BUT IS IT ANY GOOD?

Georg Kacher drives the Maserati Grecale Trofeo

I could tell you about nice details like the digital clock, about advanced features like the new-generation voice recognition, about the excellence of the audio system. But what really brings the Grecale into focus and unleashes its full emotional potential is a firm stab at the throttle.

This is the Trofeo version of the Grecale, so that accelerator pedal is controlling a 523bhp 3.0-litre V6, a Maserati-developed engine that will get this crossover from zero to 62mph in 3.8 seconds. The performance figures are all very close to those of the top Alfa Stelvio, with its Ferrari-derived V6. But the Maserati engine is torquier and sounds meaner, more dense and rawer.

Like the Stelvio, the Grecale uses a version of the long-running Giorgio platform fitted with multi-link suspension, air springs and adaptive dampers, although here lacking adjustable anti-roll bars. Equipped with 21-inch tyres (standard on the Trofeo), the low-speed ride varies from brittle to harsh, with the occupants not well shielded from bumps and potholes. On smooth pavement and above 60mph, the Maserati enters a notably calmer realm, where aero changes trigger a more groundhugging posture. The high-speed compliance is not exactly magic-carpet perfect but is supple enough.

There are five different drive modes, but no mix-andmatch option which assembles your favourite blend of steering action, throttle response, shift speed, traction control, brake characteristics and exhaust note. And why must the transmission be controlled by five pushbuttons in the centre display, 1960s Detroit-style?

The future of Maserati starts in 2023 with the Grecale Folgore and the new GranTurismo and GranCabrio. The V6 Trofeo is no more and no less than a fascinating and scintillating relic of an interesting past. What’s best about the Trofeo is the old-school magic of the engine. What’s less impressive is the whole package, with its 2027kg kerbweight, its often baffling interface and its high price.