With two people and loads of gear on board, the INEOS Grenadier covered 5,000 miles of wintery roads across two countries during the 2024 Alcan 5000 Winter Rally. Not only did we manage to win our class in the vehicle, but the rally also highlighted its strengths and weaknesses.
My wife, Mercedes Lilienthal, and I took a 2024 INEOS Grenadier Trialmaster 4×4 on the Alcan 5000 Rally. This event is composed of time-speed-distance (TSD) rally stages over 5,000 miles in just 10 days through Canada and Alaska in the winter.
Over this short but intense period, we found definite things we liked about the Grenadier and some things we really didn’t. This is our Alcan 5000 Rally 2024 Grenadier review.
2024 INEOS Grenadier Review
INEOS Automotive is a new car company, and the Grenadier is its first model. It’s an interesting SUV that’s mechanical where it can be and electronic where it needs to be. Like any first-model year vehicle — especially from a new manufacturer — it isn’t perfect. But, INEOS has done an admirable job with its first foray into automotive.
After over 5,000 miles of driving from Kirkland, Wash., through two Canadian provinces, two territories, and Alaska (and winning our class of 17 vehicles!), I found some things I really liked, and some things that needed work; here are five of each.
2024 INEOS Grenadier: 5 Things We Liked
1. Better-Than-Average Build Quality
While INEOS Automotive is headquartered in the UK, the SUV is assembled in Hambach, France, just across the border from Germany. The Grenadier has a solid build quality with doors that shut like bank vaults.
Overall interior tolerances feel tight and refined. Many of the buttons and switchgear are big and easy to operate, even if wearing gloves.
The SUV feels sorted, well-made, and stout. And, after 5,000 rally miles and plenty of poor roads, it never developed a squeak or rattle.
2. A Well-Sorted Suspension System
The Grenadier’s suspension uses coil springs and solid axles front and rear. While awesome for off-road articulation and durability, solid axles aren’t known for providing the best driving dynamics or ride, especially over poor roads at speed.
But, the Grenadier’s ride is surprisingly good and downright impressive at highway speeds on bad roads. When we trekked up Alaska’s Dalton Highway, strewn with potholes and craggy cracks, the suspension kept the chassis flat and controlled without too much jostling.
While the Grenadier isn’t a sports car, I found its suspension above average, especially when the road conditions went from bad to worse. This also aided us during our hectic time-speed-distance competitions.
3. Lots of L-Track & Interior Tie-Downs
It’s important to properly secure your gear during the Alcan 5000. You don’t want your supplies turning into projectiles while rallying, or heaven forbid, during an accident.
From totes with jumper cables and extra washer fluid, to boxes with freeze-dried food and camera gear, we had a lot to tie down. The Grenadier’s built-in cargo area L-track system is nothing short of brilliant. This versatile yet straightforward system allows things to be ratcheted down securely and simply.
We also stowed bags and backpacks in the back seat, and door-jamb-mounted D-rings provided easy tie-down points for the cargo. Why don’t other manufacturers offer this? Grenadiers also have an exterior L-track for even more versatility; however, we didn’t employ it during the rally.
4. Really Comfortable RECARO Seats
Great seats can make all the difference in feeling fatigued or fresh after a long drive day; in our instance, that was nearly 650 miles on some days/stages. Our Grenadier’s RECARO seats were comfortable and supportive with good bolstering, helping to keep us in place in the corners.
Both of us have some back problems, so these seats were welcome amenities helping to keep back pain to a minimum. Unfortunately, our RECAROs weren’t heated, but that is available from INEOS. Regardless, these were super seats.
5. Impressive Off-Road Capability
The Grenadier Trialmaster is made for off-road capability. With a full-time four-wheel drive system, locking front, center, and rear differentials, and a two-speed transfer case with low range, this SUV is ready for almost anything.
