By Tony Middlehurst / Sunday, January 21, 2024 / Loading comments
It turns out that a long time ago we all had a clever and outdated complaint about SUVs, the latest and, as remarkable as it may seem today, the most unacceptable on the market.
Actually, not long ago. In the late 2000s, SUVs still represented only a small component of the market. Part of the challenge with early SUVs was the perception of monotony in driving. Land Rovers, Shoguns and the like had been around for years, but they were difficult and “real”, so we forgave them for their terrible driving. Perhaps this and the innate conservatism of the market explained why offering the general public the apparent benefits of featuring a high-end double-box design was considered almost heretical.
Whatever, SUV stigma is now very much a thing of the past. Today’s SUVs handle and go as well as many sports cars, let alone much more ordinary vehicles. You really can’t fail to find one that not only answers all your practical needs but also makes you feel good about yourself.
Maserati had a big head on the wellness issue when it announced its first SUV, the Levante. They have been through difficult times in the past, but even in the worst of times, they have managed to control themselves perfectly. -Link filled with fabulous icy GT and race cars. So it’s no surprise that there was a lot of buzz when the Italians brought the all-wheel-drive Levante to the Geneva Motor Show in the spring of 2016.
Maserati has a habit of naming its road cars after tropical winds, of which there turns out to be an inexhaustible supply. The one they chose for their first production SUV evoked an exotic Eastern Mediterranean vibe and, in particular, referenced a Western Mediterranean wind that could simply switch from gentle to violent in an instant. The first two Levantes put on sale in the summer of 2016 were not lacking in blistering performance, with 345 or 424 bhp coming from a Ferrari-supplied F160 3. 0 V6 twin-turbo, but this one actually survived. to the Levante were the V8 derivatives introduced at the 2018 New York Motor Show, for UK sales from mid-2019.
The Levante was based on the Kubang 4. 2 V8 concept from 2011, a much-finished car, so the arrival of a V8 in the production Levante didn’t come as much of a surprise. Maserati’s post-1999 prestige as Ferrari’s luxury department opened up some interesting possibilities. The 3. 8 twin-turbo finally selected was based on the F154 twin-turbo flat V8 that Ferrari used in cars over six hundred hp such as the GTC4Lusso T, Roma and Portofino. The edition assigned to the Levante GTS and Trofeo (and, with other cams and valves, to the Quattroporte GTS) was a smaller displacement crossplaner. In the GTS it evolved 523 hp, in the Trofeo 572 hp, thanks to the ZF 8 hp 8-speed torque converter automatic shown.
No 250 km/h restrictions have been implemented for Levante V8s. Maserati claimed 181 mph for the GTS and a sensational three hundred km/h or 186 mph for the Trofeo, which, if true, was almost enough to remain a Ferrari Purosangue in full view on the roads. That’s why the Trofeo is the Levante we focus on in this buying guide. We came with the GTS, but couldn’t find a single used one for sale in the UK, not even from Maserati. own site used approved, so I didn’t find it very useful. Where are everybody? In fact, there was a plan to sell them here. If this task were accomplished, perhaps those who bought them would end up loving them so much that they would not sell them.
Or maybe the plan to bring GTSs into the UK was quietly dropped because of the V8 Levante’s curious pricing structure. None of the three V8s slated for the UK were cheap. The GTS was the base model at £104,000. From there it was a huge jump to £124,900 for the Trofeo. Clearly, there was going to be more profit in a £125k car than a £105k one, and Maserati sales folk would have been feeling pretty bullish about the Levante in general, so perhaps they were just very good at their job and at persuading customers to go all in on the dearer car.
There was an even bigger leap from the Trofeo to the Launch Edition. One hundred of those were built at a gasp-inducing £159,900. Running on 22-inch wheels they had matt carbon inlays and three unique body paint options (Blu Emozione Matte, Giallo Modenese and Rosso Magma) whose colour was repeated in the stitching of the black leather seats. Other than that, well, we’ve got no idea as to why it was so expensive.
Anyway, if you liked the idea of a Levante but didn’t need such bombastic performance, those two 3.0 petrol V6s were available in right-hand drive form from mid-2017. Before that, it was the 270hp 3.0 V6 diesel or nothing in the UK. From mid-2021 a 325hp mild hybrid/Multiair 2.0 GT with a 0-62mph time of 6.0sec was added to the range.
Unsurprisingly, the high-mileage diesel engines are the higher-capacity Levantes. At the time of writing, in early 2024, you can get one for less than £22,000. V6 petrol engines cost around £26,000, while the new MHEV 2. 0 GT is yet to drop below £40,000 for 40,000 miles. If you think a four-motor mild hybrid Maserati sounds a little silly, and if you can, a three-year-old Trofeo with less than 25,000 miles on it can be bought for less than £70,000. We’ve noticed lighter examples (we’re talking about 35,000 miles) popping up for less than £63,000. In fact, there was one in PH Classifieds at the time we sent this issue. in the last component of this story.
