The mid-size family SUV space has become somewhat congested, even at the luxury end of the market. It’s a segment dominated by the Porsche Macan, with other contenders throwing their hat in the ring to claim a piece of the pie. The Range Rover Velar and Jaguar F-Pace are other strong contenders, although Jaguar has gone in a new direction and Porsche is shifting the Macan into an all electric future. Given some of the market reticence around EVs, does that open the door for something like the Maserati Grecale Trofeo?
The starting point is the price. The model tested comes in at £109,360 which is very expensive. It starts at £98,640. The Macan Turbo Electric starts at £96,900, pretty much the same as the Maserati Grecale Trofeo. Everyone knows how Porsche’s options list works, so that’s a six-figure car now, too. Will the Grecale Trofeo’s point of difference become its magnificent V6? There’s certainly an opportunity for it.
The Macan GTS still exists for the time being though, with an entry price of £75,000. Even with generous clicking through the options list it’s unlikely to reach £97,000, so that remains a threat for now. The Cayenne Turbo e-Hybrid, to continue to use Porsche as a point of reference, starts at £139,000.
So, how you perceive the Grecale Trofeo is an essential component in ascertaining its value. It’s bigger and quicker than a Macan GTS, smaller and slightly slower than a Cayenne Turbo e-Hybrid. It’s priced bang slap in between the two. For what it’s worth I really like the Macan and Cayenne; I also really like the Grecale Trofeo. Allow me to expand on that.
Living with the Maserati Grecale Trofeo
I’m unsure the Macan comparisons are quite right. It’s bigger in every respect, literally and on paper. There’s more space and more power. Yet it’s not quite as gargantuan as, say, a Range Rover Sport. Has Maserati pitched the Grecale, somehow, into its own niche category?
Comparisons are inevitable, so much so that we’ve opened with them. The Grecale Trofeo is more engaging than a Range Rover Sport and cheaper than cars such as the Audi RSQ8 and Aston Martin DBX707. But it is a lot more expensive than a Macan or the recently finished Jaguar F Pace SVR.
The interior is first class and everything feels robust. The press demonstrator ticked past 10,000 miles on my return from Blackburn (I went to Blackburn in it; I know where the good times are), which is positively ancient by press demonstrator standards. Yet the Maserati Grecale Trofeo was showing no signs of such age.
It does the long-distance, modern-day GT stuff impeccably. I found no cause for complaint in covering 500 miles in a single day. The seats and ride quality were brilliant and it chipped away at the journey with consummate ease. The Nettuno V6 provided all the required grunt to keep the journey progressing from any speed. It really is an exceptional motorway cruiser.
Around town it’s perfectly amenable, although the more sporting gait is sometimes exposed by potholes and speedbumps. It’s not quite as graceful as more luxuriously appointed others.
The surround view camera at £1000 is an option worth having. The Grecale is rather large, so the added security in car parks is useful. One package you can avoid is the ADAS driver assistance at £1440. The blind spot monitor is okay, but it has a hissy fit when changing lanes after overtaking on the motorway.
What’s the Maserati Grecale like to drive?
One thing that does enhance the driving experience is the lack of interference from the safety systems elsewhere. You can switch off lane keep assist and speed limit warnings once and they stay off. It doesn’t mollycoddle you to the point of distraction with all manner of beeps and bongs, although I’m unsure how Maserati has gotten away with that given the tyrannical imposition of such safety features upon the automotive industry.
Anyway, this is the Maserati Grecale Trofeo, so the real judgement must be reserved for how well it performs in a sporting context. Judge it on its own merits and there’s an awful lot to like. It’s hilariously quick and the chassis is engaging. The rear isn’t afraid to rotate around you. It’s more playful than a Macan, less clinical in how it goes about its business.
It’s engaging along a B-road, although the ride becomes bouncy along the UK’s more undulating and potholed surfaces. There’s one stretch I like to test cars along at 50mph and it brought to mind the previous generation Range Rover Sport SVR in the way it suddenly felt as though it’s got a very high centre of gravity as the chassis lurched left and right.
There was no sense that control would ever be ceded, but it struggled for internal balance. Stiffening the suspension by putting it into sport definitely helped and this is easily achieved by a press of a button in the drive mode dial on the steering wheel. It pays to be prepared for the circumstances.
The steering is nicely judged and you can work with the traction available along country roads. You can get into a rhythm quickly and it’s very much towards the enjoyable end of the SUV spectrum.
Power and performance in the Maserati Grecale Trofeo
There is an unholy, class-leading amount of power available to you here. The 3ltr twin-turbo V6 is the Nettuno unit first rolled out in Maserati’s MC20 supercar. It’s detuned here but produces a surprising level of power and performance. 530hp and 620Nm of torque are sufficient to shove this two-ton family wagon from 0-62mph in 3.7secs. Perhaps more impressively, it keeps delivering that punch from higher speeds, making motorway journeys effortless.
The Maserati Grecale Trofeo leans back then shoots forward. Whilst the engine note isn’t as sonorous as some of its forbears, there is an amusing rasp from the exhaust on upshifts under heavy acceleration. It was a noise I never tired of hearing.
Equally impressive are the brakes; this thing just stops. Even on damp, December UK roads, the way it comes to a halt is deeply impressive. Which is just as well given the speed you can so quickly be carrying.
The penalty for all this aggression is fuel consumption. Across 604.3 miles of driving I achieved 20.1mpg. You could certainly eke out a more frugal experience, but then you might as well go ahead and opt for the Modena or GT version of the Grecale. Getting the Grecale Trofeo to do what it does so well is thirsty work.
It’s all too tempting to rotate the dial on the steering wheel round to sport and let it rip. You can also pop it into manual mode via a press of the gear selectors located between the two screens of the infotainment system. This brings into play the exaggerated, long metal leavers. The Maserati Grecale Trofeo is quite short geared, so there’s an added layer of engagement to be found here.
Conclusion
Left in GT the rest of the time, however, and the Maserati Grecale Trofeo was the perfect companion. It’s practical and, for the contrarian, unique. I only saw two other Grecales on my travels, which speaks to the car’s rarity yet also its struggles. There’s no escaping that price point.
I do, however, feel it’s somewhat unfair to compare this to a Macan. It’s bigger, more powerful and quicker than it, yet smaller than a Cayenne, slotting in between the two both in terms of stature and price. Perhaps Maserati should’ve made the Grecale smaller and pitched directly into the eye of the mid-size SUV storm.
It has its own distinct character though. The V6 plays a fundamental role in that, extracting a surprising level of performance from a car of this size. You could argue that by positioning it in the middle, the Grecale is neither here nor there, but if you want plenty of space and performance, it emphatically delivers.
The boot is massive, rear passenger space is ample and on a long trudge along the M6, M40 and M25, it positively wiled away the miles without inducing a longing for the journey to end. It’s a deeply impressive car in its own right. The super-SUV segment is a curious market. Big, brash, overpowered; they must be all things to all drivers. The Maserati Grecale Trofeo is an interesting addition to the segment, being more flamboyant than clinical.
Perhaps rather than making would-be Macan purchasers wonder whether they should spend more to acquire one, it should be asking would-be Cayenne buyers if they should spend less to acquire one. It’s certainly worth a look. There’s certainly plenty to recommend it, from sleek looks and plentiful performance to a luxuriously appointed cabin.