Maserati Grecale GT luxury SUV with 300 hp and 450 Nm from $78,500

Maserati has been giving its cars names based on the winds that blow in the Mediterranean area for almost 60 years. The Grecale term, whose car version we see here, comes from around the famous Greek island of Zakynthos. The new Maserati Grecale tells an intriguing story for the Italians. It comes six years after the Maserati Levante and goes right into the fire, competing with cars like the Porsche Macan and BMW X4.

Grecale has a big ace up his sleeve, though. The Giorgio platform, which it shares with the Alfa Romeo Stelvio, makes sure things are dynamic. And that's important because the Stelvio has been one of the most fun SUVs to drive so far.

The Maserati treatment includes elegant lines, Trident logos, and brand-specific ornaments, but I didn't quite understand why the front part casually reminds us of a Ford Puma. Still, don't be fooled. The Maserati Grecale SUV is almost 4.9 meters long and 2 meters wide, but the person driving it won't notice that immediately.

From the moment you open the driver's door, which has a Fiat 500e-style electronic drive system, the interior is really nice. We have the best leather and soft-touch materials, but the red upholstery of the model we tested, which is part of a limited edition called PrimaSerie, makes people dream. The Italians have decided to make their interactions with Grecale not only more expensive, but also more high-tech. Most of the physical buttons have been taken away, and where the gear selector used to be is now a touch screen that controls the climate system. Even the tall Maserati clock has been replaced by a screen that can be changed.

In the middle is a 12.3-inch touchscreen that runs on an Android-based operating system called Maserati Intelligent Assistant. There is also a panel behind the steering wheel that has the same diagonal shape. It has nice but distracting graphics, but you can still see the classic-looking digital dials. The Sonus Faber sound system is another exciting part of the interior. With 21 speakers all over the inside of the car, the sound is very clear and has a power of 1,285 watts.

But you'll want the music to go slower when you turn on the car or when you want to use the big paddles behind the steering wheel. Even though the Maserati Grecale GT version (the base model) only has a two-liter engine under the hood, its sound never disappoints us. At least in Sport mode, the quad exhaust sounds mean, building up to a deep growl as soon as the gears change above 5000rpm. Even with 300 HP and 450 Nm, you need to get the impression that you're dealing with a very fast SUV.

The Maserati Grecale GT weighs only 1,870 kilograms because it was made with a lot of lightweight materials like aluminum and carbon fiber. The car looks sporty, and the eight-speed automatic transmission, which was made in collaboration with ZF, makes it even better. However, you should drive it as much as possible in manual mode. The steering is precise and has almost perfect assistance, and the suspension keeps you stuck to the road and absorbs many bumps.

But we all thought the Maserati Grecale would be easy to drive. How does it do in real life? Long-distance travel on board is definitely very comfortable. The space is big enough that even tall people can find a comfortable spot in the back seats. The trunk can hold 535 liters with the backrest up, but I found something even more interesting: the car's paperwork is wrapped in a fine leather cover. What else could you ask for?

In fact, this is also a good reason to send at least $78,500 to the Maserati accounts. When you get the keys to a new Grecale, you feel more like a VIP than when you're on some of the competition from Germany.

But if you're not happy with the GT or Modena version (which has the same two-liter engine but 30 more hp), you should check out the Maserati Grecale Trofeo. The second one has the same Nettuno V6 engine as the Maserati MC20 supercar. Even though it has "only 530 hp" compared to the super sports car's 630 hp, the Maserati Grecale Trofeo can still reach 100 km/h in less than four seconds, and its top speed is a dizzying 285 km/h.

But in terms of raw speed, even the GT is alright. The 5.6 seconds it takes to go from 0 to 100 km/h can be counted even with an app on the multimedia system. From here, you can also measure how fast you can run 200 or 400 meters or test how quickly you can stop.

But the Maserati Grecale Folgore electric car, which will come out in 2023, might be the most interesting version. We don't know much about it except that it will have one of the biggest batteries ever put on an EV (105 kWh). But one thing is for sure: it won't sound like a Maserati anymore.

The Maserati Grecale is just as fast as the Alfa Romeo Stelvio, but it has a more luxurious look. Fans of the brand won't like that the interior no longer has buttons. Fans should have spent their time on something other than waiting for the new family SUV. The Maserati trident is proudly displayed on the Grecale and the base engine.