dimensions (LxWxH), mm | 4896х2146х2036 |
| Wheelbase, mm | 2922 |
| Declared ground clearance, mm | 264 |
| Trunk volume, liters. | n.d. |
| Curb weight, kg | 2740 |
| Engine | 6-cyl gasoline inline turbo |
| Working volume, cubic cm | 2998 |
| Power, hp. | 286 |
| Torque, Nm | 450 |
| Type of drive | Full |
| Pendant | Spring |
| CHECKPOINT | 8-speed automatic transmission ZF 8HP51 |
| Dynamics 0-100, s | 8,8 |
| Maximum speed, km/h | 160 |
| Fuel consumption, l (mixed) | 14,4 |
| Cost, UAH | 3 731 558 ₴. |
| The cost of the test car, UAH | 3 731 558 ₴. |
| Competitors | Lexus GX 550, Land Rover Defender, Mercedes-Benz G 500, Jeep Wrangler |