Arguably the most important and influential Maserati in a generation has landed in
Australia. It has five doors, an SUV body shape, and in this case, a turbo petrol four-cylinder
engine under the bonnet. It's called the Maserati Grecale mid-size SUV. It might
not be the MC20 or the Gran Turismo's super car that you know and love but the truth is,
that it is vital for their survival. So question is, does the Grecale beat
the Porsche Macan and a slew of other European sporty SUVs at their own game? Let's find out.
The Grecale, named after a wind that blows around the Mediterranean Sea, follows the Levante as
Maserati's second SUV installment. It shares architecture with the Alfa Romeo Stelvio and is
designed to compete with the Porsche Macan, Jaguar F-PACE, and German mid-size options including the
BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLC. The three-model Grecale range opens at $110,000 before on-road
costs, topping out at $165,000 for the twin-turbo V6 Trofeo flagship. Here we have the mid-spec
Modena which is priced as such, just shy of $130,000 before on-road costs. Even at that money,
the after-sales provisions of the Grecale are nothing to write home about. An outdated
three-year warranty and expensive servicing costs to match. But the swoopy and stylish mid-size SUV
sure does have presence on the road. Our Bianco White example turning plenty of heads with its
gaping air intakes and optional 21-inch wheels. There are two engine options available in the
Maserati Grecale and today, we're concentrating on the two-liter turbo petrol four-cylinder that
powers both the GT and the Modena driven here. It outputs 243 kilowatts and 450 Newton meters,
and send drive to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. Now, official
nought to 100 time is listed at 5.2 seconds along with a top speed of 240 Ks an hour. Those
figures are thanks in part to some mild electric assistance offered by a 48-volt starter generator.
The interior of the Grecale almost presents like a reset of sorts for Maserati. That's
because there is a really digital veneer to the entire interior and mostly to good effect. Lots
of digital screens, minimal focus on physical buttons and switch gear, a digital clock, and even
a digital-like release for the door handle, that button there. But with that said, even Maserati
had to give in to the legal requirement for a mechanical switch underneath, which can look a
little bit fussy. With all that said, I feel like they've done a great execution of a lot
of traditional analog features. Beautiful Italian leather throughout the interior, a nice, low-slung
driving position which really cultivates feeling and feedback through the cabin, and great storage
and space all round. The interior covers the basics where charging and storage are concerned,
and above all, it feels quite special. Dressed in quality materials and well put together.
Now, for infotainment, pretty much everything you see here is controlled via two touchscreens.
They're very nicely presented and integrated and its sole reliance on both those screens,
which would ordinarily be a bit of a cause for concern. But that's not the case with the Grecale
because as you can see here, everything is basically permanently presented. So,
it means you don't have to go through various sub menus for basic functions like recirculated air or
changing the control temperature, and that means less distraction while you're on the move. The
other clever feature here, it is a bit foreign, but the gear selectors are actually included into
the center fascia as well, which liberates a little bit more space for odds and ends. It
looks neat and it's quite practical on the go. And one of the redeeming features I also like,
traditional Maserati, you can pull the car into neutral using the paddles or pull it into drive
as well, which is a nice sort of throwback touch. But in terms of the operation of the screens,
the integration of Apple CarPlay, it's actually really well executed. The screens themselves are
quick to react to inputs and I feel like they lead to minimal distraction on the road. The
Maserati covers most of our basic infotainment checklist on test, but there's a catch. Head-up
display is an optional extra. The safety add-ons are much the same, with traffic sign recognition
part of an optional $7,000 pack. But everything else on our checklist is covered standard. For me,
one of the real surprises of the Grecale is rear seat space, especially when you consider it's only
4.8 meters long. That's largely on account of the almost three-meter wheelbase but inside, it
translates to pretty generous knee room, headroom and shoulder room. Certainly within the scope of
two adults or a couple of kids alike. You've also got soft contact points, a pretty open window
line, and nice incidental storage as well. The rear seat offers separate climate control switch
gear and outlets, plus separate charging points along with handy split-fold levers to stow the
seat back. Meanwhile, the boot area is long but narrow in dimension, offering ample space for a
designer pram or a couple of full-size suitcases. A separate 12-volt power outlet and powered
tailgate are included, but a tire inflation kit is fitted in lieu of a spare. Okay, so the
Grecale has the Trident badge, it has the on-road presence, and it has the special interior inside,
but is it a vehicle that makes you feel special from behind the wheel? Because
that's what we're really chasing here, right? That emotional attachment that sets a Maserati apart,
traditionally, from its competitive set. Well, I have to say, based on our initial first drive,
it's a little bit of yes and a little bit of no in response to that question. Yes, because the
Maserati gets a lot of the basics right. You're really low-slung in the cabin, you have beautiful
furnishings at all the contact points, and it gets most of the basics right in terms of key
tuning of the controls. The steering, the brake pedal in particular is really nicely modulated,
and it definitely feels European and sporty from behind the wheel. The other
really complimentary feature with this car is that it feels smaller than it really is,
and I think that's a really redeeming handling quality of any car, especially an around-town SUV.
