Why the 2025 Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster is better than the 2024 Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series dual-cab ute | Opinion

The Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series holds a very special place in the hearts of many people throughout Australia because these people actually use the ute for hardcore 4WDing, touring, as well as every day on mines, properties and job sites everywhere – so what it's purpose-built for.

Toyota has done little to the 70 – in terms of introducing any contemporary comforts, convenience or driver-assist/safety tech – through its various iterations, but this beloved ute continues to sell like top-selling hot cakes.

The latest 70 Series line-up has shown that Toyota is not completely ignoring customer feedback – introducing a HiLux 1GD-FTV 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine and Aisin six-speed automatic transmission choice to the range – but is the time right for another hardcore 4WD ute to knock the 70 off its perch?

Read More About Toyota Landcruiser 70 Series

You're too late for a Toyota LandCruiser V8: Even order holders now uncertain to secure 70 Series V8 as NVES "puts those cars into question big time" 2024 Ineos Quartermaster dual cab chassis revealed: Hardcore, hard-working 4x4 set to challenge Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series, Ford Ranger and Mitsubishi Triton "Better than a LandCruiser 70 Series": Ineos says the 2024 Grenadier Quartermaster is tougher than Toyota's iconic off-roader

Something like the Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster, perhaps?

Why the Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series is yesterday’s hero

Toyota has paused sales of the 151kW/430Nm 4.5-litre V8 version of the updated 70 Series, because demand far outstripped supply, and it's currently only available with the newly installed 150kW/500Nm 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine from the HiLux. However, in this yarn I’ll refer to the V8 because that’s the one I’ve spent so much time in over the years.

The 70 Series is under-specced and overpriced: it’s a boxy old-school 4WD but not in a good way and most of its supposedly charming characteristics – basic cabin, gruff engine and rough driveability – are not that charming afterall.

Toyota has paused sales of the 151kW/430Nm 4.5-litre V8 version of the updated 70 Series, because demand far outstripped supply.

This is a ute that’s essentially impractical anywhere other than on a farm or mine site, or being used as a remote-area touring vehicle.

It’s noisy (like being inside the cab of a 1970s tractor slogging away on a sugar cane farm), it’s ordinary to drive anywhere but on the dirt, with a disappointing V8 engine (the new 70’s HiLux engine produces 70Nm more), floaty steering, a too-short first gear and crunchy gear-changes all the way to a fifth gear that feels like it desperately wants an older sibling or two.

It also lacks driver-assist safety tech – even though the new line-up’s AEB, traffic sign recognition, lane-departure alert, automatic high-beam headlights, and off-road hill descent control have gone some of the way to rectify that issue.

This is a ute that’s essentially impractical anywhere other than on a farm or mine site, or being used as a remote-area touring vehicle.

The 70 Series’ mismatched wheel track is an issue. When the V8 was brought into the line-up in 2007, the front axle track was stretched 80mm (in the base-spec Workmate) and 120mm (in the GX and GXL), so the frame could accommodate the V8 and its bigger radiator.

The LC70's different wheel tracks – 1555mm at the front, 1460mm at the leaf-sprung rear axle – can cause, at best, mild annoyance or, at worst, real strife when you’re driving at speed through deep wheel ruts as the rear tyres try to grind their way through unbroken terrain.

The V8-powered 70 Series LandCruiser has been subject to DPF-related recalls. In May 2020, Toyota issued an urgent recall for almost 23,000 LandCruiser 70 Series with warnings the vehicles were at risk of catching fire when the DPF cleaning function operated.

The 70 has a shallow tray that offers little useable load space and, for reference, actual payload will be under 1000kg in a dual-cab 70, depending on what tray you opt for.

The 70 has a shallow tray that offers little useable load space and, for reference, actual payload will be under 1000kg in a dual-cab 70, depending on what tray you opt for.

Even the 70’s handbrake is on the wrong side of ordinary.

In terms of pricing, as an example, a 2024 LC70 Series double cab Workmate four-cylinder will set you back from $79,300 (excluding on-road costs), rising to $83,400 for the V8 version, but good luck finding a V8.

Why the Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster is worth keeping an eye on

For the unfamiliar, the Quartermaster is the ute version of the Ineos Grenadier, the ground-breaking, yet rather familiar-looking old-school-style 4WD.

A passion project of British chemicals billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Grenadier has pumped a fair bit of excitement into a global automotive industry that has become increasingly bland. This proper boxy 4WD has a ladder-frame chassis, live axles front and rear, permanent four-wheel drive, and front, centre and rear locking differentials and is a full-blown throwback to a bygone adventurous era. Coil springs all-round inject a bit of comfort into the package.

The dual-cab Quartermaster is the ute version of the Grenadier.

The Quartermaster is the ute version of the Ineos Grenadier, the ground-breaking, yet rather familiar-looking old-school-style 4WD.

Quartermaster buyers will have a choice of a 3.0-litre straight-six turbo-petrol (210kW/450Nm) or a 3.0-litre straight-six twin-turbo diesel (183kW/550Nm) – both engines are sourced from BMW and matched to an eight-speed ZF auto.

Specs so far indicate it has off-road-friendly measurements including 264mm of ground clearance, 800mm wading depth and off-road angles of 36.2 degrees (approach), 22.6 degrees (departure), and 26.2 degrees (ramp-over).

And if all of the pre-launch Ineos hype is anything to go by, the Quartermaster will offer ample levels of comfort, safety and capability, including leather upholstery, heated seats and safari windows, depending on which Edition you buy.

The Quartermaster is 5400mm long (with a 3227mm wheelbase), 2146mm wide and 2019mm high.

The Quartermaster is 5400mm long (with a 3227mm wheelbase), 2146mm wide and 2019mm high.

The tub is 1564mm long, 1619mm wide (1317mm between the arches), and 485mm deep.

Payload is 832kg in the diesel Quartermaster, 907kg in the petrol version. Towing capacity (braked) is 3500kg.

Payload is 832kg in the diesel Quartermaster, 907kg in the petrol version.

The 2024 Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster range starts at the recently unveiled cab-chassis variant (from $102,000 excluding on-road costs), then there’s the tub-equipped version (tipped to cost from $110,000, excluding on-road costs), while the Quartermaster Trialmaster edition (off-road grade) and a luxury Fieldmaster edition are expected to each cost from about $123,000 (excluding on-roads).

The 2024 Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster is available to order locally and is set to land in Australia by mid-2024.