GrenX Grenadier loaded with more firepower

The Ineos Grenadier arrived with the potential to be the 4x4 touring vehicle we’ve all been waiting for.

A proper 4x4 built on a ladder frame chassis with a practical boxy body, live axles front and rear with the option of lockers, a choice of six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines, dual-range transmission and available as both a five-seat wagon or double-cab with pick-up or cab-chassis configuration.

As good as it all sounds there’s still no perfect new 4x4 and that’s where the innovative aftermarket comes to the fore. Ineos itself has worked with leading aftermarket suppliers to create gear for the Grenadier and Quartermaster models, but there’s always room for more.

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GrenX is the brainchild of Melbourne based fella Rohan Cooray who’s working with local and international businesses to develop and create products for the Ineos Grenadiers to improve their ability, address any shortcomings in the standard vehicles and tailor them to owners needs and wants. The idea is that GrenX will be able to complete turn-key Grenadier builds for owners with all the fruit they want.

Rohan’s own Grenadier has been his development mule and in the same way he can build a vehicle to a customer’s needs, he’s kitted out this Trialmaster Edition Grenadier station wagon just as he likes it. And when you see his tidy GQ Patrol that rides on a set of 37s, you quickly realise that Rohan is serious about modifications that improve off-road ability.

To see how the GrenX modifications to his Trialmaster work, he threw us the keys for a day to put it through its paces.

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Building a better mousetrap

Being the Trialmaster Edition Grenadier, Rohan’s Ineos came from the factory with plenty of good kit as standard including front and rear locking diffs and the BMW turbo-diesel engine, so its capabilities were pretty good straight out of the box… but there’s always room for improvement, right?

When you already have triple locking diffs, the next best way to improve off-road ability is with better suspension and bigger tyres. The Grenadier has all-coil multilink suspension with the OE components coming from reputable suppliers.

Where possible, Rohan has tried to stay with the European OE suppliers and for the suspension that includes Eibach Pro Lift coil springs which have been matched with Bilstein dampers. GrenX worked with Heasmans Suspension in Sydney to develop the Bilstein shocks to suit Australian off-road conditions. A pair of Polyair airbags sit within the rear coils to help with load management when needed.

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GrenX also worked with Heasmans and Bilstein to address one of the problems that many drivers note with the standard Grenadier, that of the steering feel and the lack of any return to centre effect. The team developed a replacement Bilstein steering damper to suit the Ineos and we had no complaints about the steering in Rohan’s car, even with its oversize off-road rubber.

In fact, we were impressed with the way the Grenadier drove considering it was riding on 37-inch tyres. Rohan told us that for day to day use he runs a set of 295/70s on the Grenadier but fits the 35-inch Yokohama muddies for off-road use. 

The Yokies were reasonably quiet on road and the overall behaviour on the highway was far better than I expected judging by other 4x4s we’ve driven on road on 35s.

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The tyres offered plenty of grip on the off-road tracks we drove however they did scrub lightly in the rear wheel arches on full compression… but not enough to cause any concern or damage. The tyres are fitted to a set of 17x8-inch steel beadlock wheels specifically developed by GrenX for the Ineos vehicles.

Other special projects between GrenX and local 4x4 businesses include the 68-litre auxiliary fuel tank from Brown Davis to supplement the 90-litre factory tank, and the bullbars from Offroad  Animal. OA used the GrenX vehicle to develop both a full bulbar and the hoopless bar as fitted to Rohan’s car as alternatives to the OE Ineos offering.

Significantly the OA bars are made to take a wider range of winches than the factory one and they bring the winch further out in front of the grille.

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While the factory winch mount looks good with the winch tucked away, it can make it tricky to access the winch when needed if there are any spooling issues; putting the winch out front alleviates this issue, and Rohan’s Grenadier has the dependable Warn Xeon 10S winch in its loopless Offroad Animal bar.

Further body protection comes with a set of GrenX rock slider/side steps which not only protect the sills from damage but make it easier to get in and out of the lifted wagon.

At the back of the vehicle the factory rear bumper is retained and there’s an Ineos ladder to aid access to the roof rack. This is a Rhino-Rack as is offered by the factory but instead of being fitted to gutter-mounted cross bars, it sits on GrenX backbone-style longitudinal brackets that make the rack sit lower than with the OE crossbars.

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Up top Rohan has a Starlink Mini set on a bracket from Outcamp, solar panels, a shovel and securely mounted Maxtrax. A 270° awning from Clever Shade is mounted on the passenger side.

Speaking of shade, another complaint that drivers (including us) have had with the Ineos is the way the sunlight belts straight on to the driver’s face through the factory Safari skylights that sit forward of the front-seat occupants. Rohan has fixed this problem with a tint film applied to the glass and a set of removable ‘Snap Shades’ on the inside of them.

Another problem with the interior that GrenX is addressing is the hump in the floor where the driver’s left foot would normally fit. The factory floorpan kicks up here to clear mechanical components underneath and this has been criticised in most right-hand drive markets. GrenX has been able to reduce the size of the intrusion making the driving position a bit more comfortable; it was still in the prototype stage when we drove the vehicle but it does make a difference.

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Storage in the back of the Grenadier has been addressed with a well thought out and made set of drawers. They have been designed to allow a flat floor when the second-row seats are folded down to create a sleeping space, and the drawers include an Engel drawer fridge on the off-side and slide-out tables underneath. A shelf for storing lighter gear is mounted closer to the roof and like the drawer system, these are GrenX developed products.

Under the second-row seat where Ineos fits its OE auxiliary battery, GrenX has fitted a lithium battery controlled by a CTEK management system.

Aside from an EVC throttle controller and rear muffler delete, the powertrain remains standard. The rear muffler was removed to make way for the auxiliary fuel tank and there’s next to no difference in the exhaust note. Rohan has the throttle controller set to a medium setting and it gives the 550Nm 3.0-litre BMW diesel engine plenty of poke straight off the hit.

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This was appreciated around the suburbs and when overtaking on the highways, but personally I’d tame it a bit for off-road use, which is a simple press of the button.

As has been his plan for the GrenX project from the outset, the changes Rohan has made to his Grenadier have addressed many of the common complaints about the vehicle and made it a better off-roader.

He has done this through clever design and by working with quality suppliers and local manufacturers to create the GrenX products. But he’s far from finished!

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Plans for 2025 include 4495kg GVM upgrade kits, lighting packages, a replacement airbox that works with a sealed intake snorkel, engine tuning, wheel-arch flares, air compressor mounts, swaybar and steering stabiliser relocation mounts, extended brake lines, and diff breathers.

It should also be mentioned that most if not all of these modifications are equally suitable for the Quartermaster double-cab models.

If you already own a Grenadier or are considering buying one in the future and are wondering what accessories are available for them, then take a look at the GrenX website and see what’s on offer. The range of gear is always growing for these old school but freshly designed 4x4s, so hopefully we’ll be seeing more kitted up Grenadiers on these pages soon.