With all of that said though, the Grecale isn't perfect. For me, the four-cylinder powertrain in
the GT and the Modena lacks character given it's wearing a Maserati badge. And the ride, as well,
it's a little bit fiddly on B-grade roads. Certainly not disconcerting with the way that it
goes about its business. It's fairly compliant, feels fairly well-balanced and it feels light
as well, especially over the nose, but it just doesn't have that typical handling resolve that
other offerings like the Porsche Macan managed to strike, you know, that really nice compliance,
big footprint, and nice sort of balance, and balanced against a really nice handling set
as well. You know, really able to lean on the tires, make the most of the grip available.
Instead, the Grecale just feels just that little bit unresolved. Little bit brittle
over sharper bumps in the road, bigger washouts it recovers from fairly commendably but it just
takes a little bit longer to recover itself over bumps in the road. Certainly not bad,
but not quite as good as the Porsche Macan. Now, the drivetrain, if I change to sport mode,
instantly, there is a bit more grunt, a little bit more peppiness from the drivetrain, but it just,
it lacks that character. It lacks that presence that you really kind of come to expect
from a Maserati. In regular conveyance, the drivetrain has a sort of natural elasticity
to it. It's kind of like, I liken it to a Golf GTI kind of hot hatch engine. So it definitely
gets up and moves, but it has an elasticity to it when you're pulling away from the curbside
and it's brisk rather than all-out fast. That's fine for a hot hatch, but for a
$130,000 Maserati SUV, doesn't quite feel as though it's cutting the mustard. And I think the
biggest disservice to this car is the fact that you can buy a Porsche Macan GTS for similar money,
and that that has the stonking V6 petrol powertrain, loads of grunt, you know,
a scary amount of speed, really, if you really wanna hook into it. This moves.
It makes an okay note but probably not where I expected it to be. An $80,000 SUV, fine. $130,000
Maserati, it's not quite doing it for me in a performance capacity. But I think if we strip
this car back and we think about what it's gonna be used for, and really, it's A to B commuting,
it's soccer training, it's school runs, it's runs to the shop. It does all that fairly well.
Summing up, we describe the Grecale as competent and nippy, if a little shy on character. It lacks
the vault-like road handling of the Macan and the F-PACE. But for much of the intended audience,
that isn't likely to matter. Ultimately, as a driving enthusiast, it's the Trofeo version of
the Grecale that I'm really personally interested to test. But even so, this mid-spec Modena,
I think does what it sets out to achieve. It's sensible, it's smartly packaged for an SUV,
it's exotic enough, and it's quite nice to drive. Does it match or exceed the Porsche Macan in terms
of its well-roundedness? Not quite, but it's a pretty good interpretation. And being the first
of the Grecale SUVs, I think it's a pretty good sign of what's to come from the Maserati brand.