As you’ll be well aware, back in October several members of the TURAS team were lucky enough to visit the amazing Abenteuer and Allrad Show in Germany. Amongst the plethora of things to see and do this year one of my most anticipated was to finally get to see the new Ineos Grenadier vehicle ‘in the flesh’ and most exciting of all actually get to take a test drive ride in one. The test drives were taking place over the pretty testing 4×4 track that forms part of the A&A set up, where many vehicles large and small are put through their paces over a testing mix of steep drops and inclines, through deep mud, rutted ground and large deep pools of water.

You may recall that we previously ran an article over a year ago about this awesome sounding true 4×4 vehicle that was in development at that stage and looked every bit the true replacement for the old Land Rover Defender rather than the version Land Rover had conjured up themselves. As a Defender owner myself I’d followed closely the ongoing development of this new vehicle over the last couple of years and was really excited to finally see the finished product up close for myself – had they managed to pull it off and did it live up to my expectations?

On first seeing the Ineos stand with the couple of vehicles they had there I was initially struck by the fact that looking at it front on it wasn’t the exact Defender replica it had looked on paper and in the press shots and in fact had if anything a more Mercedes G Wagon feel to it. However, once you wander around to more of a side on profile the unmistakable likeness to the Defender is clear as day. It is there however that the similarities end because this complete nut and bolt up original build is clearly a far more refined and engineered vehicle than the LR Defender. The inside with it’s beautifully finished half leather upholstery and panels of controls both in the centre console and up on a central ceiling panel between the split sunroof panels have the perfect mix of both an industrial and refined feel to them. Indeed, the general finishing all around the vehicle has a real premium look whilst also having an underlying toughness that you know is built to be properly used in the great outdoors and not just to look pretty alongside the other 4×4 Mums at the school pick up.

Sadly, we were weren’t allowed to drive the vehicles ourselves but instead were taken around the lap of the track by an Ineos driver who knew what they were doing and were able to really show off the vehicles poise and performance in a testing off-road environment. I have to say, the Grenadier performs as well as it looks and with the large info screen in the middle of the dashboard giving you all the real time information any techy geek could dream of wanting to know we headed off across the mud strewn and steep banked test track. One of the most striking things for me was that as well as the performance of the Grenadier more than matching the abilities of my trusty Defender it did it with such consummate ease and comfort, gripping through deep wet mud up steep slopes and cruising through deep water as smoothly and quietly as if it was taking a drive down a country lane.As you can see from these pictures the vehicle was properly put through its paces, it was silver when we set out honestly, and I for one would love to get my hands on one when they are finally released. Currently you’re able to put in an order for one for delivery from July 2022 onwards if you have 59,500 Euros, $85,000 Australian dollars or £48,000 in UK for the entry price 2 seater commercial version. The prices for the 5 seat crew cab or full size passenger carrying SUV are still to be released. The vehicles are going to be sold predominantly on a built-to-order basis so there won’t be a build up of stock and will be available initially with simple petrol and diesel engine offerings, however the company are working with Hyundai on development of a hydrogen power cell which sounds like a great idea and way to future proof this great looking adventure seeker of the future. Now I just need to find a way of getting.£50k together in a hurry!