Ineos Grenadier: The Triumph of the Analogue

As I sit down to write what will be my last driving review for the foreseeable future, two headlines catch my attention. Firstly, articles written by artificial intelligence have surpassed those published by human hands. The need to publish a text as quickly as possible, without regard for the quality of its prose, has brought us to this point.

I am aware that communication agencies and car brands use Chat GPT to draft their press releases, which are then filtered again by journalists to create articles that go unread, yet occupy petabytes of storage space on servers buried in mountains. Not to mention the litres of water consumed with each question posed to the AI.

The second striking headline was about Nano Banana, an image generator that, in its Pro version, has created photos where it is impossible to tell if they are machine-made or not – in the basic version, an artificial whiff can still be detected. 2025, the year when the human race can no longer trust photographic evidence.

I assure you this is a review about an off-road vehicle. Essentially, one of the last of its kind. Due to environmental regulations, this segment is disappearing. Dacia, for example, now delivers all-wheel drive using a hybrid system: a combustion engine at the front and an electric motor at the rear. There is no low-range gearbox or differential lock, but it does have an Eco label.

The Grenadier is truly the product of the whims of Jim Ratcliffe, the founder and CEO of the Ineos Group, one of the largest petrochemical companies in the UK. In 2023, he was the second wealthiest man in the country and, after the coronavirus, he moved his residence from London to Monaco, a move that saved him £4 billion in taxes.

When Land Rover decided to renew the legendary Defender, Ratcliffe was adamant and bought the factory in Hambach (France) from Mercedes Benz to produce what he considered the ultimate off-road vehicle.

And indeed, he succeeded: 'body-on-frame' construction, differential locks, low-range gearbox, truck steering, easily replaceable parts in case they break, a wading depth of 80 centimetres, or cabin drainage valves in case water enters while crossing a river.

The engines come from BMW, and Ratcliffe spared no expense: he went for the iconic Bavarian inline-six cylinders. Tough, powerful, and available in diesel or petrol, with 250 and 280 horsepower, respectively. Like all good models from the German brand, they are paired with a ZF gearbox.

The doors are heavy, and the mechanism to open them is satisfying, as is the sound they make when closing. Like the Mercedes G-Class, it’s tempting to slam them just to hear it. Inside, the climate control is designed to be operated with gloves, but the buttons could be a bit more robust to match the rest of the vehicle.

Virtually everything in the Grenadier is analogue, and indeed, it feels like some features, such as lane change warning or maximum speed alert, are only there because the European Union has mandated ADAS in all vehicles. Artificial aids that "facilitate" the work and make use more convenient.

During the development years of the Grenadier, Ineos considered marketing it for less than 50,000 euros, which would have made it an indisputable value proposition in the off-road segment, but changes in regulation and market demand mean the current starting price in Spain is 84,500 euros.

It seems that in a world where digital prevails over analogue, the mechanical and artisanal is an ever-greater luxury. But if what you seek is a robust and reliable tool to cross a desert, there are still options available.