INEOS QUARTERMASTER
The Grenadier morphs brilliantly into a posh pick-up
It would take one hell of an obstacle to halt the Quartermaster’s progress
Never mind the phenomenal off-road ability. Never mind the decent carrying capacity, or the choice of glorious engines. Just look at it. The new Quartermaster, the pick-up version of the Grenadier, will, let’s face it, appeal or not on the strength of its image rather than its practicality.
Its entry price is £66,215 (including VAT), although a lot of the cool stuff costs extra. But if you buy into the idea of minimal-nonsense 4x4s that can do sterling service with an aid agency or on safari in Africa, or trekking into the Arctic Circle, this is a very pleasing way to scratch the itch.
Inside, it’s just like the Grenadier. You get chunky grab handles, hose-clean mats, buttons big enough to be operated while wearing gloves, and an old-school collared stick for changing into low gear and locking the centre diff. (The central lock is standard; front and rear diff locks are optional.)
And up above there’s an aircraft-style cluster of switches to operate a mix of off-roading and ancillary functions. The centre console is topped by an infotainment touchscreen that also includes the speedo and revcounter, linked to aBMW iDrive-derived rotary controller by the base of the handbrake.
The difference is outside. The wheelbase is longer – 305mm added to the ladder-frame chassis – and the rear overhang is longer still, with the car’s total length almost ametre longer than the SUV.
The spare wheel sits in the loadbay. That bay is big enough to take a standard Euro pallet, but only if you move the wheel onto a rack (on-roof or above-load options are available, for a price). It can take 835kg, which isn’t designed to appeal to hod carriers, but works a treat for a massive picnic basket or pile of freshly shot pheasants. It can tow 3500kg, the same as the Grenadier. The engine choice is as before: 3.0-litre six-cylinder petrol or diesel from BMW, with an eight-speed ZF auto.
The five-link suspension is by coil springs and anti-roll bars all round. That puts it in a select band (in the UK market at least) alongside the Ford Ranger Raptor of picksups that don’t use crude leaf springs.
The off-road ability is pretty remarkable. The combination of low-range gears, centre diff lock and hill-descent control enable us to go up and down hills, across ruts and boulders, around steep corners and through water without breaking
