Over the last eight days I have had an INEOS Grenadier Fieldmaster on test ~ the variant the company believes fits the UK LMV TCV* requirement, writes Bob Morrison.
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My personal 16-day INEOS Automotive Grenadier evaluation period is only halfway through and I still have a lot of ground to cover in it, but as I have now travelled several hundred miles with the vehicle I’m getting the feel for the Fieldmaster…. and I like it (okay, maybe not quite as much as I loved my old Series III 88” Lightweight / Airportable Land Rover, but as that 4×4 was my post-divorce ‘Lad Toy’ when I entered my forties it holds a very special place in my heart).
The Fieldmaster is what in old long wheelbase Land Rover (i.e. the Series / One-Ten / Defender ‘body-on-frame’ models) terms would have been described as a Station Wagon and when its originator, Sir Jim Radcliffe, announced it in 2017 he was unequivocal that he had conceived it as a replacement for the by then out-of-production Defender 110. A four-door double cab version of the Grenadier with a rear cargo compartment, the Quartermaster, is also produced as standard and this base vehicle should be suitable for several of the UK LMV categories.
Yesterday, to bring myself up to speed on forthcoming Grenadier developments, I visited two British SME (Small or Medium Enterprise) companies based in south-west England which are working closely with INEOS Automotive on various projects: Chard-based Red Winches, who also manufacture the self-recovery winches for the British Army’s Supacat JACKAL / COYOTE and GDUK FOXHOUND vehicles; and Ilminster-based All Terrain Vehicle Solutions, who are a specialist supplier of all wheel drive mobile vehicle platforms for military and specialist utility users. The latter company’s 4×4 ULLB (Universal Logistics Load Bed) is a specialist drop zone clearance and UGV / ATV support vehicle based on the Grenadier Quartermaster, which utilises a Red Winch on its tipping rear bed to self-recover loads.
Next week I intend travelling further afield to cover other INEOS Grenadier developments on the UK LMV topic, including the SMT Defence MRLV or Multi Role Logistic Vehicle conversion also based on the Quartermaster, and a little further down the line I’ll bring readers my considered thoughts on the Grenadier. In the meantime, however, I must say that pretty much everything so far about living with a Fieldmaster has impressed me.
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