Fraser Cann runs a night hunting business specialising in problem pigs & escaped deer. Here’s his unique, no BS Ineos Grenadier Review…
Fraser recently traded his Nissan Navara Pro-4X ute for an Ineos Grenadier. We wanted to learn why this uncommon 4×4 is proving to be the perfect vehicle for his unique line of work. In this Ineos Grenadier review, Fraser gives us his hands-on and unfiltered thoughts.
Alongside Owl Optics, Fraser’s specialist night vision equipment business, he runs a commercial night hunting business that is frequently used by councils and DoC to clear out problem pigs and escaped deer.
Fraser often hunts at night using high-tech infrared night vision technology, drones, and a 4WD side-by-side buggy for really difficult terrain.
From Ute to Ineos Grenadier, But Why?
After putting 100,000 kilometres on his Nissan Navara Pro-4X in just three years, Fraser was looking for something that better suited his specific needs.
“I didn’t really use the ute as a ute with its tray. I had a full canopy on it,” Fraser explains. “A lot of the equipment that we carry is sensitive, and in the tray it gets really hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s just uninsulated. Whereas inside a cab, you’ve got air conditioning and insulation and that sort of thing.”
Fraser narrowed down his options to the Toyota Prado, the Toyota Land Cruiser 300 series, and the Ineos Grenadier. The 79 series Land Cruiser was quickly dismissed as “too Billy Bob basic and so uncomfortable for the money.”
While the 300 series Land Cruiser was luxurious, Fraser was concerned about its off-road capabilities and the fact that “we do make some mess in the vehicle.”
The Prado, meanwhile, was “too much of a soft roader” and had a hybrid system that raised the rear floor and gave limited cargo space.
Ineos Grenadier Review: Perfectly Equipped from the Factory
What drew Fraser to the Ineos Grenadier was its comprehensive factory equipment alongside some creature comforts.
“The Ineos, it’s up there in price, but it had everything from the factory. It had front and rear lockers already. You could have a winch built into it already if you wanted one,” he says.
“It was kind of a true off-roader with some good aspects of luxury, like the leather seats and that kind of thing, which I put canvas covers over anyway.”
The vehicle’s practicality immediately impressed Fraser…
“The Ineos probably had the most room because it’s got big barn doors at the back. The rear seats fold, and it has a lot of attachment points. The roof doubles as a load rack. It’s got these plastic rubberised strips on the roof with tie down points, so you can carry bigger stuff.”
Perhaps most impressive was the Grenadier’s electrical system…
“Its electrical wiring is far superior to anything else on the market because it’s already wired for external lights, light bars. The power sources are nicely hidden behind some of the panels.”
A Mix of Old School and New School
The Ineos Grenadier strikes an interesting balance between rugged utility and modern features.
“It’s a little bit old school mixed with new school,” Fraser tells us.
“There’s not a lot of wicked electronic four-wheel drive controls. The transfer case is not a switch, it is an actual lever you yank on. It’s built tough; everything’s screwed in. The switches, when you actually click one of the switches in the roof, they’re solid.”
Rather than developing everything in-house, Fraser describes how Ineos sourced quality components from established manufacturers…
“The engine is BMW, it’s a 3 litre inline six turbo diesel. It’s been around for donkeys. The gearbox is a ZF 8-speed automatic; it’s silky smooth. The coil suspension is Eibach. Brembo brakes. Recaro seats.”
This approach gives Fraser confidence in the Grenadier’s reliability despite being a relatively new vehicle brand.
Ineos Grenadier Review: Built for Tough Work
After 9,000 kilometres in his Grenadier, Fraser is impressed with how it handles both on and off the road.
“It handles a lot better than the ute on the road. It’s not a luxury SUV, it’s still a big heavy thing. It weighs about 2.8 tonnes empty,” he says.
Where the Grenadier really shines is towing…
“As a tow vehicle, it’s absolutely superb. If someone was towing a big caravan, this is the kind of machine you want. The tow bar is much closer to the rear axle, unlike a ute. So you don’t get that bouncy bouncy moment.”
With a combined weight of around 5.5 tonnes when loaded and towing, the Grenadier performs admirably.
“The Ineos, when I did the first journeys with it, you didn’t even know the trailer was on the back. It was unstressed. The engine wasn’t revving. Half the time it just sits between one and 2,000 revs. It just loafs along.”
The Ineos Grenadier’s Gross Combination Mass (GCM) is 7 tonnes, and it’s rated to tow a 3.5 tonne trailer – the same as Fraser’s previous ute. But as he points out, “You would not want 3.5 tonne behind the ute. It would just pull you all over the place.”
