The Province

Want a Maserati Levante Trofeo?

Make sure you check out the powerful competitio­n from Porsche and, surprising­ly, Jeep

- WITH DAVID BOOTH

Ferrari may not build an SUV (yet), but its engines are featured in some mondo rapid sport brutes. That would be Maserati’s Levante, and I’m pretty sure that having a power plant designed, engineered, and built by Ferrari — be it a 3.0litre V6 or a 3.8-L V8 — figures largely in the Levante’s popularity.

That 3.8-L V8 is the subject of this test, and it’s at least a kissing cousin to the engine that powers the Ferrari 488, albeit sans the supercar’s flatplane crankshaft. Depending on how much money you’ve forked over — $142,090 for base V8 GTS, or $187,500 for the Trofeo — the 3.8-L pumps out 550 horsepower in the former, or 590 in the latter.

The Trofeo certainly won’t shy away from making an aural entrance. You have to flip the drive mode selector to Sport to get the full dolce vita, but as turbocharg­ed V8-powered SUVs go, this is the most sonorous.

The Levante also makes a pretty good daily driver, that Ferrari engine not at all reluctant to creep through traffic jams or crawl through suburban sprawl. The fuel economy — rated by Transport Canada at 17.9 L/100 km in town — isn’t going to challenge a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, but in all other regards, the Levante makes a mean urban warrior. Plus, its AWD system provides the best of all possible worlds for a performanc­e SUV; 100 per cent of the twin turbocharg­ed V8’s kick makes its way rearward during normal use for the handling one expects of something wearing the famed Trident badge, but it can distribute up to half the engine’s power to the front, should the road get slippery. The Levante gets three gold stars for performanc­e.

Inside, it’s a little more of a mixed bag. There’s lots of room, and the seats are both comfortabl­e and luxurious, covered as they are by Pieno Fiore leather. On the other hand, while most of the trim bits are of similar quality, the Levante’s Touch Control Plus infotainme­nt system is so obviously FCA’s Uconnect. It works fine, but the graphics are not state of the art. And there’s barely more than 20 cubic feet available in the Levante when the seats are up, and a middling 57.4 when the back seats are folded.

If you’re addicted to Porsches, you’re going to want the Cayenne Turbo. The Levante’s 3.8-L V8 generates a few more horses, while the Porsche’s larger 4.0-L V8 twists out a few more poundfeet of torque. Both accelerate to 100 km/h in around four seconds. If you care about the sounds an engine makes, though, the Maserati wins hands down.

Inside, the Porsche is more consistent. The leather might not be as overtly epicurean, but neither does the Cayenne have any obvious leftovers from Volkswagen. Oh, and the Porsche has a significan­tly larger cargo area than the Levante.

The Cayenne Turbo is the SUV rich auto enthusiast­s buy for their spouses, just in case they have to drive it one day. The Maserati, meanwhile, is a luxury SUV an enthusiast might buy for themselves.

If you want to keep it Italian, the only way to upgrade is moving up to the Urus, the 641-hp desert sled that Lamborghin­i bills as a “super sport utility vehicle.” The Urus is also pretty darned adept offroad (don’t be so surprised). And naturally it features as indulgent an interior as you can find in any SUV this side of a Rolls-Royce Cullinan.

Indeed, the main reasons for not buying a Urus over a Levante is the price — the Urus starts at $240,569.

Finally, if you are, for some reason, determined to stick with Fiat Chrysler, there’s the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. I know for some it may be difficult to think of Jeep in the same category, but the Trackhawk we tested a few months ago cost $133,795. So in terms of price, at least, this Jeep belongs in the segment.

Certainly, its performanc­e places the Trackhawk at the top of the heap. The 6.2-L pushrod V8 may be a tad archaic compared with the state-of-the-art, double-overhead-cam units in the Cayenne, Urus, and Levante, but at least in the horsepower sweepstake­s, one giant supercharg­er trumps high tech. There’s 707 hp under the hood, and the Trackhawk’s 3.5-second sprint from rest to 96 km/h making it the superstar of the segment.

Some trim bits feel out of place at this price point, but the Trackhawk surprises with its abilities and comportmen­t. And of these overpowere­d beasts, it is most assuredly the Jeep that is most comfortabl­e getting muddy.

 ?? PHOTOS: CHRIS BALCERAK/DRIVING.CA ?? The 2020 Maserati Levante Trofeo is an SUV built for an auto enthusiast, but it’s also a very capable urban warrior.
PHOTOS: CHRIS BALCERAK/DRIVING.CA The 2020 Maserati Levante Trofeo is an SUV built for an auto enthusiast, but it’s also a very capable urban warrior.
 ??  ?? Under the hood of the Levante Trofeo lurks a truly sonorous power plant designed, engineered, and built by Ferrari. There’s lots of room inside, and the seats are comfortabl­e and luxurious, covered as they are by Pieno Fiore leather.
Under the hood of the Levante Trofeo lurks a truly sonorous power plant designed, engineered, and built by Ferrari. There’s lots of room inside, and the seats are comfortabl­e and luxurious, covered as they are by Pieno Fiore leather.
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