Car Review: The 2017 Maserati Levante S

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Car Review: The 2017 Maserati Levante S

The SUV opens a new chapter for the Italian automaker traditionally known for its sports cars and sedans

by

George Kuruvilla

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Published: Thu 19 Jan 2017, 11:00 PM

Last updated: Sun 22 Jan 2017, 10:26 AM

Luxury SUVs are big business and there is no dearth of competition with the likes of Range Rover, BMW, Porsche  fighting it out for a share of the sales pie. Recently, Maserati joined the ranks by turning their 2011 Kubang concept into a production model called Levante. In the brand's 103-year-old history, never have they built anything remotely similar to an SUV. So, to rediscover the Italian expressions for style, speed and sound, and to question its credentials as an SUV, we borrowed a 2017 Maserati Levante S. 
DESIGN & AESTHETICS
Maserati is a great brand to own. With its rich racing heritage and hefty price tags, it is considered an automotive nobility. The twitch of the tongue required to pronounce the name itself, in the most Italian way possible, makes it sound exotic. And, of course, any vehicle that flaunts a trident emblem - inspired by the weapon Neptune wields in Bologna's Piazza Maggiore fountain sculpture - will readily poke the ego of other luxury car owners. 
Like past Maseratis, Levante, too, is named after a wind; this one blows across the Mediterranean. With the name, comes some svelte bodywork with shiny livery. 
The Levante is first a Maserati, then an SUV: it is basically the Maserati sedan morphed to look like an SUV. To achieve that look, they jacked up its ride height to give it the SUV stance and carefully bloated the fuselage to give it some extra room on the inside, while chopping off the back. As expected, all Maserati signatures have been retained - like the sharp nose that houses an open-mouthed grille with its vertical chrome slat and slim-profile headlights with LED fixtures. They haven't forsaken the triad of chrome-embellished air vents on the front-side fender, neither have they forgotten the triangulated lights at the rear. As you open the doors, you notice the windows are frameless, which is a nice touch. Visibility is generally good from the driver's seat, thanks largely to having the A-pillar pushed far out and large side-view mirrors, but sight suffers slightly through the rear window. This SUV-obsessed nation would also appreciate the elevated ride height, which can be adjusted to any of the six different levels, thanks to the air suspension technology it is equipped with. 
Do you like carbon-fibre or wood veneers? Do you enjoy the texture of soft-touch plastic and full-grain leather? Hope you do, because the Levante cabin is a luxurious setting wrapped in all that. And there is an Ermenegildo Zegna edition that adds lavish embroidered silk trim to the seats. Apparently, it takes the fashion house some 300km of silk thread to complete one car and it has been developed to have the same durability as leather. The blue blood pedigree of a Maserati shines, quite literally, through the blue lighting on the TFT screen within the instrumentation panel and the blue dials of the Maserati clock. There are a few suspicious plastic bits, but they didn't rattle or squeal during our test drive.
In the rear, passengers appreciated the rear AC vents but preferred to keep the count to two adults. If you have three on board, the centre passenger will be left shortchanged for comfort.  
POWERTRAIN & PERFORMANCE
From the stables of Maranello comes prancing 424 horses and some mighty 580Nm of twist at the crank. I say "prancing" because the twin-turbo 3.0L V6 under the hood has been sourced from Ferrari. It certainly is an emotional piece of machinery! The exhaust makes angry sounds every time you plant your right foot, and the crackling notes between shifts gives your aural senses a little extra to enjoy. 
Off the line, the Levante S will show some hesitation even in sports mode, but as the revs climb, one will feel being thrown back into the seat, momentarily making a spectator of the driver as it hurls itself towards the horizon, comfortably hitting the 100 km/h mark in a brisk 5.2 seconds. On the highway, it is even more of a hoot - the mid-range grunt is immense, and overtaking maneuvers not just hassle-free, but a pleasure. And let that 310km/h speedometer not surprise you: this car is very capable of doing 264 km/h or more if shown an empty stretch. But the lack of a 120km/h denomination in the speedometer got me cockeyed by forcing me to watch and keep the needle a whisker below 120 while speedily navigating traffic as 400-plus horses beckoned.
If you like the quiet solitude enjoyed by royalty, you enjoy the cabin of the Levante, with only the exhaust note seeping through and that is something desirable. The adjustable air springs did their bit to keep the ride stable and composed over most surfaces, but the few jarring surprises came when the low-profile tyres hit the small, camouflaged speed humps. The Levante can be excused only because it is an SUV that can meander through traffic with the dexterity of a sports sedan. There is some feel left to be desired from the hydraulic steering wheel, but the chassis, helped by a double-wishbone and multilink set-up along with the tractive all-wheel drive system, gives you grip everywhere, over sharp corners, over long sweeping ones and even over oil spills, I suppose. 
We didn't have to stop for fuel very often either. Although we managed to figure a few ticks off the claimed 10.9L/100km, we think it fared well in that department. As for C02 emissions, 253 g/km isn't going to eat away large parts of the ozone and, truth be told, the industrialist who can afford this vehicle wouldn't care less! 
FEATURES & FUNCTIONALITY
Our real review begins with a grocery test and the Levante being a first-timer SUV does well here too. Open up the tailgate and you'll find a conveniently square-shaped cargo bay with 580 litres of space. Having a flat loading lip and foldable rear seats help. There is an under tray for your odds and ends, too. Between two vertical air vents is an FCA-scoured infotainment system with a responsive 8.4-inch screen and some good intuitiveness built into the system; it is a big improvement over the Ghibli. It also has an easy arrangement to link up your phone via Bluetooth if you'd rather play your tunes over choices of local RJs. In case you find yourself in your own company, you can fill up the cabin with loads of bass via the Bowers & Wilkins that uses a 1,280W amplifier and 17 speakers.
The fact that HVAC controls are all physical and that there is a knob for volume makes the Levante's cabin an ergonomic set-up. Like other FCA products, like Jeep and Dodge, you have concealed buttons for volume and radio stations behind the wheel that are easy to engage.As expected, with the premium price comes some novel safety features -like Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop & Go function, Forward Collision Warning and Brake Assist System, Lane Departure Warning and Surround View camera with a rather livid perspective, to name a few.
VERDICT
In the raging super SUV battle, the 2017 Maserati Levante S throws a surprise punch. Its trident badge and re-bodied coupe-inspired exteriors will win the hearts of your friends, while its sorted chassis and erratic-but-frantic power delivery will remind you of Maserati's racing heritage. 
Some plastic bits mar the luxury feel and the space-riddled rear seating and suspicious off-road calibre means that it does not fulfill SUV expectations completely. But, overall, as an alternative to the Range Rover Sport, Porsche Cayenne and BMW X5, it fares decently well.  
wknd@khaleejtimes.com
 


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