Ineos Grenadier 1st Gen

The Grenadier is the first vehicle from Ineos Automotive, a carmaker the petrochemicals group Ineos founded to build the kind of rugged, simple body-on-frame 4x4 that Land Rover stopped making when the original Defender ended production. It reached its first customers in 2022 and US buyers in 2023, and it is assembled in Hambach, France, in a plant that previously built the Smart city car.

Where the reborn Land Rover Defender moved to a unibody and air suspension, the Grenadier went deliberately the other way. It has a ladder frame, beam axles front and rear on coil springs, permanent four-wheel drive, a two-speed transfer case with low range, and up to three locking differentials. The engine is sourced from BMW. The trade-off is honest. Recirculating-ball steering is vague on-center, the ride is firm and busy on pavement, and the turning circle suits a trail better than a parking structure. In return the owner gets a chassis built to be worked, repaired, and loaded.

US Grenadiers use a BMW-built 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six rated 282 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque, paired with an 8-speed ZF automatic. The Station Wagon is sold as the base Grenadier, the off-road-focused Trialmaster Edition, and the comfort-leaning Fieldmaster Edition. The Trialmaster adds front and rear differential locks, BFGoodrich all-terrain tires, a raised air intake, and auxiliary lighting as standard equipment. A two-seat Utility Wagon covers commercial and fleet use.

The Grenadier competes with the Jeep Wrangler, the Ford Bronco, and the Land Rover Defender it was conceived to answer. Ineos designed it to be upfitted. The body carries factory mounting points, the roof supports a meaningful static load, and Ineos sells a deep first-party accessory catalog. The independent aftermarket is still thin, since the vehicle is only a few years old, but the platform was built from the start around the kind of gear a long backcountry trip needs.