Source: Maserati
The Maserati Levante Trophy of $149,990 stores a large amount of DNA with his unborn brother. And he has an enviable spirit.
The Maserati Levante Trophy of $149,990 stores a large amount of DNA with his unborn brother. And he has an enviable spirit.
Source: Maserati
Source: Maserati
The dominant I have of the Maserati Levante Trophy 2020 SUV is that of speed.
Maserati’s 590-horsepower dual-core V8 is faster than its giant SUV and the brand’s slow recent history in the sedan category could involve this.
On paper, the Levante Trophy, the most sensible of Maserati’s existing SUV line, is faster and harder than a valuable competition like the 541-horsepower Porsche Cayenne Turbo ($127,800). It’s almost equivalent, at $149,900, more expensive than the 600-horsepower BMW X5M, which starts at $105,100. But thanks to the giant component at the 538 pound-feet of torque and the fact that it stores a lot of generation with the Brother Ferrari logo under the aegis of Fiat-Chrysler, it also feels fast. For me, that visceral feeling is worth a lot more than your papers say.
I recently had a Levante Trophy with an impressive blue bugle that goes up Route 101 in Los Angeles with the unique insistence and fury of Italian sports cars of the two-door variety. Prius and Tesla’s unsuspecting drivers turned their heads when the “Mazza” (as our friends in England say) passed them off like a cannonball. For me, it’s the aspect of functionality that’s much more exciting than just beating someone on the line. (Boring!) A vehicle’s ability to bend to, say, 50 mph and effortlessly jump to 80 mph is much more dominant on the steering wheel. In daily driving, I find it much more useful as well.
The Maserati Levante Trophy maintains such propulsion with such complicated ease does not deserve to be a surprise. Underneath its chiselled aluminum hood is the V8 engine, updated for 2020, which Ferrari is building at its factory in Maranello, Italy. The car is faster than last year’s version, with a speed of 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and a more sensitive speed of 189 mph. It’s combined with popular four-wheel drive and the perfect eight-speed automatic transmission that’s flexible and efficient. Better yet, it comes with five driving modes, adding a new and popular Corsa mode that, when activated, hardens the suspension, reduces frame height, directs force to the rear wheels, reduces the electronic guide on the guide wheel, accelerates gear settings and adds freeing the control.
Whether you’re climbing a hill in Angelino Heights or entering the traffic of I-5, the Levante Trophy responded without delay to what you needed, without hesitation, without wobble, no drama. (Well, there was drama on this characteristic note of the Ferrari engine; if you like fast cars, love that sound).
I felt this beautiful cornucopia of Italian performances, a real escape gift from this fourth month of pandemic crisis, but I did not take an exotic direction with the Levante Trophy. I didn’t check on a track day full of a lot of time trials either. On the contrary, one day I took my nieces to the (newly opened) beach of Venice; another day we took the car to Pasadena for an afternoon of walking around the roses in a botanical garden located there.
I took him to the airport and supermarket, as well as the curved peaks of Mulholland Drive to feel him stretch as the sunlight stretched, shone and ended up diving under the remote Pacific horizon. The excellence of the Levante Trophy became transparent when it made those rather mundane readers feel special. From the leather guide wheel with a pitchforch, with its reinforced frame height, prolonged visibility, double glazed panoramic sunroof and accessibility to all the buttons on the center console, I felt like a queen.
Maserati gave us a new interior logo in the Levante Trophy (trophy means trophy in Italian; in this case, it refers to more settled high-end versions of the Maserati line). Many of the devices become popular and paints to make them truly real: Apple CarPlay, its Bowers-Wilkins 17 speakers, adaptive cruise control, front collision alarm, surround view and parking cameras. The heated and ventilated sports seats adjustable in 12 instructions were incredibly comfortable and supported, even after several hours behind the wheel. There is enough area in the back seat to accommodate two adults and a child with wonderful comfort, plus enough back door area for giant furry towels, vibrant beach balls, plastic buckets and even circus-style umbrellas for sun-burned beach tours.
The interior, in fact, is up to the brilliant excellence promised through the beautiful external appearance, which, after a natural ride and agile performance, are what I like most about this vehicle. Special Trophy LED headlights and 22-inch wheels are standard, as are the car’s carbon fiber accents, such as lower separators and grille sheets; brake pads painted in bright blue with Maserati inscription; and fog lighting fixtures and LED taillights. I enjoyed the double vents on the aluminum hood, placed like widened nostrils, and the way the sides of the car pinch like the waist in Dior’s new look.
The rack lines (for an SUV), the arched bonnet and the trident badges of the Levante Trofeo do not correspond to the emblematic shapes that one of the oldest and most esteemed luxury brands in Italy produced decades ago: look for “Maserati 3500GT” or “Original Maserati Ghibli”, but allude to the pedigree. In a sea of similar SUVs basically grouped around the Audi, Porsche, Bentley, Lincoln, Genesis and Infiniti families today, the Levante Trophy is one of the few recognizable luxury SUVs in the existing market.
The disorders I have with this Maserati are relatively minor, but it’s worth mentioning: the inner leather can be softer and the dials less plastic, and the double steering wheel indicators seem a little empty for which we are used to seeing 3 or four. (or five) circular meters spread across our line of sight.
Fortunately for Maserati fans, the availability of the Levante Trophy was not compromised by any production blockade caused by Covid-19. According to a Maserati spokesperson, 2020 models are already in dealerships and can be purchased.
Praise will come when you drive one. The Levante Troefo is Maserati’s.