Where did you drive it?

Maserati’s media launch for the Levante 350 was a kind of hop-in, hop-out affair as the cars did a bit of a loop around New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

Our bit involved a start at Bathurst, including a very careful 50kmh lap of the iconic circuit (which is a public road when it’s not being a world-famous racetrack), then a backroads blast towards the ever-changing seat of Aussie power in Canberra.

In press-on conditions the 350 was 90 per cent as enjoyable as the vastly more expensive S. There’s barely any less torque in realworld driving (80Nm down, but the peak arrives at lower engine speed), but more importantly the exhaust note is every bit as stirring. Pneumatic valves open automatically in Sport mode to create proper Maserati music that has to be heard to be appreciated.

Arguably, the biggest downside to the 350 is that you’re not gaining a lot in terms of fuel economy. With a combined figure of 10.7 litres per 100km, it’s only 0.2l more frugal than the more powerful model. But you can buy a lot of petrol for $47k.

Weather conditions were pretty mixed on our two-day drive and some very wet roads were another chance for the Levante’s clever chassis to shine. The air suspension and chassis electronics are a mighty combination: this is a 2.1-tonne SUV that goes very hard.

Integrated Vehicle Control (IVC), a kind of predictive stability control, has been added to the range for 2019, but it does little to interfere with the engaging nature of the handling.