Levante: The Maserati of SUVs

Sports & Fitness magazine recently had the pleasure of traveling to sunny Dubai to test drive the new Masarati Levante. Dubai proved to be the best place to test Masarati’s new SUV as we drove through city streets, mountains, and desert, taking the new car to its limits and enjoyinig the thrill of the ride and the comfort of the legendary luxory brand. Over the two day event we took the Levante to the Dubai Autodrome to test it on that circuit before driving it into the desert to challenge its off-road capabilities. The car performed unexpectedly well, gliding smoothly over the sand dunes of the Emirati desert. This new luxory SUV could tackle any terrain that we brought it through with ease and elegance.

The Maserati Levante is a turning point in Maserati’s history. The brand new model, which made its World Premiere at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, enables the Trident to access the largest luxury segment in the world. The Levante significantly contributes to the creation of the most complete product line-up in Maserati’s history.

The Levante’s design is distinctive. A central asset, its design brings a new concept to the SUV world, combining spaciousness and coupé lines while achieving the best aerodynamic efficiency in its segment with a Cx coefficient of just 0.31.

The thoroughbred on-road handling typical of all Maserati cars and solid off-road capabilities, as demanded in the SUV segment, describe the car’s overall dynamic. The Levante is here to excite any sports car driver counting on performance-oriented features, such as the extensive use of lightweight materials, ideal 50-50% weight distribution, and its lowest in class centre of gravity: features that deliver unparalleled agility in the luxury SUV class.

The aluminium “double wishbone - five link” suspension layout comprises standard Air Springs and electronically controlled Skyhook shock absorbers. In cooperation with the intelligent Q4 All-Wheel-Drive system and the newly introduced Torque Vectoring system which deliver GT on-road behaviour and surprising—for a Maserati—off-road capabilities, the Levante was designed to deliver best in class comfort on rough roads and handling on snow and ice.

Engine-wise, the Levante is equipped with the latest evolution of the Maserati 3-litre V6 engines. The two versions of the twin-turbo petrol engine and the frugal turbodiesel are globally acclaimed for their unique Maserati signature sound and for their exceptional performance.

The petrol Maserati V6 engine with latest GDI and twin turbo is available in two versions with different horsepower: the top of the range 430 hp and the exciting 350 hp. The most powerful Levante makes it to 100 km/h in 5.2” and has a top speed of 264 km/h, while the figures for the 350 hp version are 6.0” and 251 km/h respectively.

The Levante is also equipped with the common-rail, direct injection turbodiesel V6 with reduced dwell time injectors. The 3-litre engine is capable of 275 hp and delivers 0-100 km/h in 6.9 seconds and a 230 km/h maximum speed while keeping the fuel economy as low as 7.2 litres/100 km under the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC).

Both petrol and diesel versions of the Maserati Levante adopt the eight-speed automatic ZF gearbox that provides seamless comfort and fast gear shifting, depending on the selected drive mode. The Levante driver can choose between four drive modes, “Normal”, I.C.E., “Sport” and “Off-road”.

Maserati 8.4” Touch Screen

The Maserati Levante boasts a highly responsive interface unit. Using the Maserati Touch Control Plus (MTC Plus) with its 8.4" capacitive touchscreen display, the user can control the on-board systems simply and intuitively.The high resolution screen works like a tablet, recognising drag, scroll, swipe and rotate gestures. The system includes radio and Bluetooth and can feature satellite navigation.

Using the Aux-in and USB sockets or the SD card reader, the user can play musicor view images. The MTC Plus also controls front seat heating and ventilation, steering wheel heating and the rear window blinds, if fitted. The MTC's menus have options for configuring the car's main settings. The system's various menus are always available via the icons displayed at the bottom of the screen.

Q4 AWD on-demand system

The Maserati Q4 All-Wheel Drive system comes as standard in all versions of the Levante. It is based on an electronically controlled, multi-plate wet clutch, installed into a transfer case linked by a driveshaft to the front axle.

Q4 AWD system is developed to deliver a typical Maserati rear-wheel drive experience, even in low grip road conditions. It acts on demand by transferring traction to the front wheels and with an immediate response.

In normal driving conditions, the system provides 100% of the engine torque to the rear wheels. On slippery or loose road surfaces or in case of loss of traction at the rear, for extreme acceleration or very hard cornering, the system reacts instantaneously, transferring the necessary torque to the front wheels. In a matter of 150 milliseconds, the Q4 system can alter the torque split from 0-100% front-rear to 50%-50%.

All one must do is push the sport mode option to feel the Levante alter itself, raising the front end of the car, providing more clearance in preparation for off-road driving. And by simply pushing the button once again when returning to asphalt, the front of the car will lower and provide the stability, performance, and acceleration needed to elegantly glide through the city streets.

The new Maserati Levante is expected to perform well in Egyptian markets despite the current economic crisis. With the Levante, Maserati is establishing itself as a strong competitor in the luxury SUV market.

Tested by: Amr Selim