The idea of a used Trofeo for less than the price of a new VW Transporter 2.0 TDi Crew Van should get you stroking your virtual beard, especially when you remember that it’s the last of the V8 line, Maserati having stopped production of all V8-powered cars at the end of 2023.
Cayenne owners who have made the switch to a Levante typically praise the German car’s efficiency while noting the Italian car’s extra ‘soul’ and feeling of driver engagement. Quite a few made that switch too, not just from Porsche but from other premium brands. Numbers were never huge, not at these prices, but by 2019, just three years into its lifecycle, the Levante was accounting for 52 per cent of Maserati UK’s sales.
So who wants a Ferrari Purosangue for more than a part of a million dollars when you can get a Trofeo for at least a tenth of that amount?Okay, we’re having a laugh here, the Purosangue is a 715-hp 6. 5-liter V12 with a Prancing Horse badge, but the Maserati has roughly 600hp (making it the third most powerful production Maserati of all time after the usual 630hp on both models). V12 MC12 Versione Coupe and its spiritual successor, the MC20) and much more. of heritage in this trident badge. A giant, rugged Ferrari Maserati worth a pickup truck. What can go wrong? Hmm, let’s take a look at that.
Engine: 3,799 cc V8 32 V Biturbo Gasoline Transmission: 8-speed automatic, all-wheel drive Power (hp): 572 at 6,250 rpm Torque (lb-ft): 538 at 2,250-5,250 rpm 0-62 mph(s): 4. 1 Top Speed (mph): 188 Weight (kg): 2170 MPG: 17. 7-20. 2 CO2 (g/km): 317Wheels (in): 21Rims: 260/40 (f), 295/35 (r)For Sale: 2015 – 2023New Value (2019): £60,230 Current Price: From £17,000
Note for reference: Knowledge about the car’s weight and horsepower is difficult to identify with absolute certainty. For the sake of consistency, we use the same font for all our guides. We hope that the knowledge we use is more correct than false. Our recommendation is to treat it as relative and not definitive.
The Levante’s twin-turbo 3.8 engine didn’t rev as freely as its Ferrari cousin. To cater for the Maser’s not inconsiderable weight of approaching 2.2 tonnes it was set up for long torque, not just in terms of its headline figure of 538lb ft but also in the 3,000rpm-wide band of revs over which it’s produced.
The European Trofeos achieved 0-100 km/h in 4. 1 seconds, compared to 3. 9 seconds in markets not subject to Euro 6 restrictions. You wouldn’t mind when you turned it on, because even the European-spec Trophy looked epic.
The ZF transmission was reliable and fast for a TC unit, lowering one or two gears as soon as you started it in automatic mode, not when the gearbox wanted it. However, there have been court cases over its occasional transfer to neutral. This was corrected by a software recall involving about 3,300 cars. Some owners have had coolant hoses diverted and/or leaked and there have been some other recalls to replace a potentially fractured hose between the turbocharger and intercooler, although we are not sure if this has affected the Trophy. It’s not a big tank of fuel, so with average consumption figures on the order of teenagers, it’s hard to travel three hundred miles on a full tank.
The warranty is the same as the three-year warranty. Dealerships such as H. R. Owen offer a fixed-price Levante petrol service from £825. We have not been able to find out the express prices of a Trophy. The reason for the developers’ timidity in this regard is regularly explained. We discovered a commensurate mile charge of £7. 18 on a reputable car fleet website, which gives food for thought. Based on this, it’s fair to assume that a Trophy service will charge upwards of £825.
All Levantes were equipped with a double-wishbone front suspension and a multi-ink rear suspension. All were delivered with the “smart” Q4 all-wheel-drive formula and a mechanical limited-slip differential on the rear axle. The Q4 designed to deliver 100 per cent torque to the rear wheels when situations were favourable, expanding to a 50/50 split when not. The asymmetrical blocking of LSD had a 25% locking force and a 35% discount on the accelerator. Torque vectoring is also achieved by applying braking force to the inner wheels. The ABS settings were express for the Trophy.
The Trofeo’s built-in vehicle formula was accompanied by a model-specific Corsa driving mode that incorporates new engine and transmission maps, new and less intrusive traction settings, a new launch service, and faster gear changes. The ride height of the air suspension was lower, and the Skyhook adaptive damping was considered “sportier”. Basically, Maserati engineers had to recalibrate the V8’s suspension to accommodate its extra 60kg of mass compared to the V6.
The Trofeos were fitted with 21-inch forged aluminium wheels like the popular ones, with the 22-inch being an option at launch, although they were later adapted to the popular ones, making the Trofeo the first Maserati to include them. Popular tires were Continental SportContact 6. The brakes were 6-piston metal discs of 380 mm at the front and 330 mm at the rear. How it works can be embarrassing.