Fraser’s Ineos has full-time 4WD that can be used in low ratio with an open centre diff: “Brilliant for backing a heavy trailer,” says Fraser. “Old school 4 wheel drives used to do this, but I don’t think many do these days.”
Customised for Night Work
Fraser’s line of work requires specialised equipment, and the Grenadier’s design made customisation straightforward.
“We put 3 work lights on the two sides and the back, which light up basically 270 odd degrees of the vehicle, which is quite nice for backing or four-wheel off-roading at night because you can look out the side and it’s all lit up, or just to work outside the vehicle.”
The Grenadier’s built-in power management system is another highlight…
“There’s a power switch in the ceiling, so when the engine’s off, the key’s off, you can actually just turn the batteries on, it’s got two batteries, so it won’t run flat. It will prevent itself from running flat.”
For night driving, Fraser installed a Stedi light bar on the front…
“The advantage of that is it retains the internal switch for turning on the spotlights. The two spotlights in the grille aren’t really much. They fill in a bit of darkness and that’s it. They’re not bright. But with the Stedi harness, you retain that functionality.”
Perhaps most impressive is how all these additions were installed without drilling any holes, thanks to the Grenadier’s thoughtful design…
“I haven’t drilled any holes in any of it. Even the radios, we’ve mounted them under the seat. There’s a beautiful pocket under there and we just used double-sided tape there. And the power switches are the switches that are already built into the machine anyway.”
Cutting-Edge Hunting Technology
Fraser’s work as a commercial night hunter for councils and DoC requires specialised equipment that the Grenadier comfortably accommodates.
“We commercially night hunt for councils and DoC specialising in problem pigs or escaped deer, and for most of those operations we drive at night,” Fraser explains.
“We have to tow a side-by-side because you can’t take big vehicles up some of the gnarlier tracks and that kind of thing. A lot of it is towing.”
The infrared technology Fraser uses is particularly impressive…
“We also have infrared night vision lights on the front and they’re on a separate switch. There’s two circuits on the roof. One circuit has the white lights and one circuit has the infrared lights. When we’re wearing our night vision goggles, we just turn those on and we can see at night. It’s a very high wavelength, so the animals can’t see it.”
When asked about the power consumption of the infrared lights, Fraser notes…
“They’re designed to use with goggles. When you look at the stars at night, you see a heap of stars with your eyes, but we see probably 20 or 30 times the number of stars with the goggles. It’s unbelievable. They’re very, very sensitive to light.”
The effectiveness of these lights is remarkable…
“You don’t want to be near them when they’re turned on – they’ll go a kilometre. So you can see very well. It lights everything up.”
Fraser’s hunting operations also benefit from advanced drone technology…
“Because we have the ability to fly a UAV at night, a drone, we generally locate things in the distance. It could be kilometres away. Then we drive to them, but often we don’t need to get that close.”
This technology allows for precise targeting from significant distances…
“Just this weekend we shot seven pigs from 250 metres to 650 metres. None of them knew we were there until the bullets started arriving.”
The drone operates within CAA regulations and serves as a crucial scouting tool…
“It’s all under the regulations that we have to abide by, but under 400 ft. and at night we’re allowed quite a long distance. We’re certified by the CAA. We use it for scouting and finding and surveying and it enables us to then move with knowledge where we’re going rather than spending hours searching.”
This approach dramatically increases efficiency…
“You could be on a 500 hectare farm and we can scan that very very quickly, in minutes. Then we’ll just go and get them rather than spending a whole night searching and not seeing anything. It saves a lot of time.”
For dealing with multiple animals, Fraser sometimes uses subsonic ammunition: “Yeah, sometimes we use subsonics,” he confirms, which helps prevent spooking additional animals after the first shot.
The Grenadier proves to be the perfect platform for this type of work…
“Last weekend we were out through a forest and after the storms had gone through there’s lots of wash outs and the bridges are all covered in stuff. The Grenadier just goes straight through it no problem at all. You certainly wouldn’t drive a car through what I went through on Sunday.”
With all this technology and equipment, Fraser notes they’re using the Grenadier more frequently without needing the side-by-side…
“We’re using the Ineos a lot more without the buggy and the trailer because it’s fully equipped with everything, really capable. So sometimes we’ll just take this vehicle and not worry about the side-by-side. It depends on the farm, the condition of the tracks.”
The Ineos Grenadier’s Practical Features
For Fraser’s work, which involves a lot of getting dirty, the Grenadier’s interior is perfectly suited…
“The floor comes up, it’s like a vinyl type floor covering. So you can actually just hose it down or take the floor out and hose it down outside. And then the subfloor, there’s five bung holes so you just put the hose in and flush everything down the bung holes.”
