The outdoors called, and Land Rover wants their throne back.

For over 60 years, three auto manufacturers led the charge of global exploration from behind the wheel; Jeep, Toyota and Land Rover. As time moved on, all three of these companies had to adapt their vehicles to stricter road and crash safety standards to be able to sell in the United States. Thus leading to massive off-road capability compromises such as ride height, tire size, roof design, exhaust design, crumple zones, air bags, bumper design and even mandatory rear back-up cameras (NHTSA 2018). This led to the loss of off road abilities as more on-road friendly accommodations were made. Eventually many of the compromises would make for an unpleasant driving experience on the road, with an even worse experience off the road, creating a worst of both worlds vehicle.

However, since the pandemic-lead off-road exploration boom, manufactures have significantly improved up their off road vehicles with new designs, technologies and abilities. Examples like the new (2020 model year and up) Jeep Gladiator, Toyota TRD Pros, Z71 Chevys, the new Ford Bronco, Ford Timberline and Raptor trims, Subaru Wilderness Trims, the Hummer EV, the Land Rover Defender, Lexus GX550, Land Cruiser, Tacoma and the highly anticipated new 2024 Toyota 4Runner. With all of these refreshes being added to an already prestigiously crowded segment, the last thing you'd expect is for an unknown company to deliberately take on the juggernauts of the industry.

Back in 2020, the recent startup brand INEOS began selling full production models of their car, the Grenadier, in some of the most rugged markets across Europe, Africa and Australia. INEOS spent two years testing the Grenadier in some of the most grueling conditions possible in order to make sure that their products were ready to hit American markets. With the body, chasis and interior being built fully from the ground up, this was no cheap feat. While the engine may be a 3.0L turbo straight six from BMW, the Grenadier is still an all original construction that bases is design off of two of the greatest off-road vehicles of all time: the Land Rover Defender and the Toyota Land Cruiser. It's boxy styling, rooftop windows, small circular headlights and flat grill are all undeniably inspired by the Land Rover Defender Classic of the recent that are still not allowed to be sold in the United States do to safety regulations. This is the exact reason for the Grenadier's creation. With traditional body-on-frame all terrain vehicles being fazed out do to obsoleteness, INEOS's main goal was to reintroduce an older style vehicle, which consumers had been demanding (ex: the value retention of older vehicles like Jeep Wranglers and Toyota Tacomas). In the Grenadier's sales brochure, INEOS CEO Jim Ratcliffe said "A 4X4 NO-ONE’S BUILDING ANYMORE. THAT’S OUR BLUEPRINT FOR THE GRENADIER: A SERIOUSLY CAPABLE OFF-ROAD VEHICLE ENGINEERED TO FILL THE GAP". As the market for this type of vehicle continues to grow and INEOS dealerships continue to spread across the country, we very well may see an underdog brand added to the list of off-road juggernauts within the next decade. With a two speed four-wheel-drive system, front and rear locking differentials, stock 30 inch tires and over 10 inches of ground clearance straight from the factory, it is clear that the Grenadier has successfully filled a void that Land Rover has not been able to fill in the U.S. since the Discovery II, nearly 20 years ago.