Maserati Grecale road test: Medium SUV hits the high notes

Maserati has produced some heavy hitters when you think about its classic coupes — the Shamal, the early Ghibli and the MC12 — but this new Grecale is the heaviest hitter of them all, because it’s taking Maserati into the most competitive sector there is — the medium SUV market. This segment makes or breaks luxury car companies; to survive, they must offer a product that covers first-time aspirational customers to legacy owners and, soon, the zero-emission brigade . Thankfully Grecale, which has to face-off against the Porsche Macan (arguably, the king of the segment) as well as convince Audi Q3 and BMW X3 buyers to consider Italian, comes in two flavours for now — the two-litre, turbocharged four-cylinder GT and Modena versions. Soon it will add the 530hp twin-turbo V6 Trofeo for horsepower addicts and eventually will include the Folgore EV as well. The Trofeo’s MC20 supercar-derived power train is due in the next quarter, so the GT and Modena comprise the Grecale range for now. While these may not suit Maserati purists , the very Italian cabin could well tempt buyers with its lavish decor. The first thing you notice is the generous interior space and headroom, plus 566 litres of cargo space that’s propped up by powered-folding rear seats that offer a fully flat floor. There’s nothing that looks like plastic inside, with matte timber and loads of layered leather providing a homely feel, complemented by both a 12.3-inch and an 8.8-inch high-definition screen in the centre. One gripe is that there are no buttons, everything is a touchscreen including the volume control that ought to be a rotary control for hands-on-the-road safety. However, the high-def screens look slick and have nice graphics. They are a huge improvement over previous Maseratis, with the ancillaries taken care by the bottom screen just above glossy buttons for the transmission that replace a regular shift lever. The advanced driver assistance system along with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto fill out the top screen. A standout point here is that Maserati no longer looks like it shares components with other Stellantis products. Using bespoke interior items instead of sharing them with Chrysler products is just one of many leaps the Grecale has made over previous Maseratis. This is good because while its exterior styling isn’t offensive it’s not eye-catching, either. It smacks of design-by-committee with all the boxes ticked, yet somehow doesn’t excite in the same way Maseratis always did. Sure, there are the must-have design checkpoints of the Maserati trident badge — the flash grille and triple portholes along the side — but it just doesn’t sell it in the same way these identifiers do on the GranTurismo or MC20 , for example. Now to get down to business: even in the two-litre form tested in GT and Modena trims, the Grecale feels punchy from the get-go with a meaty wedge of torque mid-range and very welcoming, weighty steering. It’s nice to drive without feeling like it wants you to go any quicker, despite its 5.6 seconds to 100kph (5.3 for the Modena) and 240kph top end. The Trofeo should be a different story with 100kph passing in 3.8 seconds from its 530bhp engine. All models come with an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. The Modena features a slightly wider track shared with the Trofeo, compared to the GT for marginally better handling. That mid-range torque comes from the four cylinder’s 48-volt, belt-driven mild hybrid system. Unlike conventional hybrids that work on reducing fuel consumption, this e-Booster system uses recovered energy to fill the void left by turbo lag before it spools up. It fattens out the torque curve and provides the push of a larger-engined car. Handling is assisted by the in-house-designed Vehicle Dynamic Control Module based on the MC20's Chassis Domain Control Module . It allows for the taller SUV with varying degrees of chassis slip in the different modes of Comfort, GT, Sport, Race and Off-Road. The Grecale is likeable because it offers an alternative to a bland sector of the market by offering a bit of interior pizzazz and power train flare.

Maserati Grecale road test: Medium SUV hits the high notes

The GT and Modena models are on the market now, with the Trofeo’s MC20 supercar-derived power train due in the next quarter