Levante rising
The new Maserati Levante was the focus of our attention at the recently concluded Goodwood Festival of Speed. It would have been a shame not to have driven it, and so we did.
THE Levante is Maserati’s most important car nowadays, accounting for just over half of the Italian luxury sports marque’s global sales in 2017 and driving annual deliveries to record highs since the SUV (sport utility vehicle) was launched in 2016.
It is Maserati’s first and only SUV, and with intense competition in the luxury sports SUV segment, it’s no surprise that only two years after its launch, the Levante gets some driving assistance, styling and trim updates for model year 2019 to improve its appeal to deep-pocketed buyers.
These updates include the standard Integrated Vehicle Control (IVC), which is already available on the Maserati Ghibli and Quattroporte sedans.
Rather than simply correcting vehicle instability, the IVC function helps prevent it, thus providing enhanced active safety and improved driving dynamics.
Another update is a redesigned gearshift lever, also found in the monstrous V8 engined Levante Trofeo - the fastest Levante ever, which features a more intuitive shift pattern and shorter travel.
The redesigned gearshift lever gives the driver the option to use the eight-speed ZF gearbox in automatic or manual mode by shifting the lever from right to left, and while a new P button conveniently puts the car in parking mode.
This redesigned gearshift lever is now also found in all 2019 Ghibli and Quattroporte variants.
Meanwhile, the MTC+ infotainment system on the Levante, Ghibli and Quattroporte gets updated display graphics and improved climate control system ergonomics.
The MTC+ infotainment system uses a high resolution 8.4-inch multi-touch screen and a double rotary knob on the centre console.
For the first time, Maserati is offering as an option, the full-grain Pieno Fiore leather, which is said to be incomparable to any other material in the automotive industry for its natural and soft feel.
The Pieno Fiore leather is standard in the Levante Trofeo and available as an option in all Levante, Ghibli and Quattroporte versions in three colours (black, red and tan).
Adaptive Full LED Matrix headlights are also optional on the 2019 Levante range while two new exterior colours, the iconic Rosso Potente and the deep dark Blu Nobile, are now available.
Compared to bi-xenon headlamps, LED technology offers 20% better visibility, 32% cooler light and headlights with double life expectancy.
There’s a restyled GranSport badged exterior (also seen on the new V8 engined versions) for the Levante, with an elegant, sport-oriented design that is focused on the lower front fascia and the rear bumper.
The GranSport badged Levante and the new V8 versions are also standard fitted with red painted calipers.
2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed
The 2019 Maserati Levante, Ghibli and Quattroporte were revealed at the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed held at West Sussex, England alongside the world premiere of the V8 engined Levante GTS.
The 2018 Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard celebrated the event’s 25th anniversary, and it is renowned as the most prestigious car culture event in the world, providing an inebriating mix of music, entertainment, food, glamorous cars and motorsport stars over a four-day spectacular programme that attracted more than 200,000 visitors.
Maserati, as Automotive Partner of the Festival of Speed, used the occasion to showcase its racing pedigree with the thunderous V12 engine in the MC12 GT1 Centenario coming to life on the 1.87km Goodwood Hillclimb.
The Maserati MC12 Versione Corse took pride of place in the Festival of Speed’s Silver Jubilee display while the GranTurismo MC, GranCabrio Sport and updated 2019 Levante thrilled the crowds during the Michelin Supercar Run.
At the Maserati stand, the Italian luxury sports marque provided a sumptuous experience of style and comfort for its Goodwood guests, who were particularly keen on checking out the Levante Trofeo, which made its European debut at Goodwood, and Levante GTS.
World premiere for Levante GTS
The new Levante GTS is essentially a sibling of the Levante Trofeo, billed as the ultimate Maserati of SUVs.
To get an idea of what the Levante GTS offers, let us look at the Levante Trofeo which had its world premiere earlier in March at the 2018 New York International Auto Show.
The Levante Trofeo is simply a slightly faster and more aggressive-looking sibling of the Levante GTS.
Both the Levante Trofeo and GTS have an exciting Ferrari-built 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 engine, mated to an eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox.
Like all Maserati petrol engines, this V8 is assembled by Ferrari in Maranello and in the top-of-the-line Levante Trofeo, it delivers an incredible 590hp at 6,250rpm and 730Nm of peak torque at 2,250 – 5,000rpm.
In the Levante GTS, the same V8 engine is tuned to deliver 40hp less (at 550hp), with peak torque reached at a slightly higher 2,500rpm.
What this means is that the Levante GTS is just marginally slower than the Trofeo version.
