Patrol and Land Cruiser Legends Take On Defender and Grenadier Freshlings in Off-Road Test

Sports cars are the first that spring to mind, presumably helped by the fact those brands are locked in an actual competition through the various disciplines of motorsport but, make no mistake, the off-roading segment is just as fiercely disputed as any other. Just go on any video featuring a Land Rover - any Land Rover - and if the first three comments don't include a reference to the brand's reliability issues, then you've probably died and gone to heaven without realizing because down here on Earth, that is simply unheard of.

With the clip below including the new Defender as one of the four vehicles on test, it makes no exception. Well, at least this third comment doesn't name any names and is more of a complaint over all modern vehicles and their over-reliance on technology, but we can all read between the lines. Besides, other than the Defender, you can hardly call the Nissan Patrol and the Toyota LandCruiser 300 (as it's named for the Australian market) overladen with gizmos, and while the INEOS Grenadier actually has a lot more technology on board than it lets to believe, it manages to hide it very well.

So, just in case it's not clear already, the clip below is an off-road test between the INEOS Grenadier, the Land Rover Defender, the Nissan Patrol, and the Toyota LandCruiser 300 GR. You don't need to go any further than the first few seconds of the clip to know it's going to be a quality piece of material, as Robert, the host, admits no test can decide what is "the best" off-roader since the term is so broad and covers so many different scenarios.

However, that doesn't mean you can just shrug, sigh, go back home and not even bother to test these four wonderful machines before coming up with a conclusion. And kicking off proceedings by tackling the first obstacle is...

INEOS Grenadier

The Defender-that-should-have-been, as some people might refer to the INEOS Grenadier - at least in their minds, I would imagine - has a surprisingly tough time making it up the incline. Its live axles do their best to keep the wheels in contact with the ground, but as soon as the travel proves insufficient, trouble starts to arise. The traction control system allows way too much wheelspin before deciding to kick in and brake the unloaded wheel to send torque to the one in contact with the ground. It doesn't technically affect the vehicle's ability to climb the muddy slope, but it does besmirch the overall impression left by what should, in theory, be the most capable vehicle in the test.

It's time for the Grenadier to redeem its image and all it needs to do for that is lock its differentials. With more equally distributed between its wheels at all times, the truck makes very little work of the obstacle maintaining a constant speed and eliminating wheelspin almost completely.

Land Rover Defender

Unlike the INEOS Grenadier, the Land Rover comes with a fully independent suspension system, which means at least one of the Defender's wheels spent most of its time hanging about in the air doing nothing while negotiating this obstacle. Still, the company's legendary traction control system allows the vehicle to go up the muddy incline with apparent ease, helped in no small part by its fully-automatic differentials that, for what we know, may or may not have been engaged at all times. That's the downside of leaving the electronics in charge of everything - it leaves you guessing what exactly is happening underneath. Compared to the Grenadier's second run, though, the Defender's attempt proved slightly more stuttery.

Nissan Patrol

Like the Land Rover Defender, the aging Nissan also comes with a fully-independent suspension, but, unlike the British SUV, it doesn't have the same impressive ground clearance or the clever electronics to control wheelspin. Perhaps well aware of the situation and wanting to make his car look good, the driver disregards the "go slowly" directive and appears to go much heavier on the throttle in an attempt to coerce the traction control system to sort things out faster than it normally would. The ploy seems to work to some extent, but the Patrol almost gets stuck during the second attempt where, somewhat ironically, the SUV also had its rear differential locked (the first attempt was made completely open). To make matters worse, this very first obstacle also highlights one of the major weaknesses of the Patrol: its poor departure angle. The SUV almost sinks its towing hook into the mud as the wheels spun frantically to pull it out and over the short slope.

Toyota LandCruiser 300 GR Sport

It's almost frustrating to watch just how unavoidably well the 300 Series does. It's like, what even is the point of the other three competing? Well, while the Toyota SUV did make it effortlessly over the obstacle, it didn't all go as smoothly as it would seem. Like the other Japanese contender in this comparison, the LC300 suffers from a poor departure angle - at 25 degrees, it's actually worse than the Patrol's 26. The truck's rear overhang only just manages to avoid turning into an anchor by sinking into the mud and immobilizing the vehicle, showing there is still plenty left to fight for for the others.

Even so, it's still not enough to overshadow just how well the LC300's traction control system handled the situation. It's an area where you'd expect the Defender to shine, and yet it's the more antiquated Toyota that manages to impress. It did so well on its first attempt that it's almost impossible to spot any improvement during its second climb when its front and rear differentials were locked.

Conclusion

It's between the Toyota and the Grenadier. With open differentials, it's not even a contest as the LandCruiser runs away with it. However, the ground clearance as well the departure angle and short wheelbase could, under different circumstances, hamper the performance of the Toyota. Considering this is the first video of several (probably around four), that means it's still too early to name an overall winner. The first bout goes to the Toyota, though both the Grenadier and, to a slightly lesser degree, the Defender, were close.