Everything worked very well on the road, with stability on the exit of corners and sufficiently accurate (if slow) guidance in the corners. Some owners in Levante have found that the ICE mode is less responsive than they would have liked. Surprise dampers have been known to fail and are expensive. to replace.
Many Levante owners have experienced tire shakes from total lockout. This is not unique to the Levante. Excessive, asymmetrical tyre wear has affected many cars. The alignment of the 4 wheels is helping to avoid any of those problems. Independent specialists will do this for approximately £240.
The Trofeo had the most competitive styling in the Levante range, with aluminium bonnet air vents and a dash of carbon fibre trim front and rear.
With the rear seats in place, there was a moderate luggage area of 580 litres. It’s not the largest trunk in an SUV. Without reducing the rear seats to increase the area to 1,625kg, it wasn’t big enough to hold two golf bags. However, who needs to do it anyway, playing golf is a solitary activity where you can get angry at your own pace without being bothered by others.
Either way, if you can’t keep your nonsense in the trunk, you can tow it, with the Levante being the first Maserati to come with a factory-installed drawbar. It was rated for a 2,700kg braked trailer. There are reports of door handles not working properly.
There was no universal agreement on whether the interior design matched the new value of the Levante. Owners noted a strong similarity between their equipment and that of the significantly less expensive Dodge Challenger, and the panel’s compatibility had more of an American look than a European feel.
The addition of carbon accent pieces has really improved the quality feel of the cabin. It’s a feeling you wouldn’t experience in a car with, say, a more modern interior. The plastics weren’t wonderful either, but Maserati felt that the Trofeo’s “Pieno Fiore” full-grain leather was unlike any other car leather (in the clever sense). This helped as many passengers as possible to find comfort in the Levante’s cabin, although only for five: there was no seven-seater option.
Most of the Trophies were delivered with a 17-speaker Bowers audio system.
Apple CarPlay might crash. The adaptive cruise and auto-braking sensors haven’t been covered in glory either, and the speakers can just explode. Some Levants have introduced the proverbial Christmas tree of caution lights and service precautions, accompanied by force guidance failures. This was regularly due to the poor condition of the battery.
Some passenger seat headrests have been known to rattle slightly when the seat is empty. Back seats and windows rattle too, and there have been complaints about mysterious noises – rattles,you might say – coming from under the car somewhere. There was a 39,000 vehicle recall to rectify short-circuiting seat wiring harnesses caused by rubbing.
Fast, fun, imperfect. It was the three-word summary of the Levante Trophy from a prestigious British magazine. It is possible to apply the same three words to more than one Maserati over the years. Some have tested the loyalty of their owners, and while the reliability and quality of the Levante is soft years away from the top products introduced in the past, there is still that slight sense of uncertainty about the brand. Even now, when you visit Maserati UK’s quirky and clunky website, you wonder if they are aware of it.
We’ve mentioned a few problems in this guide. In all honesty, most of them – particularly the electrical ones – affect other high-end, complex cars too. That doesn’t make them any more annoying though, especially when you’ve laid out such large amounts of money. UK Maserati owners with difficulties have remarked on the paucity of head office support and there are only a dozen or so authorised dealers in the UK network (including Scotland and Northern Ireland) so you may find yourself waiting quite a while for faults to be rectified or services to be booked. Having said all that, there are many reports from delighted Levante owners who have experienced no problems whatsoever.
Maserati stopped making V8 Trofeo models at the end of 2023. From approximately 2025, the Levante will have been absorbed by the electrified Folgore range. Even talking about 745 hp and 3 engines, there will still be those who prefer the explosive smell of gas. to the cold, odorless hum of electricity. If you fall into this category, there’s still time to get your hands on a new IC Levante, but your only possible options from now on (early 2024) are a 330bhp or 430bhp edition of the 3. 0 V6, for £93,000 or £115,000 respectively before extras.
The reason for the gigantic discrepancies between the top-ranked Levant charges has never been clear, apart from the most apparent reason, which is corporate greed. Option packages for lower models also charge big money, £9,000 for GranLusso (different alloys, wood, leather) or GranSport (larger alloys, red brake calipers, some carbon and gloss black parts and a sporty guide wheel). Seriously? Regardless, this is news for used buyers who can take advantage of the inevitable fall and compression of values towards today’s more realistic levels.
Here’s that sub-£63,000 Trophy we discussed in the preview. In an attractive shade of Blu Emozione with a beige interior and 35,000 on the watch, it’s yours for the slightly random sum of £62,791. If it’s a launch edition (isn’t the Blu look very matte?), its depreciation has dropped to $97,000 in 4 and a few years.
Add another seven ks to the pot and you could get this 25,000-mile black-on-black gangstamobile with N-sound
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