Driving the INEOS Quartermaster at Mt Buller: Ultimate 4x4 Test

If you’ve ever wondered whether the INEOS Quartermaster is all marketing hype or a true go-anywhere 4×4, Mt Buller is the perfect proving ground. From towing snowcats to climbing old fire trails, this stripped-back yet luxurious machine proved it’s more than ready for Australia’s alpine conditions.

Recently one of our team members had the opportunity to drive an INEOS Quartermaster at Mt Buller and absolutely loved the experience, read about it here.

Up until a couple years ago I hadn’t even heard of INEOS and then a friend told me they just put a deposit down on a new one and that got me checking them out online.  INEOS as a brand like all good plans started over a beer in a pub with mates, hence the name GRENADIER. Their idea was to make a stripped back, no nonsense, utilitarian 4X4. I followed INEOS on social media, I even configured a dream build on line but thought it was all a pipe dream to actually own one. Ok well it really is but driving one might be a possibility… maybe.

Fast forward a few years and I got a message from the editor at Snow Action asking if I might want to go to Mt Buller for the launch of the new INEOS Quartermaster. Of course I was in and I was already driving from Jindabyne to Melbourne so I thought easy I’ll pull into Buller on the way for this event. The snow had started on my drive and by the time I made it to the village big flakes were falling and there was already a fair bit on the ground.  I’m driving an empty Iveco Daily cargo van in the snow and not feeling safe at all. All I could do was think about how cool it would be to really get out on the hill with the new truck or better yet really get out into the mountains and try and drive on some real 4×4 trails. Fingers crossed it just keeps snowing but until then I’m going to enjoy the biggest and the most luxurious bed I’ve slept in at a ski resort in my life thanks to the amazing people at the Buller Chalet. If you haven’t checked the Chalet out you must, the staff are top level friendly and super helpful. There’s also a pool and you’ve got Bourke St at your front door.  It wasn’t winter operating hours yet so the fancy dining options weren’t open, doesn’t matter for me, I can’t afford that stuff so I was over to Kooroora for my go to Parma, it’s big and tastes awesome.

Good or bad for me everyone else that was coming on this trip were getting flown to Melbourne to then Drive all the way to Buller in the Quartermaster.  I missed out on the flight but got to do some ‘work’ coffee with some resort retail managers, and a visit with Hannes from Grimus Ski Centre.  If you need tuning or boot fitting while you are at Mt Buller this is definitely your place to go.  Hannes is the most particular ski tuner I know. He also is the most talented bootfitter at Mt Buller. I just happened to be in the village square as the convoy of new Quartermasters rolled in, what a sight.  There were some new wagons as well.  Talk about a statement.  Today is not just about the truck, it’s also about some very ritzy things around Mt Buller.  When I go to any ski hill I go straight to the snow, hit some laps then drink a beer at the rad local shop and talk about how awesome it was. Buller and INEOS do it a bit differently or at least we did for this trip. The first thing we did was indulge at a couple of very fine local establishments.  Lunch was held upstairs at The Villager.  The food and atmosphere was next level. So remember when I said the idea of INEOS was a stripped back no nonsense 4×4? Apparently that also means lux as hell so this restaurant is the right choice to put us into the right frame of mind. Every morsel was amazing and the atmosphere was perfect to get to know most of the people we were going to be hanging out with and driving around with but honestly I just wanted to jump in and start driving.

Finally I’m sitting in the driver’s seat. Instantly I knew I was in for some major fun.  I also was thinking I’ve got a lot to learn about.  Sitting in the driver’s seat I looked up and the first thing I thought was “how did I just end up in a plane” the centre panel at the roof and even on the dash looks like the cockpit of a small personal plane. Yeah, it’s freakin cool.  

Part of this experience is to see how the Mt Buller ops team puts the INEOS to work on the hill.  I’ve seen all the resorts driving around in their partnership vehicles around Jindy for sure but none can really use them to do any “work” As we were parking up on the top of the resort I watched an INEOS tow a snow cat up the hill.  It looked like it was towing the family caravan. Zero effort needed. Seeing that was impressive, not sure how some other resort vehicles would hold up doing that kind of work.  For some reason my first thought before seeing them was that the Quartermaster was going to be like a monster truck but not at all.  Driving through the village and parking was easier than my small Ford Ranger.  I could see all the corners easily and that made me relaxed right away. We went straight out to an old closed down 4X4 track that we accessed halfway down the hill. We got up to 21’ steepness on a couple of pitches of climbing. You know how I knew? Well, the console screen has so many settings that we could see every angle the truck was on at every second of the drive. After this loop I was still wanting more, I mean it was fun and all, but I was like “it felt like a tough shuttle road” Turns out its just the INEOS just made things feel so easy. But the next area that we were driving though was actually beside one of the summer mountain bike tracks. We could see the bike trail coming almost onto the driving track, there were a couple rock steps that we had to climb as well.  Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut, that looks steep to drive up. Na turns out that stuff is just fun in the Quartermaster.

On our way back through the ski resort, no roads were taken, just ski runs, we came across a couple of patrollers who were also putting their INEOS to work.  They had the Quartermaster as well filled up with lift tower pads.  Buller crew seem to be able to do their whole job from the comfort of an INEOS. Ok well that day would have sucked each time they had to leave the heated seats to go and wrap each of the poles. But that’s why they get paid the big bucks.

Time for dinner and there was no way we were doing anything ordinary.  We were told to meet at the front of the Buller Chalet really rugged up.  Turns out the team from Buller lift ops know how to make a few very amazing cocktails Wait what? Yep bottom of Bourke Chair there was a fancy little bar set up to supply refreshments before we jumped on the chair to head up to another one of the flashiest restaurants in the village, the Wood Room in the Arlberg.

I am not going to speak about all the tech of the INEOS, they have a massive website for that. What I will say is that after this trip I don’t feel confident taking many of the other so-called real 4X4 vehicles out into that kind of terrain. We spent a day traveling from Mirimbah at the bottom of the Mt Buller to Craigs Hut in the Victorian High country near Mt Stirling and after the previous days exploring the resort I was ready for anything.  No snow left but rutted out tracks and so many river crossings. The Quartermaster made light work of everything, like riding and skiing in the mountains. I assumed that line choice was going to be super key but not really. I purposely took different lines to the truck in front of us a few times to test my theory, and I mean it might be the INEOS, but it was still no problem at all.  For me driving around in the mountains on old fire roads and tracks like this has always been to get to snow line or to some crazy bike trail but after driving the INEOS I would be stoked to just pack up the camping gear and make an adventure out of driving deeper into the wilderness to explore and camp. 

Ok so out in the wilderness these things rock but lets face it we are not lucky enough to be driving up and down a ski hill or in the back country so the real question is how is it going to handle the everyday monotony of driving around town? The inside is every bit family; go to school, weekend sport, after school training but it’s just that little bit of lux as well.  It’s simple and sophisticated. I love the little “toot” second horn. It’s a great good bye to the bids or neighbours when you don’t want the full blown alarm. 

The INEOS is 100% the ultimate do everything vehicle, if I had to put it into ski terms for you it’s definitely the 1 ski quiver that can carve front side corduroy, float in deep back country bowls and air in the park with the best park rats as well.  I want to drive this everywhere.  It was so hard to hand over the keys and jump back into my demo van after spending a couple days with INEOS at Mt Buller.

If you have even been thinking about a new vehicle make sure you hit their website and book a test ride now!