Following in the footsteps and motivated by the success of the Grenadier, Ineos Automotive has just unveiled its smaller sibling, the Fusilier. It promises world-class off-road capabilities and almost no emissions.

Strange as it may seem, there’s a lively market for rugged, slightly basic 4x4s at astronomical prices. How else do you explain the success of cars like the Land Rover Defender or the Ineos Grenadier?

Rocking a distinct haven’t-I-seen-this-design-on some-other-brand-before look, the Fusilier is slightly shorter and a little lower than its bigger brothers. It will be available in two powertrain versions: a fully electric BEV and a BEV with a low-emissions range extender.

The company stated as reasoning that fully electric cars are great for things like short trips and urban settings, but that certain customers have requirements that exceed what a purely electric car can offer these days.

Developed together with Austrian 4×4 specialist Magna, the Fusilier will be built in Graz and has a targeted range of 400km per charge in the BEV version.

The range-extender model is said to have around 70% of the BEV’s battery capacity, which would give it a range of 270km plus whatever is in the tank of the petrol engine generator.

Those are pretty tidy and usable numbers for a big lump of metal, and the range-extender version should assure owners who like to venture a little further away from civilization and charging points.

The batteries will be supplied by Samsung, and both models feature a dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup.

The firm promises that it will be a proper off-roader, even if the lack of a ladder frame and the change from a recirculating ball to a more conventional rack-and-pinion steering setup will make it slightly softer and less hardcore than the Grenadier.

So far, Ineos has only unveiled the exterior look, which is slightly rounder and a bit more aerodynamic than the carmaker’s other models, but not by much.

Instead of having the air resistance of a family-sized wardrobe, it now stands in the wind like a family-sized wardrobe with its corners sanded off and door handles recessed. Not that buyers of these cars will care much about drag-coefficient values or fuel consumption, mind you.

While no pictures of the interior exist yet, the people behind the Fusilier are already promising that it will prefer physical switches over touchscreen interfaces, which will be a relief for many.

The Fusilier is still a good two years out from hitting showrooms. As a result, no prices are known yet. But the company expects it to sit just a little bit below its bigger sibling due to batteries still being a lot more expensive than the equivalent combustion engine setup. That’s the price of progress for you.