When you hear the name Maserati Levante, you’ll immediately think that it were a flamboyant Italian super car. However, it’s the complete opposite here. It’s a rather sedate looking 4x4 which is trying to be a sports sedan. Does the Levante suffer from an identity crisis?
The standard Levante and Levante S are powered by a turbocharged 3-liter six-cylinder engine. The Levante S gets the more powerful output. GTS and Trofeo are powered by a more potent 3.8-turbo six-cylinder engine. Pick of the bunch depends upon what you desire the most from your Levante. If you are trying to find the most sensible of the range, the entry-level is the way to go. You can even pick the Levante S if you want a bit more flexibility on the highway. The GTS and Trofeo trims are outrageously quick but also command a pretty hefty premium. Which makes it a little hard to justify, especially if you consider the shortcomings the Levante has and they come in the bucket loads.
Driving the Levante isn’t one of those short comings however. Steering feedback is smooth and linear around town and weighs up nicely on faster paced roads. Ride comfort is smooth and easy to live with, if you avoid the larger alloy wheel options. What we like the most about the Levante is despite it being such a massive 4x4, it doesn’t feel that way when driving around town. It doesn’t feel cumbersome and overall visibility is pretty good. Wind and road noise are well suppressed, although you can hear a bit of wind whistle from the wing mirrors. We’d personally say that’s just nitpicking.
Here is where things begin to fall apart for the Levante. The electronic gear selector is infuriating to operate. It’s quite easy to select the wrong gear when trying to do a quick maneuver. You’ll have to really get used to the setup before making any type of quick turns with traffic slowly creeping up from behind. Also, the interior just doesn’t live up to the six-figure price tag that this 4x4 can easily creep into. While, it is a nice touch that Maserati has their logo everywhere to remind you of what car you are in. Many of the switchgear looks like they’ve been borrowed from Chrysler’s parts bin, and many of them feel cheap and nasty. There is plenty of space for four, while a fifth person aboard may feel shortchanged on space in the rear due to the large transmission tunnel and somewhat confined middle seat accommodations. The boot space is pretty generous even though we find it quite strange that a third-row seat isn’t even on the options list considering the Levante is larger than a Volvo XC90 by almost five inches.
Each engine choice the Levnate has comes with three different trim levels to choose from. The standard Levante with the standard 3-liter turbo six-cylinder is our pick of the range. It comes fitted standard with the following; 19-inch alloy wheels, Bi-xenon headlights, adaptive air-suspension and 8.4-inch infotainment display. You’ll have to step up to the GranLusso to add 14-speaker Harman Kardon, ventilated front seats and gloss black painted brake calibers. Top tier Gransport comes with 20-inch alloy wheels, 12-way power sport seats, black roof rails and sporty exterior styling.
The Levante is fun to drive and full of charm. We just wish the interior didn’t feel like it came from a Chrysler’s parts bin and the electronic gear selector is way too fiddly for our tastes.
Likes: It’s a charming crossover with thumping turbo engine choices. It could be seen as the Ferrari of crossovers, of course until Ferrari launches a crossover itself.
Dislikes: The electronic gear selector is way too fiddly to operate. The interior doesn’t live up to the price tag. Reliability is iffy as well as the residuals.
Overall: Despite looking rather sedate. It’s actually charming and very engaging to drive.
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