A Roadtrip: INEOS Grenadier
Or how to leave old ideas behind through European cooperation.
Many working environments struggle with conflicts and infighting. Not so at Dundas Footwear AS; due to the lack of conflict we have decided to create, or rather exaggerate, a slight disagreement that has been floating around the fringes of our friendship for over a decade. The issue is of course the eternal question: Land Rover Defender versus Mercedes Benz G-class.
Yes, this is the big one. We can add some spice by introducing the fact that Liam is half Scottish, and Helge is 1/8 German. We are both «car guys», whatever that implies, and have extensive experience with most things with four wheels and an engine. Liam is a certified race driver og Helge did at some point run a car magazine. We have owned and driven a lot of cars from Land Rover Ltd: Range Rovers, Defenders, Discovery’s, Series cars, and have two 70`s two-door Range Rovers as company cars. You might think that the argument stops there, but Helge ran a W463 G-wagon as his personal transport for many years.
Right.
We shall not go into all the technical details, different models, tuning, off road capabilities in different environments and all that jazz, but let’s go directly to the heart of the argument: Land Rover oozes charm, identity and British idiosyncrasy, while the G-wagen is a soulless, but perfectly constructed vehicle.
This statement is, of course, utter nonsense. Calling the G-wagon soulless is as provocative as saying an atheist cannot have a rich, spiritual inner life, and reducing the very capable Defender to «British charm» is nothing short of a travesty. Still, these are the two camps we have established within our little boot company. Liam is firmly on the Land Rover side, while Helge is flogging the G-wagon argument whenever he gets the chance. The discussion has been a perfect vehicle for snarky comments and friendly harassment over the years.
It is very likely that this stalemate would have gone on forever, if not fate and the Norwegian importer Bavaria had intervened, and offered us the chance to borrow their new INEOS Grenadier for a road trip to Sweden.
For those who have been living under a rock for the last decade, the origin story of the Grenadier goes like this: Multi billionaire, off road enthusiast and owner of the petrochemical company INEOS, Sir Jim Radcliffe, disliked the news of the Land Rover Defender`s retirement, tried in vain to acquire the license from Land Rover to continue to build them, decided to make his own car company to make a modern replacement for the Defender, used Magna Steyr in Austria to construct the new vehicle, and ended up buying a former Mercedes Benz car factory in France to produce the cars. And yes: Magna Steyr constructed and has built the Mercedes G-wagon at their factory since 1979. And yes: Land Rover Ltd sued INEOS for copying the design of the Defender, and lost.
Could the INEOS Grenadier put an end to our mindless bickering? A British owned company, a car constructed in Austria and built in France, with a BMW engine and gearbox? Did Sir Radcliffe unconsciously design the Grenadier to solve every good pub banter? (Well, at least the brits can still splash around in the cesspool that is Brexit, but that is their problem.)
When first experienced in the wild, the Grenadier looks very much like a perfect blend of Land Rover Defender and Mercedes G-class. It has the lines of a Defender, with the tautness and solidity of a G. It feels a lot more utilitarian than the posh and snobbish latest G-wagon, thankyouverymuch, but not at the expense of construction integrity and precision (which the lack of is the «charm» part in Land Rover terminology).
So even before driving it, the Grenadier ends the first part of our argument: it is all form follows function, it looks and feels like a big expedition vehicle should both inside and out. The interior is spacious and uncluttered, with solid, analog switchgear and buttons that can be activated with workgloves on while looking at the road. Everything feels solid and purposeful, like a G-wagon without the excess tackiness, or a Defender without the flimsiness and haphazard placement of eh…parts. A modern car with all the gadgets you need, but with an analog feel that makes it timeless. A tool, a workhorse, practical but not simple.
A few words on the switchgear in the roof: no, this is not fancy gimmick. Not at all. It frees the dashboard for distractions while driving: everything you need is at hand. Everything you need when standing still is at the roof. That it talks to your inner pilot-child is just a bonus.
Our two day trip went from Oslo and deep into the Swedish mainland for a photoshoot with Swedish Special Operation Forces and our new GS22 combat boot. On the motorway en route to Karlsborg the big Grenadier felt stable and comfortable, and the diesel powered BMW straight six had ample power and a very well suited 8-speed gearbox. It felt very, very much like a G-wagon on the road, which is not surprising when you think of it. Magna Steyr has its fingerprints all over this chassis and drivetrain. A W463 G, but better in every respect, and with an engine and gearbox that is perfectly suited to the car. It is not a fast car, but a very brisk one. Uncanny, really, but very satisfying. The one thing that we could complain about was a slightly dead steering. But it was when we left the motorway and entered the winding and bumpy gravel roads outside Karlsborg everything fell into place: This was the kind of roads the Grenadier was built for. The steering was not at all dead, it turned out is was just tuned for crap roads. No slapback at the wheel, and great feel even on loose gravel. Hats off to the Austrian engineers, and a reminder that this is a car that was made for a certain type of use, not as a status object for pottering around the block while looking like action-man. The total absence of rattles and squeaks is also testament to the solid engineering INEOS has put into the Grenadier. In short it was a car that just wanted to drive, and drive some more.
No, we did not take the Grenadier on a serious off road test, nor is this a serious car review. More interestingly, at least for us motor heads, is the fact that INEOS has taken what we like the most in many iconic big four wheelers like the Defender and the G-wagon, and why not the Land Cruiser HJ60, and blended it into a modern, very useful, extremely satisfying car that we both love and want. And want badly.
Our internal discussion is over. The Grenadier really is the best of both worlds. It has structural integrity, and it has soul. It makes you want to pack your gear and go somewhere you’ve never been before. To find an adventure. To explore. Yes, that is what it is: it is an exploration vehicle! If our boots where cars, the Type 01 would be an old Defender, the Store Bjørn Kodiak would be a tricked out Unimog, the Type 02 would be a Aston Martin DB4 Zagato, and the GS22 would be the INEOS Grenadier: uncompromising, form follows function, made to keep you safe and sound wherever you go.
We have the GS22, now we need to figure out how we can exchange our company cars for a Grenadier.
Photos by Lars Petter Pettersen