This practicality extends to the overall design philosophy of the vehicle…
“They’ve built this thing for serviceability in the field. People go, ‘Oh it’s a new brand of vehicle, where are you going to get parts from?’ Yeah, but it’s a BMW engine, a BMW gearbox, Brembo brakes – these big companies are all around the place.”
Even the tyre size was chosen with global availability in mind, says Fraser…
“The tyre size they put on these is the common tyre size for anywhere in the world. You go into the back of Zimbabwe and you will find that tyre size. It’s designed to keep going anywhere.”
How Driveline Made the Process Easy
When it came to acquiring his Ineos Grenadier, Fraser turned to Driveline, a company he’s been working with for around 20 years.
The Ineos is just the most recent in a long line of vehicles Fraser has financed through Driveline. His 4WD side-by-side hunting vehicle is currently financed through Driveline, as is the trailer he uses to tow it.
“I met Lance 20 years ago when I was in the taxi industry, and they just made financing easy for the drivers. I know lots who went through him, and the company itself got several vehicles from him,” Fraser recalls.
What keeps him coming back to Driveline is their comprehensive service…
“It wasn’t just, ‘I do your finance, you go off and find your vehicle,’ sort of thing. The whole thing was taken care of. So you don’t need to deal with a dip shit salesman, like the guy who was giving the whole pressure tactics when I was looking at the Ineos – ‘pay a deposit, pay a deposit’.
“I just said to Driveline, that’s the vehicle I want, just make it happen, I don’t want to hear from that salesman.”
Don’t want to deal with a dip shit salesman?
Just call Driveline.
Fraser appreciates Driveline’s straightforward approach to leasing…
“The leases, they’re not like other traditional leases that I know of where it’s like a 50,000 km lease and if you go 1 km over it’s like, shit, that just cost me $10,000 sort of thing.
“Whereas Driveline is very much do what you want, you’ve got it for 60 months or you can buy it at the end. And the residual is kind of, if you drive 200,000 ks you’ve driven 200,000 ks and it’s not worth a lot. And you can mix the residual to what your expected use is. There are no surprises.”
Beyond just financing, Driveline offers valuable advice…
“When I got my ute… Lance gave me I think 5 different options but he said there’s only one you can choose. The Nissan Navara was such an amazing price for what it was. And he said, that’s the one you choose, you don’t choose a Triton cuz you give that to your workers; they’ve got no residual value because no one wants one.”
Fraser’s history with Driveline extends beyond just vehicle financing…
“Don’t think it’s just the vehicle, there’s also the vehicle fit out. I know from the taxi industry they work with various outfitters putting seats and stuff in vans. It was like the canopy on the ute – they’ve got the contacts, they got it at a great price, and I thought, ‘shit, that was easy’. Paul (from Driveline) even picked it up from Thames and brought it up to me in Whangarei.”
Ineos Grenadier Review: Is the Ineos Grenadier Right for You?
After experiencing the Ineos Grenadier firsthand, Fraser is convinced it’s the perfect vehicle for his needs…
“It is the absolute perfect vehicle for me. I don’t think I could find anything better. I would buy another one, definitely.”
For those considering an Ineos Grenadier, Fraser offers this advice…
“I think if you’re in the market for a luxurious four-wheel drive that wants to go somewhere, to actually use it, not hardcore, but actually take it in the country, then you need to actually go and have a look at an Ineos Grenadier.
“And don’t take misconceptions that some other turkey has told you that it’s bad for some reason. Go and see it yourself. If it’s right, it’s right.”
Fraser has little patience for online naysayers who criticise without firsthand experience…
“Have a look for yourself rather than listen to the influenzers,” he advises, deliberately mispronouncing the word.
“You see lots of comments about the foot rest online and personally it’s from a lot of influenzers, and that’s not a spelling mistake. Influenzers, just repeating stuff other people say for the sake of repeating it because they feel they have to say it, is what I think.”
His message is clear – form your own opinion based on your specific needs, not on internet hearsay.
Fraser also recommends looking past the sticker price…
“Compared to other vehicles it’s an expensive sticker price on a Grenadier, but by the time you fully equip something else with lights, diff locks, everything else, it’s up there and not that different in price.
“But the Grenadier has still got all your factory warranty because it’s all just factory. So you need to look past the sticker price and take into consideration the total price.”
For those seeking a capable off-roader that balances rugged utility with modern comforts, the Ineos Grenadier deserves serious consideration. And for the easiest way to get into one, Fraser’s experience suggests Driveline is the way to go.
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