Atten…shun! Grenadier in the house!
Four years ago in a little pub in the UK called The Grenadier the real replacement of the discontinued Land Rover Defender was dreamed up and sketched out. The new “Defender” had to be tough, rugged, simple (relatively), practical, powerful and built for the bush. No kerb-crawler wannabe 4×4 this.
Out of this meeting the Ineos Grenadier was born. A dream (to be made) to come true. In six months, in July, the first production units will be in South Africa for final testing and demonstration purposes. The plan, according to Tim Abbot, Head of Sub-Sahara, is that the first customers (they already know who they are) will get their grubby paws on their cars in November. What a story.
It costs R10 000 to put your name on the waiting list, but all deliveries for the first few months are already committed.
On 20 January I had the privilege to attend a preview event of the Series 2B Prototype Tour at Meerendal just outside Durbanville. We actually drove in the fifth series 2B unit built. It was really fascinating in many ways. Most of the test mule’s interior is literally 3D printed. They kept telling us it is a hand-built prototype. Chris, a test driver, who accompanied us on our short drive told us that several items on the front suspension, for example, had been recently changed. The other units were numbers 90 and 91. The differences in the interior were quite dramatic. Unit 91 had seriously fat rubber on as it was brought directly here from testing in Iceland. Normally you will get a Bridgestone all-season, all-surface HT-type tyre or a BF Goodrich KO2 if you want an AT tyre.
The Grenadier will be built in Hambach on the French/German border alongside Smart cars as well as other Mercedes Benz parts.
INEOS Group Chair Sir Jim Ratcliffe said: “Hambach presented us with a unique opportunity that we simply could not ignore: to buy a modern automotive manufacturing facility with a world-class workforce. INEOS Automotive set out a vision to build the world’s best utilitarian 4×4, and at our new home in Hambach, we will do just that.”
In a nutshell the Grenadier is a real five-seater 4×4 (in station wagon form) with a choice of single turbo 3L straight six petrol or diesel (249 kW and 550Nm) engine from BMW, 8-speed auto box from ZF, Carraro makes the axles and the chassis and suspension was developed and engineered by Magna Steyr. The car has permanent four-wheel drive, with a two-speed transfer case and centre, rear, and front-locking differentials. It has a wading depth of 800 mm, 264 mm ground clearance, 35,5° approach angle and 36,1° departure angle. It has 3,5 ton towing ability.
The interior is practical and to my mind really well thought out. For example, the flooring is thick rubber that can be hosed out. Electrics and electronics are housed as high as possible, with many switches in the roof to keep everything dry and working. Recaro will be making the seats available in durable, water and stain-resistant textile and vinyl, or leather. It has a centrally located 12.3-inch TFT LCD colour infotainment touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay®, Android™ Auto and Pathfinder Off-Road Navigation. I like the overhead roof mounted switch panel, which also has extra buttons for additional lights, winches and so on. The buttons and switches are widely spaced to allow for gloved operation. I seriously loved the safari windows, which are two “sunroof” ports above the driver and passenger that can be opened at an angle or completely removed if you are in the game reserve for instance. A must have accessory.
The combination of 3.0 L six and 8-speed box works extremely well, and the suspension appears to be well sorted. The Grenadier sailed through the admittedly fairly easy test route with aplomb. Acceleration and the suspension’s ability to soak up bumps is top notch.
Hopefully we will be able to do a full test in July.
Expected base price will be just under R1,4 million, which is competitive with the opposition. Already three dealers have been appointed as well as five service points at BMW dealers. More are to follow both in SA and in Namibia and Botswana.
A bakkie, cab with chassis (for fire engines etc) and doublecab are to follow later in 2023.
Until then I think both the G-wagon from Mercedes Benz and the Land Cruiser from Toyota may just have serious competition on the horizon. Can’t wait to find out.
