There’s a new vehicle that has taken the overland scene by storm. We’re talking about the Ineos Grenadier. Despite sales figures that are estimated at fewer than 20,000 units, you can’t walk around an Overland Expo event without running into dozens of these eclectic SUVs. Having driven stock examples in the past, and being left less than impressed, we really wanted to see what makes these unique vehicles so desirable to the overland crowd. So, we devised a plan and stole the keys to one of the Grenadiers owned by our friends at Leitner Designs and headed for a long weekend in the hills.

What Is The Ineos Grenadier?

Despite being available globally since 2020, the first Ineos vehicles began arriving at U.S. dealerships in late 2023. For those still unfamiliar, which is understandable, Ineos Automotive was founded in 2016 by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, who had previously established the Ineos chemical group and serves as its current CEO. Ratcliffe desired a vehicle with the rugged looks and off-road ability of a classic Land Rover Defender but with a modern powertrain and amenities. After failing to purchase the tooling for the last-generation Defender from Land Rover after its discontinuation, Ratcliffe commissioned his own reinterpretation of the classic.

The company’s first vehicle, the Grenadier, offers a styling that is meant to evoke the same emotions of nostalgia as those of its spiritual ancestors. With round headlights, slab sides, and flat fenders you’d be hard pressed to not spot hints of the OG Land Rover Defender meshed with a bit of Mercedes-Benz G-Class and FJ-era Toyota Land Cruiser.

Aviation is a bit theme throughout the cabin. The center stack and roof-mounted auxiliary switch panel mimic those found in modern jets. The Grenadier lacks a traditional instrument panel and instead much of the vehicle’s instrumentation is located on a central infotainment touchscreen. Necessities such as speed, gear position, and odometer take up about a third of the 12.3-inch screen’s real estate. Modern conveniences such as wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard as are advanced driver assistance features such as lane departure warning and automatic emergency braking.

Powering the Grenadier is a BMW-sourced turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine. Ineos rates the engine at 281 hp and 331 lb-ft of torque. With an output much lower than other applications, Ineos states that they have chosen to tune the engine “for the off-road application that the Grenadier serves.” Backing the engine is a ZF 8-speed automatic transmission and full-time four-wheel-drive system.

Modifying An Ineos Grenadier For Overlanding

In stock form the Ineos Grenadier is incredibly capable. However, that has never stopped anyone from trying to make them better. This Grenadier has been outfit with a host of products from the team at Agile OffRoad. A set of LT295/70R17 Firestone Destination M/T2 mud-terrain tires are wrapped around 17×8-inch Overlander XT wheels. Additional clearance for the larger tires is provided by a set of Eibach Pro lift springs while damping duties are handled by Fox Performance Elite Series 2.5-inch DSC EVO remote reservoir shocks. The vehicle was also fit with Agile OffRoad’s rock sliders and unbody skid plates for the ultimate in trail protection.

Naturally, because the vehicle is owned by Leitner Designs, it stands to reason that it’s also fit with the company’s full catalog of hardware. The foundation of this is the Leitner Designs ACS full-length platform rack. Mounted to the rack are a pair of GearPOD ROOF storage boxes, one of which is fit with MAXTRAX recovery boards and brackets. Leitner’s Universal Side Kick accessory panels are mounted outboard of the rear windows (Ineos makes this easy with its standard L-Track brackets that comes on the vehicle) and are fit with the company’s Jerry Can Holders and an additional set of MAXTRAX recovery boards. A front bumper light bar from Leitner Designs holds a pair of Baja Designs lights while the company’s scene light brackets work to provide illumination along the sides of the vehicle. Rounding out the package is a spare tire relocation bracket that allows larger rolling stock to fit without interfering with the rear doors, windshield wiper, or backup camera.

Living With An Overland Grenadier

Knowing how difficult it is to launch an automotive brand; we’ve been keen to give Ineos a fair amount of grace. That said, there are a few issues with the Grenadier that are made exponentially better by the addition of aftermarket parts, along with one that is far worse.

Chief among complaints surrounding the Ineos Grenadier is that its steering is abjectly awful. A lack of caster paired with a recirculating ball steering system produces what is likely the most abnormal steering feel in any modern vehicle. In stock trim the Grenadier offers little to no steering return-to-center. The Bosch steering box itself is quite robust, and Ineos describes the steering as a “precision” feature. Thankfully, the addition of a gas-pressurized Fox 2.0 ATS steering stabilizer makes an enormous effort towards correcting the feel of the steering.

Being a tall, boxy, off-roader means that the Grenadier isn’t likely to be a canyon slayer. However, in factory trim the handling is not fantastic and ride quality merely serviceable. Thankfully, the new Eibach springs and Fox dampers correct all those woes, offering an SUV that is pleasant to drive both on and off-road. Don’t get us wrong, it’s still no sports car. However, the odds of the rear seat passengers getting car sick is greatly reduced.

Unfortunately, the one area that isn’t improved is engine and braking performance. Weighing more than 6,000 pounds in factory trim, and a good bit more after being modified, the Grenadier now boarders on dangerously slow. Acceleration is painful and merging through traffic can be a white-knuckle affair. The larger tires take the vehicle’s already inferior braking ability and compound it. And we won’t even get into the topic of fuel economy. Essentially, it’s like driving a classic Land Rover Defender, which we suppose was the point all along.

Final Thoughts

The Ineos Grenadier is something special. People love it despite not knowing what it is. It was designed for a purpose and executes on that well. And the fact that the overland community has embraced it so quickly is astonishing. While we have our quibbles over the vehicle’s shortcomings, spending time with a well modified example has given us new hope that the Grenadier may not be as difficult to live with as we once thought.