I’m not a fan of sports utilities, so shouldn’t have liked the Maserati Grecale, but it won me over.
My objections to aren’t entirely rational. Some of these cars are big, bloated, make poor use of their size and have a chest-thumping image that can seem puerile.
Styling-wise the Grecale isn’t a shrinking violet. Its body has bulging flanks, its grill and headlamps make a ‘face’ with a snarly aspect, but this sort of thing is what a lot of its customer base wants, and the end result exudes chunky handsomeness that avoids the outright vulgarity of some sports utilities.
It’s selling into a crowded market, competing with the Porsche Macan, BMW X4, Mercedes GLC and some of the costlier versions of the Alfa-Romeo Stelvio. It vaguely resembles the latter, which is less surprising when you discover that both cars make use of variations of the same sub structure.
Inside story
Inside, the Grecale failed to meet my negative expectations, by being very roomy. The 535-litre luggage deck is a big uncluttered space, and the rear of the car provides very comfortable accommodation for a pair of adults, with decent amounts of head, shoulder and leg room.
A third would feel snug but otherwise OK. The back seats are well shaped and very comfortable. The front pair are equally commodious.
The leather-lined interior has the stylistic vibe of a piece of designer luggage, is an exercise in tactile plushness, and has some fun design details, including round push buttons to open the doors. Everything felt very well screwed together too.
Doubling up
At the centre of the dash a pair of large touch screens are stacked one above the other, with the bottom one working aspects such as heating and ventilation. As is the way of such systems there are numerous functions, and although things are laid out logically, and familiarity would soon have you navigating your way confidently, on the move the amount of finger stabbing required can be a distraction.
Good manners
The entry-level GT and plusher Modena derivatives were on offer for road-testing. Both have road-friendly four-wheel-drive and are powered by a turbocharged, 2.0 litre petrol engine in different states of tune.
They are aided by mild hybrid electric motors whose batteries are stored under the boot floor. There’s also a rip-snorting 3.0 V6 Trofeo range topper, which is eye-wateringly quick and will cost you six figures.
Back in the relatively real world of the £58k GT, its electric hybrid bits are primarily there to give the engine some instant accelerative heft while the turbocharger winds itself up. The car feels swift, even though there’s sometimes a brief pause as it gathers its skirts.
The Grecale has an eight-speed, self-shifting transmission which switches ratios with seamless precision. This can also be controlled by a pair of boomerang-sized steering wheel paddles, the reason for whose giant size is a mystery.
Most of the time the engine is smooth and pleasingly muted, but it will bark and cackle when driven hard.
My exposure to the car was on commuter-spattered public roads in Surrey, so I wasn’t able to stretch the Grecale’s dynamics, and therefore can’t comment on what difference changing the suspension settings has on the way it rides and handles corners, but for such an upright, hefty vehicle the speed and accuracy with which it steered was impressive.
If you could find an open, uncluttered road, the Grecale would be an entertaining companion.
There were plenty of potholes for the car’s meaty low-profile tyres to thunk their way through, and its riding qualities could be described as firm but comfortable. On fast-moving A-roads and motorways, it was smooth and very civilised, with tyre roar and wind noise decently supressed.
The world probably doesn’t need another big, powerful sports utility dripping with kit but this one does have a bit of charisma and is a nice way of getting about. I didn’t entirely approve of it, but I enjoyed it just the same.
The Facts
Maserati Grecale GT
0-62mph: 5.6sec
Top speed: 149mph
Combined MPG: 32mpg
CO2 emissions: 200g/km
Price: £58,385
