Spec Check! Toyota Land Cruiser 79 vs Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster

The Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster has the Toyota Land Cruiser 79 double cab squarely in its sights. So, how does the newcomer stack up in a purely technical comparison? Let’s dive into the details…

One has been in production for nearly 40 years. The other has just made its debut. Yes, an intriguing “old versus new” battle is brewing. The fresh-faced Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster bakkie is heading to South Africa, where it will square up with the venerable Toyota Land Cruiser 79 double cab.

Of course, Ineos is a company that has only just dipped its toe into the automotive waters, first with the Grenadier wagon and now with the closely related Quartermaster bakkie. Though conceived as an unofficial successor to the original Land Rover Defender, the vehicle in the new Quartermaster’s sights is the Land Cruiser 79, specifically in top-spec LX double-cab form.

Before we have the opportunity to sample the Quartermaster in the real world, we thought we’d line it up for an on-paper battle with the popular yet long-in-the-tooth Land Cruiser 79 4.5D-4D LX V8 double cab. For the record, we’ve gone with most basic version of Quartermaster (rather than the up-specced Trialmaster or Fieldmaster), in diesel flavour.

We’ll focus on technical details here rather than more subjective matters such as styling. It’s also worth keeping in mind the Ineos bakkie features far more creature comforts than the more utilitarian Toyota, as well as a longer list of official accessories. Again, we’ll exclude such features for now.

While it’d be no easy feat taking on as established a player as the Land Cruiser 70 series (in a market such as South Africa, no less), it’s certainly a worthwhile exercise seeing how the 2 compare on paper. Let’s dive right in…

Engine and Transmission

The flagship Land Cruiser 79 employs the Japanese firm’s familiar 1VD-FTV engine, which takes the form of a 4.5-litre V8 turbodiesel unit. While it’s not the most powerful mill considering its displacement, the quad-cam 32-valve motor is well known for its low-down grunt, with peak twisting force on tap from just 1 200 r/min and sustained all the way through to 3 200 r/min. Thanks to its relatively low state of tune, the D-4D engine is suitably under-stressed, which typically translates to increased reliability.

And the Quartermaster? Well, Ineos has turned to the BMW Group for powerplants, with the new bakkie available with the German firm’s petrol- and diesel-flavoured 3.0-litre straight-6 engines. Despite its smaller capacity (and fewer number of cylinders), the BMW-sourced oil-burner makes more power and torque than the Toyota’s burly V8, while also using less fuel, according to the respective manufacturers’ claims.

Other drivetrain differences include the fact the Land Cruiser 79 features a 5-speed manual gearbox compared with the Quartermaster’s ZF-sourced 8-speed automatic transmission. Moreover, the Toyota employs a part-time 4×4 system while the Ineos has gone the permanent 4×4 route. Finally, the 79-badged model ships standard with front and rear differential locks, items that are optional on the base Quartermaster (which scores a centre diff lock as standard) in South Africa.

Dimensions, Load Carrying and Off-Road

What about the tale of the tape? Well, the Quartermaster is 165 mm longer than its Japanese rival, as well as considerably wider and taller. The newcomer furthermore features an additional 48 mm between its axles, along with 29 mm of extra ground clearance and 100 mm of added wading depth.

Ineos claims “class-leading off-road ability” and approach, breakover and departure angles “unrivalled by any other series production pick-up”. The Quartermaster certainly has a higher approach angle, but the Land Cruiser 79 hits back with a more impressive departure angle. Unfortunately, Toyota doesn’t list an official breakover angle so it’s not possible to beat the tie in this regard.

While braked towing capacity is 3 500 kg in each case, the Toyota has a distinct edge in the load-carrying department. The Land Cruiser 79 double cab’s payload capacity comes in at 1 095 kg, while the Quartermaster has to settle for a relatively modest figure of 760 kg.

Pricing, Warranty and Service Plan

Ineos has officially opened the local order books and released pricing for the new Grenadier Quartermaster … and even the base model comes in well above the Land Cruiser 79 4.5D-4D LX V8 double cab’s sticker price of R998 500. Yes, the Quartermaster starts at R1 717 100, which makes it a whopping R718 600 more expensive than its foe.

A service plan is optional in both cases, while the Ineos warranty is a couple of years longer. However, it’s worth keeping in mind Toyota Motors South Africa has an extensive dealer network (numbering nearly 200 dealerships at last count), while Ineos is still very much in the process of establishing a local presence.

So, based on technical (on-paper) considerations alone, which of the 2 contenders has your vote? We can’t wait to put the new Grenadier Quartermaster to the test in the real world and deliver a definitive answer. Watch this space…

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