Maserati Levante Trofeo review

There’s so much about it that’s very easy not to like, the fact it’s a high and heavy SUV wearing a Maserati badge being merely one of the more obvious. It is also terribly expensive, remarkably cramped in the back given its size, the ride on optional 22in rims varies between acceptable and terrible depending on surface and the interior, while actually quite logically laid out is unimaginative and insufficiently special for a car costing fifty grand more than an Audi SQ8.

Yet I do like the appearance and it can’t be blamed for looking like a Peugeot 2008 because the Maser got there first. But really it’s all about the engine, essentially that of a Ferrari Roma with a crossplane crank. It’s strange because on paper it’s no faster than the aforementioned Audi and slower than a Cayenne Turbo, but in reality it feels more explosive than either. It’s an absolute monster of a motor which brings a sense of occasion to every journey.

For some it could even be grounds to fall for this Levante all by itself. For me writing these words has cleared the fog and what’s left looks like this: despite its conformist positioning, like so many Maseratis, this Levante remains an iconoclast’s car. It’s a more interesting choice than a Cayenne but a less capable one. It’s not a great SUV, much less a great Maserati, but it does offer a faint emotional connection the others do not. And that at least I appreciated.

Maserati Levante Trofeo

Engine: 3799cc, V8, twin-turbo
Transmission: 8-speed auto, 4WD
Power: 572bhp @ 6250rpm
Torque: 538lb ft @ 2000rpm
Weight: 2170kg

Power-to-weight ratio: 264bhp/tonne
0-62mph: 4.1 seconds
Top speed: 188mph
Price: £125,370

Ti rating: 6/10