With 10.4” of ground clearance, deep snow wasn’t a problem while running on the Northwest Territories’ Great Slave Lake, especially in 4WD with the center differential locked. We even had the optional RED winch for recovery duty. We added Michelin X-Ice SNOW tires, so our Grenadier was a road-going snowmobile. From the factory, the Grenadier is capable of really going the distance in bad terrain.
2024 INEOS Grenadier: 5 Things We Didn’t Like
1. Tricky Infotainment
The INEOS’ infotainment system needs improvements. It’s not intuitive to learn, certain essential functions were buried deep within the menu structure, and it was difficult to operate.
The Bluetooth was buggy. It had a mind of its own and wouldn’t stop connecting to my phone, even when I didn’t want it to. Switching between the radio functions and INEOS’ apps was also harder than one would expect.
Additionally, we weren’t able to switch the speedometer into km/h from mph once in Canada. After checking with INEOS, we’re told they’re working on a software upgrade for that.
2. Wretched Rear Visibility
This SUV’s rear visibility isn’t great. The 70/30 door configuration has one small door, and one big door, both with small windows. The doors’ center seam is large, meaning rearward visibility isn’t good.
Our SUV also had a door-mounted ladder, which further hampered visibility; it was also cumbersome to keep clean because of this. There is a rear wiper, but only on one of the glass panes. Going to a single-piece tailgate would make visibility better. However, the Grenadier had a backup camera so reversing was easy enough, when the camera was clean.
3. Slow Steering Response
A common complaint about the Grenadier is its steering feel. It’s rather slow and does not come back to center well. While not an issue when you’re slogging around the back 40 or conquering trails off-road, it’s apparent at slow speeds around town, making the rig feel a bit lumbering.
While steering effort is minimal, it takes a while to get used to. Driving on rutted highways means you must give more attention to keeping it in your lane.
And, when severe winds hit us during the Alcan 5000 Rally, it was white-knuckle driving to keep the Grenadier on the straight and narrow; this is common with high-profile vehicles. But, quicker steering would’ve been helpful here.
4. Climate Control Conundrum
Our Grenadier’s climate control and HVAC system could use some improvement. It took a long time when we wanted to switch vent positions (head, to head/feet, to feet, etc.), sometimes taking upward of 20 seconds to change. It always worked, but it took time switching.
The good part: Our heater felt like it drew air from the earth’s core. However, we found ourselves cracking a window at -21 degrees F to stay cool (better than no heat!). But, this was because there wasn’t much delineation between freezing cold and screaming hot on the temperature control dial.
Also, the front “demister” (aka defroster) fan had one setting: gale-force. While it did a commendable job removing fog and frost, I wished there were multiple speeds for the demister.
5. Lack of Interior Storage
The INEOS’ brilliant tie-down abilities are contradicted by having few places to store your personal effects in the front seating area. The glovebox is tiny. The center console is small. There aren’t little cubbies to put things. Even the cupholders felt smallish for the U.S. market.
On the Alcan 5000 Rally, we were constantly cluttered, though we had many devices to charge at one time and several items to use at once. Whether it was mobile phones or soda bottles; our Rugged Radios or hats and gloves — there just weren’t enough places to stash stuff. Thankfully, the storage in the front doors was adequate and easily held our water bottles.
2024 Grenadier Review: Conclusions
Make no mistake about it, the Grenadier is a very good freshman effort from INEOS Automotive. This is the first vehicle from a first-time automaker, so let’s bear that in mind.
Some quirks will undoubtedly be addressed, and certain issues can be updated with software changes. But, if you’re after a unique, off-road-capable (and on-road comfortable) adventure 4×4, the Grenadier is an interesting and competent choice despite the things I didn’t like about it.
We proved it was rally-ready and capable by taking first place in the 2 SOP (Truck/SUV) class in the 2024 Alcan 5000 Winter Rally.
Pricing for the Grenadier starts at $71,500, but quickly goes way north of $80,000 when outfitted how you’ll likely want one. Check one out for yourself at your local INEOS Automotive dealership.
