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Musing on Maserati's SUV chops | 2017 Levante S Quick Spin

Like a lot of you, I spent the weekend patrolling suburbia in a white SUV. Unlike a lot of you, mine had Ferrari-built engine. It went something like this: I'd innocuously pull up to a stoplight in the 2017 Maserati Levante S. Punch up sport mode. The bass comes on. Suddenly my white refrigerator of a retriever hauler sounds like something else. The light turns. I nail the gas maybe halfway. The low rumble turns to a growl. Like a real, legit growl. It sounds good. Not Camry V6 good, but menacing like an Italian sports car. Full-throated and angry. It gets louder. For a moment I think some dude on motorcycle is being obnoxious nearby. That's my car, I realize. Cover blown, I accelerate through the light, merging gracefully ahead of the slower vehicles dutifully cued up. Then I reach over and grab a warm bread stick that's resting on top of a pizza and blithely enjoy some open space on the road. That neatly sums up the dual personalities of the Levante. You can marshal all of the horsepower of 16 World Championships from the Prancing Horse. Or steer one-handed while you cruise suburbia. Your choice. NOTES So yeah, the Maserati-designed Ferrari-built twin-turbo V6 is pretty great. It makes the Levante feel special, more so than a BMW X5 or X6 or Mercedes GLE or GLE coupe. That's the essence of Italian cars: the engine. Blasting around metropolitan Detroit with this 424-horsepower arsenal under the hood is a riot. The downside: As expected, the Levante is thirsty, slurping a quarter of a tank during relatively shortly runs around town, inline with its 14-mpg rating in the city. The highway is marginally better, getting 19 mpg, though with the 21.1-gallon tank, the you could theoretically get 338 miles of range. The Levante looks the part. With portholes, a long, creased hood, bulging fenders, and attractive head-and taillights, it conveys the appearance of Italian sport and luxury. The chrome door handles and trim tastefully add some bling to the design. My favorite part? The shark-tooth grille. With tall vertical lines and a monstrous Maser crest, the Levante almost sneers at you. The idyllic cabin does a solid job of keeping the outside world at bay. The interior is quiet at cruising speeds, broken up only by the engine's bark. I'm quite comfortable. The rich brown leather was supple yet supportive, and I quickly find a commanding view of the road. It's cool how the door pulls are neatly blended into the trim.

Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale is an interesting choice in the world of lux GTs

The Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale sits in an awkward place in the modern world of European grand tourers. Despite its voluptuous Italian body, with 454 horsepower and a six-speed automatic gearbox, it's a bit behind the times when 500 or 600 hp are the norm with seven- or eight-speed transmissions. The GranTurismo is also being phased out, but it's not nearly old enough to be a classic yet. Why would anyone spend their hard-earned dough for this Maserati? XCar Films aims to find out and eventually presents an interesting argument about why the GranTurismo is still worth at least considering against competitive entries from Aston Martin, Porsche, Ferrari or the rest of the European performance pack. This is likely just a temporary goodbye to the GranTurismo anyway, because Maserati plans to revive the name in 2018 with a production version of the Alfieri concept coming in the mean time. If nothing else, this video is a great way to say goodbye to the curvaceous coupe. Related Gallery 2014 Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale four-seater News Source: XCarFilmsImage Credit: Related images copyright Maserati Maserati Coupe Performance Videos xcar maserati granturismo mc

Maserati Levante SUV may be built in Italy after all

In July Fiat halted its investments in Italy, putting on hold plans for the Maserati Levante SUV to be built at the automaker's flagship factory in Turin. But Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, whose company owns Maserati, met with unions on Wednesday, and he may announce plans to move forward with production of the SUV at the Mirafiori factory if the CEO and the unions reach an agreement, Bloomberg reports.
Marchionne is reportedly about ready to build new cars at Fiat's largest and oldest factory, on the grounds that 5,300 workers accept extended temporary layoffs through most of next year in a slowing European auto market. If unions don't accept the deal, it's not clear whether Fiat would still consider building the Levante at Mirafiori or not.
The Levante, Maserati's first SUV, is based on the Jeep Grand Cherokee platform, and we reported two years ago that it would be built in Detroit next to its Jeep cousin. Obviously those plans have been altered considerably in the intervening period of time.