In 2023, Maserati is swinging for the fences at both ends of the lineup. Near the top of the batting order sits the new GranTurismo, the epic, well, gran turismo coupe with a price tag circling $200K, a design made to draw stares and an interior worthy of a true luxury brand. But the utility player whose success may wind up actually determining the company’s fate sits at a much lower price point: the Grecale sport-utility vehicle.
The Grecale is, in many ways, meant to be an Italian equivalent of the Porsche Macan — not just in size and performance, but in its mission to become a volume leader for its company and help subsidize the cost of those killer sports cars, all without diluting the values and virtues that made the brand what it is. To find out how well it succeeds at that, we took it for two separate spins on two different continents.
The 2023 Maserati Grecale: What We Think
Maserati’s second stab at an SUV isn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination. Still, given the immense level of competition in the luxury SUV market, it’s hard to make a case for purchasing it instead of one of its foes. The full-throated Trofeo model is dastardly quick, but its six-figure price makes it hard to justify, especially since it looks largely identical to its lesser siblings; the lower-priced volume models are a better value, but still not quite top-of-class in terms of quality. Unless you’re an Italian car die-hard or have long dreamed of parking a Maserati in your driveway, cars like the Macan and BMW X3 / X4 pack better build quality and equal or greater performance for similar or less money.
The Grecale is plenty fun to drive
Will Sabel CourtneyI had the chance to drive two different versions of the Grecale in two very different environments: the 523-hp top-shelf Grecale Trofeo on the farm roads outside Rome, Italy, and the 325-hp mid-tier Grecale Modena on the roads of and around New York City. The former makes its potent pack of ponies using a version of the same 3.0-liter twin-turbo engine found in the MC20 supercar and GranTurismo; the Modena, like oh so many vehicles these days, uses a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four.
The Trofeo model, as you’d expect, is damn quick, ripping up to redline with vigor and propelling the car forward with the sort of alacrity that will have you very quickly believing Maserati’s claim of a 177-mph top speed. But the Modena is no slouch, either, especially once you click the Porsche-like drive mode selector into Sport to keep the engine purring in the heart of its power band. And while leaving the eight-speed automatic to make its own choices will produce the quickest results, the massive metal paddle shifters behind the wheel are just too dang fun not to use. Both models are entertaining in the curves, too, thanks to quick, sharp steering and well-sorted suspensions. All told, few crossovers deliver this much fun on a winding road.
