This will be the true expensive off-road vehicle in Israel, and we drove it

Three years after announcing its import license for INEOS, UMI has registered the new off-road vehicle with the Transportation Ministry. According to the importer’s report, the Grenadier, currently the only model from the manufacturer, will cost consumers NIS 700,000 in the diesel version.

Reminder: INEOS was founded by British businessman Jim Ratcliffe, who was outraged by the discontinuation of the original Land Rover Defender and decided to create a successor—essentially, an improved version. Ratcliffe's fortune, which includes ownership of the petrochemical conglomerate INEOS and Manchester United, is estimated at around £30 billion, so he had no trouble building a new car manufacturer from scratch, purchasing the old Smart factory in France, and financing the development of the first vehicle.

In general terms, despite its external resemblance to the Land Rover Defender, this is an off-road vehicle built from the ground up by INEOS. It features a ladder frame, two live axles, a mechanical transfer case, and 32-inch tires—these are the basic ingredients for a successful off-road vehicle. It has a square body with multiple options for protection, accessories, and loading. The passenger compartment is filled with buttons in a style reminiscent of an aircraft cockpit. The vehicle is powered by either gasoline or diesel engines from BMW, with 6 cylinders delivering 282 hp in gasoline or 245 hp in diesel. It comes with a 5-year warranty and a 12-year warranty against rust.

So far, despite promises, the launch date in Israel has been postponed several times. High demand in global markets, coupled with limited production capabilities, has meant that the importer could not guarantee inventory to match regular imports. They sought to avoid a situation where they import a few units and halt further imports based on production allocations.

As of April this year, the intention was to start landing vehicles here by the end of 2024, but the launch has now been postponed to early 2025; hopefully, for the last time.

The price at which the vehicle has been registered is similar to what we estimated it would sell for—high, but relatively comparable to its price abroad, plus taxes. It is more expensive than vehicles like the new Toyota Land Cruiser on the way, at the upper end of the Land Rover Defender price range, above the price of the most expensive Ford Bronco—and significantly cheaper than the elite range of Mercedes G-Class or Range Rover, though these are off-road vehicles in name only, effectively toys for the wealthy that only see dust at top contractor construction sites.

It’s still not certain that this will be the final price; importers have changed the final sale price from what they announced to the Transportation Ministry before. Let’s hope we are pleasantly surprised.