We’ve been waiting for this one since we drove the Grenadier. The five-passenger Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster illustrates what people have been saying for years: what’s old is new again.

The Grenadier has been Ineos Group CEO Sir Jim Ratclife’s pet project: a vehicle he dreamt up in a pub in London called The Grenadier. It was designed to fill the gap in the market that opened up when Land Rover killed off the original Defender.

Before that, Sir Jim had tried to buy the rights and tooling to the Defender, but Land Rover wouldn’t sell. Once the boxy Grenadier had been unveiled, JLR sued Ineos, claiming that the two looked too similar. It lost.

With the Grenadier, Ineos marked out its intention to build a go-anywhere 4WD that was a spiritual successor to Land Rovers of old – something company founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe felt that the new-generation Defender failed to achieve. Everything about it, from the flattop front guards to its mechanical transfer case, is a hat-tip to when automobiles were less dependent on firmware updates.

So, with Grenadier in the market, the focus shifts to adding new versions to the range. The company is expanding its offering with the Grenadier Quartermaster pickup truck. By no accident, this Austrian-engineered mid-size pickup looks similar to the classic Land Rover Defender.

From the nose to the trailing edge of the rear doors, the Quartermaster looks identical to the SUV version.

Everything about it, from the flattop front guards to its mechanical transfer case, is a hat-tip to when automobiles were less dependent on firmware updates.

The Quartermaster is the pickup version of the Grenadier SUV, and like the SUV it has a silky-smooth BMW six-cylinder engine driving through one of the best automatic transmissions in the world: ZF’s eight speed unit.

There are no manual options. Every Quartermaster comes with that eight-speed automatic transmission, four-wheel drive, and a locking centre differential.

From the nose to the trailing edge of the rear doors, the Quartermaster looks identical to the SUV version.

Changes at the rear include an extended wheelbase measuring 3227mm (up by 305mm), which supports an open wellside bed takes the car’s overall length to 5440mm, making the Quartermaster longer than a Ford Ranger (5370mm).

The main focus of the Quartermaster is its cargo area, which features a drop-down tailgate and is large enough to carry a single Euro Pallet, much like rival pickup trucks.

While its starting price is higher than its competitors, the Quartermaster is built with the type of precision typically reserved for low-volume luxury vehicles from the likes of Rolls-Royce and Bentley. Its steel body-on-frame construction is supported by solid front and rear axles, and it uses a suspension and steering setup not too dramatically different from what underpins rivals like the Jeep Gladiator, which is to say the best old school system available.

The Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster went on sale in April 2024. But this is a completely new model for the 2025 model year and it shares much of its hardware with the Grenadier SUV.

There are three tiers of trim levels for the Quartermaster, but we know which one we’d pick: the mid-tier Trialmaster is still the one to get. It adds significant upgrades over the base model by way of front and rear locking differentials and BFGoodrich All-Terrain K02 tyres. These items alone boost the Quartermaster’s off-road abilities, but there’s also the cool stuff: a raised air intake, puddle lamps, a 400-watt inverter, and an auxiliary battery to help support all the aftermarket accessories likely to be added later.

No other off-roader hits the trail with a drivetrain quite like the Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster. It uses a turbocharged 3.0-litre inline-six from BMW, the petrol version good for 210kW and 450Nm of torque; the diesel making 183kW and a class-leading 550kW. Choose either petrol or diesel, the price doesn’t change.

That eight-speed ZF automatic transmission features a special off-road-tuned torque converter, has a manual-shift mode and sends power to a permanent four-wheel-drive system with a two-speed mechanical transfer case made by Tremec. The transfer case’s low ratio in 2.5:1 and it has its own external oil cooler.

A locking centre diff is standard, with front and rear lockers are also available, depending on model.

The Quartermaster has solid front and rear axles with coil springs and shocks at all four corners. It uses recirculating ball steering rather than rack and pinion. The steering is not overly assisted. The set-up provides off-road confidence but does require some attention on the open road. The Quartermaster has 261mm of ground clearance.

A switchable Offroad Mode disables park radar sensors, seatbelt sensors, and the vehicle’s engine stop/start software.
Entering a water crossing, the driver can select Wading Mode, which stops the engine cooling fan to prevent damage to the radiator or electrics from water spray. The vehicle’s wading depth is 800mm.

There’s hill descent control and a hill-holder, making tough off-road situations simpler.

Maximum braked towing capacity is 3,500kg and its maximum payload is 834kg, though work is under way to upgrade payload to a full tonne.

Inside, the Quartermaster is as businesslike as the Grenadier.

Its four-door cab style and the aircraft-inspired toggle switches in the ceiling panel and centre stack come across from the SUV. Not many important functions are consigned to the touchscreen.

The Quartermaster’s various dials and switches are big enough to be easily operated while wearing work gloves.

Every Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster has a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen that can also be operated with a rotary dial. Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are standard, but not wireless smartphone charging. There are multiple ceiling-mounted switches that owners can tap into for accessories such as LED light bars, a winch, auxiliary battery power systems, and more. These illuminated switches are superbly tactile. One journalist at the launch reckoned they were ‘clicky’.

Safety? All Grenadier models come with speed limit detection, and a driver drowsiness monitoring system. Key safety features include  lane-departure warning, and front and rear parking sensors.

In New Zealand, where utes and pickups dominate, Quartermaster will carve a niche at the upper end of the market alongside its SUV sibling.