2025 Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster: Off-road review

Ineos Automotive Australia has launched the ute version of its Grenadier 4x4, which it dubs the Quartermaster.

Essentially the same vehicle as the Grenadier station wagon, the Quartermaster has a 305mm longer wheelbase and is available with either a ute cargo tub or a bare cab-chassis at the back.

Of course, Ineos does offer a practical optional tray that can be fitted on the back of the cab-chassis and for this it has partnered with Australian company Norweld. Alternatively, buyers can opt to fit their own tray from any of the many suppliers available in Australia, as well as partial or full canopies that sit on a tray or directly on the chassis.

Like the Grenadier wagon to which it is pretty much identical forward of the B-pillars, the Quartermaster is offered in three specification levels with a long list of options and customisations available. Both the ute and cab-chassis are available in standard specification as well as the Belstaff editions: the Trialmaster and Fieldmaster models.

With so many options all available on any variant, owners can customise the Grenadier to their own specification. Ineos Australia told us that surveying the specification of more that 100 Grenadiers sold in Australia, they couldn’t find two that were exactly the same.

JUMP AHEAD

• What do you get
• Interior
• Safety
• Off-road performance
• Powertrain
• Verdict
• Specs

What do you get?

Like any ute, the Quartermaster is all about practicality and the new vehicle’s longer wheelbase (3227mm) over the wagon better locates the cargo weight over the rear axle for more stable and capable load lugging. Like the Grenadier wagon, the Quartermaster ute has a 3500kg towing capacity.

The Quartermaster has a 3550kg GVM and 7000kg GCM which should make it appealing to anyone who tows. Payload for the ute is rated at 907kg with the petrol engine and 832kg with the diesel powertrain. Payloads for the cab-chassis models aren’t quoted as this will depend on what the user places on the back of it.

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The cargo tub for the ute measures 480mm high, 1564mm long and 1619mm wide, with 1337mm between the wheel arches. The load space is somewhat compromised by the placement of the spare wheel and tyre in the tub but Ineos says that this is preferable to locating the spare under the tub, as this would have decreased departure angle. The tyre protrudes above the height of the tub and that’s something you would need to consider if you want to fit any sort of tonneau cover on it. The Quartermaster ute is 5400mm long in total.

Ineos has a range of covers available including a neat full-height canvas canopy that adds to the traditional look of the Quartermaster. These are part of an extensive list of factory-backed accessories from leading aftermarket supplies such as the Red Winches, Rhino-Rack and Redarc Electronics.

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As mentioned, the Quartermaster is available with a choice of petrol and diesel powertrains as per the Grenadier wagon. Both of the BMW-sourced engines are inline sixes of 3.0-litres capacity. The B57 diesel uses sequential turbocharging to generate a claimed 183kW of power and 550Nm of torque, while the B58 petrol engine uses a single twin-scroll turbocharger to generate its claimed peaks of 210kW and 450Nm.

Again, as per the wagons, the engines are backed by a ZF 8-speed automatic transmission and a full time dual-range transfer case. Locking front and rear diffs are available depending on what specification and options are selected.

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Interior

In the cabin, the only difference between the wagon and the ute/cab-chassis is in the rear seat area. The back of the seat is bolt upright in the Quartermaster and I don’t think I’d want to be sitting there for anything longer than a short trip.

Up front the dashboard and overhead controls offer a plethora of switches and dials for everything from HVAC to lockers, with additional prewired switches for auxiliary accessories such as winches, lights, inverters, fridges and other touring essentials. I’m all about having tactile switches and dials rather than controls embedded within menus in the multimedia screen, but the Grenadier takes this design philosophy to a new level, and even after a few stints in the vehicle now, they still take some familiarisation before they become second nature.

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In fact, the Grenadier takes some getting used to; when I reviewed the Grenadier Fieldmaster a few months back it took a full three days of driving it before I started to feel comfortable and familiar with the cabin and controls. This time it only took half a day on the road but the feeling was better. While the controls are tactile they are not perfect; the centre diff lock, for example, is engaged using the transfer lever in the console, while the front and rear lockers are controlled by overhead switches.

Speaking of screens, the lack of a traditional gauge cluster ahead of the steering wheel in the driver’s field of vision also takes some getting used to. Instead, the digital speedometer is in the multimedia screen on the centre of the dash.

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Safety

Like the Grenadier wagon, the Quartermaster ute comes with ABS, ETC, ESP, front, side and curtain airbags, lane departure warning, TPMS and trailer stability control, but it misses out on some systems that many take for granted in modern vehicles like AEB, lane keeping assist and cross traffic warnings.

While many old-school off-roaders will welcome their absence, not having these safety items might take the Ineos off the shopping list of some buyers, particularly those with families. These systems are available on the Ineos in other markets around the world but so far not here in Australia. The Grenadier has not been tested by ANCAP.

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Off-road performance

While a longer wheelbase might be expected to provide improved ride quality due to better weight distribution, we didn’t find this to be the case on the Quartermaster launch drive, which was in unladen vehicles on the sometimes-rough tracks of South Australia’s Flinders Ranges.

The ride remains as firm as it is in the wagon but it feels a bit more unsettled over rough, choppy roads. As I said, these vehicles were unladen, and we’d expect a bit more compliance with some weight in the tray.

The vehicles on the launch were all wearing optional BFGoodrich All-Terrain KO2 tyres which, being a light truck tyre, have a stiff and strong sidewall which wouldn’t help ride quality either, but they do give the driver the confidence to cover rough terrain without fear of tyre damage.

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Powertrain

No complaints from the powertrain as both of the petrol and diesel engines deliver the performance you’d expect from the quoted outputs, and the Quartermaster gets along swiftly for such a heavy vehicle. That might change with a heavy load on board but to find out we’ll have to wait for a full test.

The petrol-fuelled Quartermaster scores a slightly heavier payload as a result of its lighter engine but Ineos has found that Australia favours diesel power, as only around 20 per cent of Grenadiers sold here so far have been petrol powered. The petrol engine is smooth and revs hard and higher than the diesel, as you would expect, but we didn’t expect it to be noisier; this might be a result of the different exhaust system rather than the engine itself. The petrol exhaust emits a noticeable drone at touring speeds which we think could be annoying on long trips.

There was no such drone from the diesel Quartermaster which gives gobs of torque though its rev band and we think will continue to be the engine of choice for Aussie buyers.

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Verdict

Ineos says it has sold 1500 Grenadiers to Aussie buyers in the brand’s first year in Australia.

The introduction of the ute and cab-chassis models is expected to accelerate sales with the long wheelbase variants likely to outsell the wagon over the coming year. Aussies love a dual-cab ute and the Quartermaster adds a new option to this segment of the market, and one that will suit those looking for a capable vehicle with live axles both front and rear.

The Toyota LandCruiser 79 Series owns this live-axle segment at the moment, with the Jeep Gladiator the only other player but being more of a lifestyle off-roader than a true workhorse. The Ineos Quartermaster sits in between these two vehicles, delivering more refinement, features and comfort than the LandCruiser with more practicality and ability than the Gladiator.

It’s a very small part of the total 4x4 ute market but we’re glad Ineos has chosen to enter it with the Grenadier Quartermaster.

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Specifications

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