Maserati's first-ever SUV started out life in Thailand with diesel power. It’s time to forget that.
What’s new?
After launching the Levante in diesel form last year, the Thai Maserati office has added a new variant powered by a petrol engine.
The so-called Levante S comes with 430hp 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6, eight-speed automatic, all-wheel-drive and adjustable suspension.
To exude its sporty credentials, the Levante S is fashioned in Gran Sport outfit featuring 21-inch wheels, red/black leather and carbonfibre interior trim. It’s priced at 12.49 million baht – 4.1 million baht dearer than the 275hp Diesel.
Maserati’s sporty SUV in this particular guise doesn’t really face any direct competition in Thailand. The BMW X6 and Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe aren’t available with 400hp-plus performance.
The closest one would probably be the Porsche Cayenne S (the real rival would be next year’s coupe-like Cayenne) which comes with 440hp 2.9-litre V6 costing 11.4 million baht.
And thanks to special excise tax, the Cayenne can be had with 462hp 3.0-litre petrol-electric hybrid for nearly 4 million baht less. Yes, this specific Cayenne is the one to go for, objectively speaking, as Maserati has yet to go plug-in.
But if you’re escalating this high in the price ranks, fuel economy might not be an issue at all. And with Levante feeling quite dull with an oil-burning engine, the S is should sound a perfect solution for Maserati fans. Can it really be?
What’s cool?
You really can’t ask for more from an engine developing more than 400hp. The S has plenty of mid-range punch in whatever real-world driving conditions and can rev to 6,000rpm to keep petrol heads happy.
Press the drive selector into Sport and the noise of the V6 transforms into an evocative burble, which is most pronounced at idling speeds to already making the driving experience special in city traffic.
Despite the availability of the adaptive suspension, the ride is mostly comfortable even in the presence of those bigger rims and low-profiled, mixed-sized tyres.
Speaking of the wheels, they help give the Levante a muscular appearance suiting the vehicle’s sporty concept well.
The same goes for the racy interior ambience making the Levante a sporty SUV to be in and seen on the road.
Like in the X6 and GLE Coupe, the Levante has frameless door windows and raked roofline; today's Cayenne has a more traditional SUV look.
What’s not?
In spite of that bi-turbo V6, performance is neither explosive nor expansive probably due to power maxxing out at just 5,000rpm, a heavy body weight and slightly lethargic throttle response.
Yes, the most aggressive setting of the drive mode should have made things significantly sharper which it really hasn’t. As well, the sporty exhaust note could have sounded more consistent throughout the rev range.
Alright, this is not a problem of just the S but more an inherent one for the Levante itself. After a couple of rounds in Maserati’s latest cars, the gearshift pattern could have been more intuitive and fluid when swapping between D and R, as an example.
The S handles well in the Levante’s own game with sufficient steering ease and grip, but it kind of lacks the Cayenne’s fluency.
Buy or bye?
Petrol power in a Maserati is certainly here to stay not just in terms of delivering genuine satisfaction to potential buyers but also coping with future legislation. That’s why news indicate that FCA, Maserati’s owner, plans to phase out diesel in the mid-term.
This S model does a couple of things better than the Diesel like catering drivers with more punch and aural zest. But whether that four million baht price premium the S commands is justified is another thing.
Maybe it’s advisable to wait for the lower output version with 350hp because its price point is most likely to fall under 10 million baht when it is launched in Thailand at the end of this year.
After all, the S is more about mid-range punch than top-end power, which is quite safe to suggest that the third variant to come might already suffice.
Just don’t let that semi-electric Por-sha distract you.
