All-new mid-size Italian SUV to pack up to 390kW; EV version of Maserati’s answer to Porsche Macan to come
The 2022 Maserati Grecale has made its world debut – six years after the Italian car-maker shocked the world by daring to introduce its first-ever SUV, the Levante.
Scheduled for global release in the second half of 2022, the all-new mid-size Italian SUV – Maserati’s answer to the Porsche Macan – was unwrapped at a glittering event in Milan, Italy that was live-streamed to an international audience.
Named after a north-easterly Mediterranean wind, the Levante’s smaller SUV sibling was originally planned to be launched last November 2021 until it was hit with big production delays due to both the global pandemic and on-going semi-conductor shortage.
At first glance, the Grecale looks like a mini-Levante as far as styling goes, but designers have been careful to slip more than a little MC20 supercar into the Grecale’s design to add visual punch. It’s smart and muscular but not especially daring or radical, with designers playing it safe for Maserati’s smallest SUV yet.
When it finally arrives, the big news is the Grecale will be offered with mild-hybrid, pure-electric and traditional combustion engines led by a development of the MC20 supercar’s Nettuno 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V6.
Created to sit below the aforementioned Levante, the Grecale measures in at 4859mm long, 1979mm wide and 1659mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2901mm. That makes it a full 133mm longer, 57mm wider and 38mm taller than the Porsche Macan, which has a 94mm shorter wheelbase.
The relative long wheelbase provides the Grecale with class-leading levels of space, claims Maserati, plus a large boot space of up to 570 litres (82L more than the Macan).
Under the bonnet, from launch the new Maserati SUV will be offered with just two engines – a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder with mild-hybrid tech and a version of the MC20’s twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6.
The electrified 2.0-litre turbo powertrain combines a belt-starter generator, 48-volt battery and an e-booster supercharger, and will be offered with two power outputs – 221kW (in GT trim) and 243kW (Modena), both with the same 450Nm of torque.
The addition of the electric compressor ensures the small 2.0-litre delivers lag-free acceleration from idle, says Maserati.
Combined with an eight-speed automatic and all-wheel drive as standard, even the least powerful Grecale can sprint to 100km/h in 5.6 seconds, claims Maserati.
Need more power and the 243kW Grecale Modena obliges, shaving around 0.3sec off that 0-100km/h dash. Both cars top out at 240km/h.
If that’s not enough to satisfy you, look no further than the Grecale Trofeo, which gets Maserati’s new Nettuno 3.0-litre biturbo V6 producing a healthy 390kW.
The advanced petrol V6 also shares the MC20’s neat twin-combustion technology that was borrowed from F1. Working alongside a traditional spark plug, it involves a trick tiny pre-chamber that, moments before the spark plug fires, acts like a miniature flame-thrower, creating a bigger, more efficient burn.
The result is that punchy peak power figure is combined with 620Nm of torque, which with the aid of an eight-speed auto, all-wheel drive and a limited-slip differential sees the Maserati launch to 100km/h in a rapid 3.8sec, before topping out at 285km/h.
That makes the 2022 Maserati Grecale Trofeo quicker than the larger Levante Trofeo (0-100km/h: 3.9sec) and the discontinued Porsche Macan Turbo (4.3sec), and matches the BMW X3/X4 M and Mercedes-AMG GLC.
If you’re wondering about what differences the Grecale’s donk has over the MC20’s, the SUV features a traditional wet sump and comes with cylinder deactivation for greater efficiency.
Less than a year from its launch, Maserati will also roll out an all-electric version that will be named the Grecale Folgore.
Maserati has yet to reveal full details of its first-ever zero-emission model, but it will be powered by a big 105kWh battery, produce up to 800Nm of torque and benefit from a 400-volt electrical architecture.
Set to battle it out with the pure-electric version of Porsche’s next-gen Macan, expect the battery-powered version to become the quickest Grecale in the range, even if top speed will be limited to around 240km/h.
Beneath its skin, the Grecale will be the first and most likely last vehicle to be underpinned by the Stellantis Group’s Giorgio architecture that was originally created for Alfa Romeo and currently resides under both the Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV, although the Grecale has a heavily updated long-wheelbase version of it.
As standard, the Grecale Trofeo rides on air suspension, but it costs extra on the Modena and GT versions.
Tick the box and you can select from a total of six levels of ride height, allowing the Maserati SUV’s body to be lifted a maximum of 30mm for off-road work and dropped by up to 35mm to aid ingress/egress in parking mode.
As many as five drive modes are available, with a comfort mode working with the adaptive dampers to improve ride quality, GT mode acting as the default set-up, and Sport mode sharpening up the throttle, gear changes and even automatically lowering the ride height by 15mm.
In the Trofeo there’s also a Corsa mode that ramps up everything to the max, slackening off the traction/stability control and activating a launch control when at standstill.
Finally, an Off-Road mode raises ground clearance by 20mm over standard, dulls the throttle response and slows gearchanges to aid traction.
Compared to its rivals, Maserati engineers claim the Grecale will be the most fun to drive in its class and the mid-size SUV is also said to be the lightest of all its rivals.
All models boast an optimum 50:50 weight distribution, although with the lightest GT variant tips the scales at a substantial 1870kg and the heaviest Trofeo weighs in at 2027kg, so it’s certainly no featherweight.
Within the cabin, Maserati’s seventh model line is said to benefit from 107 years of craftsmanship, as seen in its leather trim and the quality of materials, although modern tech has not been neglected.
Witness the absence of an analogue Trident clock and, for the first time, there’s a circular digital screen used as a timekeeper and it’s accompanied by four digital screens including a large 12.3-inch infotainment display and a further 8.8-inch digital panel.
The infotainment system is the largest ever seen in a Maserati and is claimed to incorporate ultra-HD resolution. It also works with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and features natural-speak voice recognition and a ‘hey Maserati’ on-board assistant.
A state-of-the-art 1285-Watt sound system will also be offered.
From launch, Maserati says the Grecale will feature a full package of Level 2+ driver assistance technologies including adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping, which will steer, accelerate and brake the vehicle without any input from the driver – but require their hands to remain on the wheel.
Pricing is yet to be announced, but in Europe the Grecale will be priced between €70,000 ($A105,000) to €100,000 ($A150,000) when it arrives on sale there in the second half of 2022.
Expect the all-new Maserati Grecale to arrive Down Under either in late 2022 or early 2023, priced closer to the Levante (from $127K) than Australia’s most popular mid-size European luxury SUVs at around $100,000.
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Keyword: Maserati Grecale officially revealed