Ineos has unveiled a tranche of updates to its blockish Grenadier Station Wagon and Quartermaster pickup that promise to remedy common customer complaints.

Chief among them is the recirculating ball steering – an old-school setup well-suited to hardcore off-roading but short of rack-and-pinion-grade sharpness for tarmac-based sorties.

See also: On test: Ineos Automotive’s debut 247hp Quartermaster pickup

This has now been revised by the firm’s supplier, Bosch, with tweaks to the worm gear giving it a variable ratio that speeds things up through the first 45deg either side of centre.

As well as making it more refined and responsive, the alteration has eliminated some of the previously ceaseless wheel wiggling required to keep the car on a straight bearing.

The ratios at the extremities of the steering arc remain unchanged, thus retaining sensitivity close to full lock and quashing any risk of drivers dislocating digits due to wheel kickback caused by a rut.

Prices are unchanged for the Quartermaster pickup, which starts at £62,495 © Ineos

Bosch has added marginally more return force in the steering box too, partially curing the system’s dogged reluctance to self-centre.

As a result, drivers needn’t work so hard and hurriedly to straighten up after cornering, and it holds firmer during high-speed, straight-line cruising.

Buyers of new vehicles will also benefit from an improvement to the Grenadier’s hitherto cumbersome turning circle.

The previous setup was designed to accommodate snow chains – an ability sacrificed by fitting smaller steering bump-stops that are better suited to manoeuvring in the M&S car park, if not the foothills of Mont Blanc.

A circa 5% reduction means the Grenadier Station Wagon can now nail a kerb-to-kerb turn in 12.8m, while the longer Quartermaster manages it in 13.8m – 70cm less than before.

And there are fresh tyre options, with the tougher sidewalls of Bridgestone Dueler AT 002 all-terrains now standard fare on basic models.

Alternatively, there’s the more aggressive tread pattern of BF Goodrich’s All-Terrain T/A K03s, which suit the tooled-up Trialmaster’s off-road bent. 

Climate control and driver aids

Owners have also been irked by the inability of Ineos’s climate control system to maintain a consistent in-cab temperature.

These tribulations have apparently been solved, with the setup redesigned to respond quicker to changes, better distribute the air and do so in a quieter fashion.

Other new things include the addition of storage nets behind the front seats, the option of black saddle leather as an alternative to brown, and a revamp of the mandatory advanced driver safety systems (Adas).

Begrudging engineers have focused their efforts on calibrating these sympathetically – presumably just above the threshold – such that they’re impressively unobtrusive.

The “intelligent speed assist” speed warning system is the best example of their endeavours.

For one, the audible alert can be deactivated with one touch on the main 12.3in screen. And, secondly, the bong is so charmingly polite, almost apologetically so, that it’s barely worth bothering with.

There’s also a chunky new frameless rear-view mirror, bulked out to accommodate the latest manifestation of Big Brother – a camera to detect driver drowsiness.

And “emergency lane keep” gently brakes the car to ease it back to the centre of the carriageway, as opposed to snatching the steering wheel momentarily, as is the way with most modern vehicles.

Mercifully, all the electronics, including the parking sensors and seat belt warning, can be disengaged in off-road mode.

Prices remain unchanged for this year, with a Grenadier Commercial coming in at £51,930, a Quartermaster or base Grenadier at £62,495, and fancier Trialmaster and Fieldmaster editions £69,995.

Grenadier fights on

Ineos Shortmaster © Ineos

Ineos Automotive has battled an economic blizzard since the introduction of its debut Grenadier 4×4 in 2023.

Part of that has been self-inflicted, with the choice of expensive components causing the proposed pre-launch starting price of £50k to rise handsomely. This has deterred a large portion of its prospective market – including farmers.

Since then, the firm has faced rampant inflation, tightening regulations and the financial failure of its seat provider, Recaro, which froze the Hambach factory for four months.

Expansion in the US, which accounts for 60% of total sales, has also been hobbled by Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs.

Demand in the UK has been decidedly modest, with just a few hundred cars shifted in each of the last two years. But the maker hopes a series of new variants will reverse its fortunes, starting with the “black edition” of its Station Wagon and Quartermaster.

It bids to lure urbanites with inky trim, tinted windows and matching gloss black 18in alloys, in return for £71,995.

The firm’s skunkworks, Arcane Works, is also beavering away producing small-batch customised Grenadiers such as the pictured short-bed pickup.

Pithily dubbed the Shortermaster, this is based on a standard Grenadier Station Wagon rather than the Quartermaster. As such, it has the passenger car’s 2,922mm wheelbase, 305mm less than the full-fat pickup.

The obvious concession is the size of the load bed – 828mm long, 1,558mm wide – which has been grafted in place of the Grenadier’s boot. A spare wheel mount is carried above.

There are no current plans to bring this iteration to market, unless you waft enough notes under the nose of an Ineos dealer…