The new Grecale is a sporty luxury SUV, slotting in below the Levante in Maserati’s lineup. It moves the brand into the growing luxury compact SUV segment, where it competes by combining an engaging driving experience with potent powerplants and an air of exclusivity. At 191 inches long, it fits neatly in between small luxury SUVs such as the BMW X3 and Porsche Macan and midsized luxury models such as the BMW X5 and Porsche Cayenne.
Taking its name from a northeasterly Mediterranean wind, the Grecale (pronounced “gra-ka-lay”) comes in three versions. The lower GT and Modena trims use a turbocharged four-cylinder, while the Trofeo uses a twin-turbocharged V6. An all-electric Grecale Folgore model will arrive later.
We found the Grecale GT we tested fun to drive, thanks to sharp handling, plenty of power, and a thrilling, growly exhaust note. Its exterior exudes sportiness, while the interior has an exclusive look and feel—as it should, for nearly $78,000 as-tested. Even though the Grecale posted one of the highest road-test scores within its category, it's not free of frustrations, in particular the raft of odd design choices for the controls. Plus, its Overall Score is brought down by Maserati’s below-average brand reliability.
A 296-horsepower, 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with a mild-hybrid setup propels the base GT model with gusto. It pulls strongly and the sonorous exhaust sound adds to its character, while the eight-speed automatic transmission shifts quickly and crisply. Befitting its name, it really does run like the wind, sprinting from 0 to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds, making it one of the swiftest in its class.
But during regular driving around town, when you’re not out on the open road, the Grecale gets bogged down by a noticeable delay during rolling stops, along with the occasional unexpected burst of power right after. It can also feel a bit reluctant when loafing around at low speeds. At least the 24 mpg overall it managed in our testing (on the required premium fuel) is competitive for the class.
The Grecale is one of the more agile SUVs. It turns into corners precisely, with well-controlled body roll, good steering feedback, and a planted, secure feel. Not surprisingly for this storied, sporty marque, the Grecale impressed when pushed to its limits around our track, too, with a commendable speed through our avoidance maneuver test. Stopping distances are admirably short, although the brakes can grab abruptly at low speeds, which makes it difficult to be smooth when coming to a stop.
The ride has an underlying firmness but it's steady and composed on the highway and the suspension does a great job controlling the side-to-side rocking motions that plague many SUVs. Encountering a rough patch of road will bring some harder hits into the cabin, but we never found that it got to the point of being harsh. The cabin stays quiet from most noises, other than the engine, which is a nearly constant source—but most of our drivers enjoyed its sporty sound. An occasional resonance or drone reverberates through the cabin when the transmission allows the engine to lug along at a low 1,500 rpm or so.
The luxurious interior is accented with leather, suede, matte wood—and Maserati’s trademark clock. The front seats do a good job holding you in place through corners, but some drivers felt the supportive cushions were overly firm. The rear seat has decent headroom, good foot space, and ample under-leg support, but the upright seatback can’t be reclined—a simple convenience found in many other luxury SUVs. The cargo area is generously-sized and well-finished.
The cabin is decidedly modern, and dominated by screens. Besides the digital driver’s instrument screen, there are two stacked displays at the center of the dashboard to handle all infotainment and climate functions. Unfortunately, there are many small buttons with tiny labels squeezed together in both touchscreens, making it difficult to accurately find and press a desired feature. Worse, some odd design choices make for unintuitive controls, starting with the gear selector buttons: It’s not just that they are a long reach for the driver, but the black buttons blend in too perfectly with the black trim, making them difficult to see. We also found that the ridiculously large column-mounted paddle shifters constantly get in the way of the turn-signal and windshield-wiper stalks.
Automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking that operates at highway speeds, reverse automatic emergency braking, and automatic high beams are standard, but it’s disappointing that blind spot warning and rear cross traffic warning are optional instead of standard, especially at the Grecale’s rather steep base price. Lane centering assistance, lane departure warning, lane keeping assistance, and adaptive cruise control are also optional.