Colossal off-road warrior dances through Dubai’s dunes with the finesse of a ballerina
Vehicles purporting to be off-roaders come in all shapes and sizes these days. When it comes down to it, though, there are arguably only two varieties: those that will see you home safely after taking on whatever tough terrain you decide to tear into, and others that are likely to leave you beached in the most extreme conditions, forcing you to get out and head off in search of a vehicle capable of giving you a tow. Which would mean hunting down one of the first varieties.
While you might argue about which cars belong in which category, the Ineos Grenadier, the colossus new kid on the UAE block, proudly stakes its claim in the capable camp.
It is not, the manufacturer is keen to emphasise, an SUV. It is a 4x4 designed to handle the planet’s roughest regions and does so with a pleasing and nonchalant exhaust blast at the same time. It has all the little luxuries you’d expect from a modern car, but the manufacturer wanted to keep it at the hardcore end of the off-road spectrum.
This much is obvious as soon as I get in, as there are enough buttons on the ceiling and central console to rival those on the flight deck of an Airbus A380. And they’re all there for one thing – to fine-tune the vehicle wherever I am and keep it moving.
Last time I drove a Grenadier for The National, it proved its mettle in Scotland’s snowy, icy and extremely chilly highlands. Crashing over rocks, tackling mud and snow, tearing through water … these are all in the Grenadier’s lexicon and it handled them with consummate ease.
This time, Ineos lets drivers loose with a fleet of cars in the rocky, sandy and extremely hot territory between Dubai and Hatta – a stretch that covers all the extremes to give the Grenadier a proper workout.
So, how does it handle the UAE’s toughest terrain? Very competently, in short. Tilting at unbelievable angles without the worry of rolling, the car gives me a mighty feeling of power as I head up seemingly unassailable inclines. This alone may be enough to entice a Middle Eastern audience.
When on the move, loose boulders and gravel prove no competition for the Grenadier and the comfortable, functional cabin is ergonomic enough to keep me relatively snug. It is a similar story in the desert, where the car shows itself to be a serious contender in the dune-bashing stakes.
The Grenadier is a European collaboration, having been conceived in the UK and built in France with German components, a notable inclusion being its six-cylinder turbocharged BMW engine that comes in two variants.
One of the vehicle’s most appealing facets is that it remains relatively unusual. Being a somewhat new arrival, there aren’t that many on the
road, despite local showrooms reporting solid sales.
Ideal then if you’re someone who fancies a vehicle that’s a little bit different.
It’s also worth noting that despite the Grenadier’s undoubted abilities off-road, it is a decent ride on the tarmac as well. It cruises along nicely in an undramatic fashion, which is useful for giving my back a bit of respite – one thing that can’t handle the same punishment as the car.
More’s the pity, of course, if you’re the active type who has the most fun when out in the wilderness, Grenadier in tow.