Grecale

SUVs are what sells in large numbers which is why every manufacturer of any size has to have one in the marketplace and one that sells well.
If you watch enough of these online reviews of Maseratis the drone about inferior switchgear and even some of the materials utilized is overwhelming. They refer to so many things being Chrysler sourced. Sometimes they get it very wrong but that doesn't prevent them from positing the impression that the Maseratis are gussied up Chryslers or Dodges. I'm not sure that's ever going change due to who owns Maserati and the corporate alliances.

The guys who did this review clearly think a lot of this SUV and they liked the Levante Trofeo they drove a few years back as well. They harped about the interior in the levante being a disappointment but in looking at other cars they compared to Maserati's highest spec (most power) SUVs to those from from Mercedes, Audi and BMW it's clear that reviewers are quite dazzled with lots of technological wizardry in the interiors. Maserati doesn't have the resources to develop that aspect in their interiors and that's been one of the constant complaints about the Modern Maseratis ever since their reemergence in 2002. I find the interior of the current top Audi comparable to the Levante Trofeo overwhelmingly complex but they go gaga over this stuff

With this Grecale apparently they've eliminated a lot of switchgear and put it on the touch screen. I don't think that would work for me while driving as I have a lot of trouble with touchscreens, My touch seems to be incompatible whether it's on a stove, microwave or in a car. Often it takes several attempts and I usually am aided by having something to bridge my hand on. In my current SUV the touch areas ARE broken up in sections with something to bridge on and that helps but even so, you have to take your eyes off of the road. You cannot feel your way around like you can on rotating knobs or physical buttons/switches. One of the reviewers makes mention of this. With this huge display that controls most things including the transmission I think that may be off putting to many. I know I would never buy this car for that reason alone.

It's interesting to note that with their association with Chrysler they're now adopting the push button transmission controls just like the mid 1950's Chryslers had. It's across the middle of the touchscreen at the bottom. I saw a beautiful collection of mid 50's Chrysler, mostly Ghia bodied show cars last weekend at the Greenwich Concours. The Desoto was a spectacular looking design.

The Grecale looks to me to be a bit undersized for us whereas the Levante seems more right sized but it's a dying platform based upon the Ghibli III platform. And no ... it has nothing to do with a Jeep Trackhawk. These guys really liked the Levante with a Ferrari V8 in it and on the used market there are some reasonable cars out there that go like stink and apparently handle VERY well.

But when I saw a YouTube video of one with engine all out and everything hanging off it It looked an awful lot like my how my Ghibli Open Cup car is put together. Of course it's all updated and much more robust but ... It's a biturbo with the water cooled turbos hanging down under the exhaust manifolds with all of those hoses and cables plus the air-to-air intercoolers up front with large air filter boxes off on each side and a mechanical rear limited slip ZF diff.

It's a scary sight to see if you've ever worked on something like that and I have. BTW Audis are just as terrifying ... all cars are now.

Electric cars are mechanically so much simpler but they terrify in other ways ... fires than can take your house down.

It's a brave new world.

If there's a Trofeo version and for Christ's sake Maserati should have one there then drive that as it sounds like they got quite a bit right.

 

Oh there here alright. I saw a lovely green one (with black interior yuk!) in my bank's parking lot a month ago. I haven't seen one on the road yet. I saw my first MC20 just last weekend on the road and I live in a very jaded car area. There's a white Mclaren partially parked across my driveway as I'm typing this. So MC20s are still very rare around here. Lots of Levantes for years already.
The electronic nannies have arrived and are here to stay. Wait until till you experience the lane deviation nanny, you're going to just love that! LOL.

 

Well this should help sales ...



These are Audi, BMW, Porsche guys.

They dumped on every Maserati made including a fake one, the Chrysler TC. Only the original Ghibli got a slight positive remark.