The Levante GTS completes the 0-100kph sprint in 4.2 seconds, onwards to a top speed of over 292kph (compared with the Levante Trofeo which can do the 0-100kph sprint in only 3.9 seconds, onwards to a top speed of over 300kph).
Meanwhile, to underline its king-of-the-hill status, the Trofeo version gets an exclusive Sport Corsa driving mode (Levante GTS only
gets a Sport mode) with Launch Control functionality.
The Corsa driving mode further improves engine response and opens exhaust valves in acceleration, as well as provides faster gear shifting, lower air suspension height levels, sportier Skyhook damping and optimised Q4 Intelligent All-Wheel Drive settings and interacts with Traction Control and ESP systems to maximise driving pleasure.
Also, in terms of looks, the Levante Trofeo has ultralight, high-gloss carbon fibre material for the lower splitter, side skirt inserts and the rear extractor.
The Trofeo also stands out for its sportier engine bonnet, featuring two heat extractors for better cylinder head cooling.
The 22-inch Orione forged aluminium wheel – the largest ever created by Maserati – is exclusively available for the new Levante GTS and Trofeo.
And if you aren’t bored with reading just how fast and powerful Maserati has made the flagship versions of its only SUV, try and accept the fact that the bigger, heavier Levante GTS has a better weight-to-power ratio than a two-door Porsche 911 Carrera sports car.
A 3.0-litre 6-cylinder, twin-turbo engined Porsche 911 Carrera weighs 1,525kg and outputs 370hp; thus giving it a weight-to-power ratio of 4.1kg per hp.
Whereas the Levante GTS has a kerb weight of 2,170kg and outputs 550hp; thus giving it a weight-to-power ratio of 3.94kg per hp.
Maserati isn’t exaggerating when it says the Levante GTS is a supercar disguised in a high-end SUV body.
Driving the 2019 updated Levante S GranSport
In England, Maserati also organised a three-hour drive of the 2019 updated Levante S in GranSport trim for media members.
The 177km route was a mix of narrow village and town roads, and smooth highways and it was mostly a relaxed, leisurely drive with us slowing down to a crawl occasionally for horses munching on grass next to countryside roads.
There were numerous speed limit cameras along the route, especially on the highways and we did not want to risk getting a speeding fine.
The units we drove in England were lefthand drive, which felt a bit odd as we were in a right-hand drive country although we quickly got used to this.
We were snugly ensconced in the 12-way power sport front seats, and found features like the plush leather upholstery, 14-speaker Harman Kardon Premium sound system, Alcantara roof lining, surround view camera system, power-adjustable sport steering wheel with aluminium gearshift paddles, and the sharp and accurate Electric Power Steering to our liking.
We started from New Milton town in south west Hampshire, and stopped for a quick tour of iconic gin-maker Bombay Sapphire’s distillery in Laverstoke before driving towards a lunch stop at the charming Beaverbrook country house hotel near Leatherhead, Surrey.
The car’s large rear cargo area of 580 litres was more than enough for our luggage bags.
To recap, the Levante S has a petrol-powered 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged, direct injection V6 engine with 430hp at 5,750rpm and 580Nm of torque in Sport mode between 1,750 and 5,000rpm.
On the few occasions where we stomped on the accelerator pedal, the result was a very satisfying, visceral engine roar and quick adrenaline-inducing sprints in the Levante S. The Levante S accelerates from 0 to 100kph in 5.2 seconds and its V6 engine’s specific torque of 194Nm per litre is the best in the luxury SUV class.
The eight-speed automatic ZF gearbox is silky smooth, and we mostly kept the car in Sport drive mode for faster response - not that it made a lot of difference as we did not drive like madmen.
It’s worth noting that by default, the car is set to Auto Normal mode, but by pressing a button, the driver can select other drive modes - Off-Road, ICE (increased control and efficiency) and Sport.
ICE (increased control and efficiency) is for even better traction in slippery conditions while also reducing fuel consumption.
The Levante S is very well appointed with high-end features like Air Suspension, electronically controlled Skyhook shock absorbers and the Q4 AWD (all-wheel-drive) system, which are standard equipment.
The aluminium front double-wishbone and rear five-link suspension layout provides exceptional comfort, control and performance..
The Brembo brake system provides outstanding stopping power as we found out when we once had to step hard on the brakes as traffic suddenly slowed on the highway.
The current edition of the Levante S was launched in Malaysia in November 2017 by Naza Italia, the official importer and distributor for Maserati.
It is priced from RM788,800 (inclusive of local taxes and duties) and includes a 3-year warranty with unlimited mileage plus a Maserati Premium Service Plus of 3 years/60,000km (whichever is first).