When Land Rover killed off the classic Defender back in 2016 with the goal of a thoroughly modernized replacement that caters much better to daily driving, a British petrochemical magnate named Jim Ratcliffe desperately wanted to keep that retro flame burning. So much so, in fact, that he even tried to swoop in and buy out Land Rover’s original tooling, but instead, wound up founding a new automaker called Ineos, as a subsidiary of the multinational conglomerate (that shares a name with the professional cycling team it sponsors).
When Ineos’s first production model debuted – dubbed the Grenadier after the bar where Ratcliffe cooked up this harebrained scheme – the distinctly retro SUV definitely proved divisive. Styling similar enough to old Defenders inevitably incurred lawsuits (all of which Ineos won). But beneath the skin, Ineos built this dedicated off-roader with the best components available worldwide: engines and transmissions bought from BMW, a Tremec transfer case, Carraro axles, Bilstein shock dampers, Eibach springs, and more. Everything catered perfectly to the off-roading and overlanding crowd, but the steering was, to say the least, strange.
Throw in some early foibles with build quality and annoying software, as perhaps expected of any new automaker, and yet now, by 2026, Ineos already boasts a total of 30,000 vehicles sold worldwide. And despite one fewer model year here in the United States, in two years, over 12,000 vehicles will already roam American roads. But Ineos needed to listen to customer feedback in the hopes of attracting more customers beyond the dedicated early adopters who loved the old-fashioned aesthetic and retro- inspired performance. So for 2026, a mid-cycle update improves the steering, overhauls the climate system, fiddles with drive assistance software, and adds a “Black Edition” to the lineup.
Ahead of the official announcement, I visited some familiar stomping grounds in Malibu to experience the new model year changes that apply to both the Grenadier SUV and its Quartermaster pickup truck variant. Think of the Quartermaster as akin to Jeep’s Wrangler and Gladiator siblings: the pickup stretches the SUV’s wheelbase by 10 inches and adds a small truck bed, but cuts into second-row legroom by two inches.
The original Quartermaster actually drove noticeably better than the Grenadier thanks to the added stability of the longer wheelbase, which counteracted some of the steering system’s vagueness. The truck’s proportions help to impart the impression of a wider stance, too, all of which helped me prefer it to the SUV. In fairness, though, the
Quartermaster’s turning radius turned out abysmally wide due to the added length. So, I
welcomed potential updates, even if I spent most of the day in a Grenadier, starting with a brief on-road stint that included canyon roads, highway cruising, and stop-and-go traffic.
BMW’s contribution to the lineup carries over in the form of a very familiar turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six rated for 282 horsepower and a hearty 332 lb-ft of torque. The ZF eight-speed transmission’s gear ratios help scoot the Grenadier along just fine, despite a curb weight nearing 6,000 pounds. And the suspension still rides nice and compliant, just soft enough to absorb bumps but firm enough to reduce body roll as much as possible.
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But more importantly – by a wide margin – the new steering is just so much better. From a mechanical standpoint, Ineos still uses the same recirculating ball system sourced from Bosch, but now with a variable ratio that tightens up the 45 degrees on both sides of the steering wheel’s on-center position. I immediately noticed more resistance to turn- in, more precision at every speed, really just more normal behavior all around. Not quite a night and day difference, but much more than marginal gains, the new setup should be just fine for anyone accustomed to driving more typical cars, trucks, or SUVs with independent front suspension.
Because the on-center steering ratios tightens up, Ineos then increased the power assist too. So once the drive routes turned onto some dirt trails, I whipped around all that much more easily, taking advantage of the solid axle articulation, lifted ride height, and locking differentials that made the Grenadier so great off-road from the beginning. Plus, a nifty new hydraulic steering stop when cranking the wheel all the way to full lock provides feedback of the reduced turning radius. Then, after a moment, the system gives way to the full mechanical stop, which even further improves the Grenadier’s ability to negotiate tight switchbacks, narrow obstacles, and any potential driver mistakes while choosing a tough line (surely not!).
The tighter turning radius makes even more of a difference for the Quartermaster, which now drives almost as steadily as any truck on the road thanks to the improved on-center feel. Meanwhile, other changes also stood out immediately for both the Quartermaster and Grenadier. Though I never noticed a problem with the climate controls in the four previous Ineos vehicles I reviewed, from the earliest Grenadiers in February of 2023, before sales even began in the United States, to a more recent Quartermaster last year, a new fan blade design makes the blower motor much quieter. Ineos also claims the “auto” function now blends temperatures better, too.
Further software improvements include allowing the backup camera to stay on while in Off-Road mode (another welcome helper while reversing to find a better line). And the driver assistance suite intrudes far less, with lower volume for warning beeps and dings, as well as subtler nudging for lane-keep. Plus, the FAV button next to the center console knob now automatically pulls up a menu screen to turn off all the nannies more easily.
I did notice that the new eye-tracking camera for the ADAS system struggles to recognize a driver with sunglasses on. And I wished for a few other model-year revisions that Ineos skipped over. For example, the placement of little lights on the roof buttons for drive modes and differential lock means that fingers actually using those buttons always block the lights. The “blade” transmission shifter from BMW clashes terribly with the rest of the retro style, inside or out. And the Grenadier and Quartermaster both deserve disconnected sway bars to further accentuate the capability of solid axle articulation.
Still, as is, everything that I already loved about an Ineos as an off-roader survives into 2026. And the noticeable improvements to a few key areas make a big difference – what Ineos called key “attributes” but, understandably, some critical details that potential buyers frequently balked at. In that regard, the new Black Edition comes across as a similar play, hoping to attract more urban buyers with the common trim and wheel package that so many automakers bank on to move units, in this case, for a pricetag of $82,995 over the Grenadier’s starting MSRP of $71,000.
Expect more news from Ineos soon, too. Reps on hand confirmed that a portal axle version will hit the American market to more directly compete with the G-Wagen. And the Fusilier EV will likely arrive with a gasoline range extender to ameliorate range anxiety. Until then, I fully expect that the 2026 updates will steadily increase the number of Grenadiers and Quartermasters sold in the United States.
Hopefully, expanded visibility and growing recognition can bolster the brand’s original ethos and reinforce the spirit of such a unique SUV that blends classic capability with modern amenities, toeing the line between aspirational adventure and lifestyle choice outside of the already dedicated off-roading and overlanding crowd.
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Images: Michael Van Runkle
