RISING ABOVE IT ALL
Matt Allan tests the first luxury SUV from an iconic Italian brand
It seems almost sacrilegious – one of Italy’s most revered motoring brands stepping away from its grand tourer traditions to build a SUV. But the times they are a’changing and car makers are having to adapt or die.
Even in the rarified air around luxury and sporting brands there’s no escaping the all-consuming demand for chunky big motors with high ride height, massive wheels and intimidating design.
That’s why Bentley, Rollsroyce, Aston Martin and even Lamborghini have launched or are planning SUVS and it’s why Maserati, a brand famed for sleek, lithe machines that can cross continents with ease, has built the Levante.
It’s not what you’d call sleek or lithe – there’s just way too much metal for that – but it does retain enough of the Maserati DNA to be recognisable as part of the family. The gaping slotted grille, pinched headlights and triple vents below the A pillar all trademarks of the brand.
Lined up against the BMW X5, Range Rover Sport and Audi Q7 it cuts a more stylish shape but there’s still no disguising its overall bulk.
The Maserati DNA is carried overtoitsroadmanners.itmay be a tall and heavy vehicle but it’s based on the same platorm as the sporty Ghibli saloon and it makes a decent fist of masking its size. It’s clearly more road focused than some SUVS, with 50/50 weight distribution and the lowest centre of gravity in its class, and will happily jink its way down country roads, tracking through the corners like you’d expect from a Maserati but gripping like you wouldn’t thanks to its 4x4 system.
Its performance is aided by the 424bhp Ferrari-sourced V6 engine fitted to this Levante S. The twin-turbo unit is paired with an eight-speed auto gearbox and will get the Levante to 62mph in a brief 5.2 seconds. It’s faintly silly in a big SUV but also mighty impressive.
I can’t imagine anyone ever taking a Levante anywhere more rugged than a Waitrose car park but Maserati were keen to prove that their SUV has some mud-plugging chops so during our test drive we took to the woods overlooking Loch Lomond for a spot of off-roading. It wasn’t the sort of trail that would worry anything wearing a green oval but it was serious enough to prove the Levante has been engineered to cope with more than just a muddy farm track on the way to the stables.
Not that you’d want to get mud anywhere near this car for fear of befouling the interior. Like all Maseratis it’s a temple to luxury with silk inserts in the leather seats, open-grain wood trim and aluminium-finished controlsaroundthecabin.also like all Maseratis it is let down by a fiddly touchscreen system mounted in an ugly dash insert. It’s a jarring note in an otherwise pleasant interior where driver and passengers could while away the hours cruising across Europe in comfort and quiet.
For buyers who want instant badge recognition from SUV snobs the Maserati trident isn’t as well-know as the Range Rover green oval or Audi’s four rings but for others that will only enhance its appeal. Maseratis still have the rarity to really stand out from the crowd and the Levante S backs up that exclusivity with performance that manages to stay true to its grand tourer heritage.