Performance SUV’s have been on the rise worldwide. Gone are the days when an SUV was only perceived to be a vehicle for utility, long drives on the highways etc. Car manufacturers have very successfully been able to shed the image of the SUV as a utility vehicle. In recent times, SUV’s world over has been an epitome of luxury and performance. The Land Rover Range Rover and the Porsche Cayenne are brilliant examples with respect to luxury and performance. Though the SUV remains extremely popular in India, the very niche market of the performance SUV has still to properly take off.
The combo of performance and an SUV is rather physics defying. SUV’s aren’t supposed to be flying around at supercar speeds, neither are they supposed to be flung around corners while being glued to the road! Porsche has been leading the way in this segment, one of the first brands to introduce a performance SUV with the Porsche Cayenne in 2003. Other brands have also followed suit. One such brand is an unexpected one – Maserati. The Italian luxury, supercar manufacturer is very underrated when it comes to supercar manufacturers hailing from Italy. Often overshadowed by its cousin Ferrari, Maserati produces brilliant cars too!
The car we shall be focusing on today is the Maserati Levante. The Maserati Levante is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV based on the Kubang concept car. The name Levante is derived from Italian and means ‘East’ dedicated to the early history of Maserati. Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 2016, the Levante is a beautifully designed car. An aggressive grille with the familiar Maserati trident, sleek headlamps, a coupe-like roofline which meets the rear of the car ever so well; the Levante just like the great Italian paintings is a masterpiece. Maserati has a pedigree for manufacturing beautiful Italian supercars – the Gran Turismo, Ghibli etc. are illustrious examples. Well…. the Levante is an SUV - but it is one which is meant to be driven enthusiastically! Hence the low ground clearance and compact size, giving it a low centre of gravity; which is ideal for a sports car. The interiors are very well put together, they ooze luxury and sport. The Levante comes in 3 variants – Levante, Levante S, Levante Diesel. All 3 variants have a V6 engine producing – 350, 430, 275 bhp respectively. A 4-wheel drive set-up along with an 8-speed automatic gearbox is the configuration on offer. Maserati is also set to add a V8 variant producing a mammoth 580 bhp, by 2018. Do not underestimate the Levante, it is a very quick car! With very impressive 0-100 kmph times of about 6 seconds, pretty quick for an SUV.
The Maserati Levante is in a league of its own with the likes of the Jaguar F-Pace and the Porsche Cayenne – a league of supercar SUVs. Though it is not on offer in India yet, it will surely be a very exciting prospect for this country.
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