Munro Mk 1 is an electric Ineos Grenadier-challenging ‘REAL’ Land Rover Defender

The Munro Mk 1 is revealed as an electric ‘Made in Scotland’ challenger to the Ineos Grenadier delivering proper workhorse abilities.

For those potential buyers disappointed by the new, more upmarket, Land Rover Defender, we now have the Ineos Grenadier, promising to be a more rugged workhorse and costing much the same as a new Defender.

But now there’s a second alternative to the new Land Rover for those who need a workhorse with the arrival of the electric Munro Mk 1, a rugged electric off-roader designed to be a proper workhorse, not a school-run wannabee tough guy.

A product of start-up Munro – named after Scottish mountains – the Munro Mk 1 certainly gets rugged, slab-sided looks, but, unlike the Grenadier and Defender, it’s a pure BEV, sporting a single electric motor with a ladder-frame chassis, permanent four-wheel drive, locking centre diff and live axles.

The single axial-flux electric motor drives through a two-speed transfer box with low range and offers either 295bhp or 375bhp, powered by a 61kWh or 81kWh battery said to be good for a range of up to 190 miles, with 7kW and 22kW AC charging and DC fast charging too.

Very short overhangs endow the Munro with an 84-degree approach and 51-degree departure angles, 800mm wading depth and 480mm ground clearance, with a payload of 1000kg (so it counts as a commercial for BIK) and 3500kg towing.

The interior is as rugged as the exterior and features switchgear which works with gloves on, wireless phone charging, Android Auto and Apple Carplay capability and a pair of 240V sockets.

Prices for the Munro start at £59,995, and Munro plans to hand-build 50 vehicles in Scotland next year (2023) before moving to a new factory near Glasow in 2024 to build 250 a year, with plans to ramp up to 2,500 a year from 2027.