2020 Maserati Levante

Luxury performance SUVs are all about eschewing compromise in favor of providing the best the automotive world has to offer in one package—limousine-like luxury, sports car capability and enough utility to handle everyday obstacles. The Maserati Levante is certainly equipped to have all its bases covered, but even a short time behind the wheel will demonstrate that it’s more interested in having a good time than getting work done. 

The Levante is the Italian luxury automaker’s sole SUV. It debuted for the 2017 model year and is available in four guises. The Levante and Levante S are both saddled with a Ferrari-sourced twin turbo 3.0-liter V6 engine that offers either 345 or 424 horsepower. The Levante GTS and top-tier Levante Trofeo sport a 3.8-liter twin turbo V8 that enthusiastically delivers either 550 or 590 horsepower. All Levantes come equipped with all-wheel drive. 

“Imposing” would be a sufficient way to sum up the Levante’s design. Its face wears a grille distinctive of the Maserati brand, even if it were absent of the hard-to-miss trident logo. A combination of narrowed LED matrix headlights and jutting mesh intakes at the end of the car’s pronounced front end sells the intimidation factor, while the rest of the body looks stout and muscular.  It culminates in the back with a cascading roofline and a pair of meaty rear haunches.

On the move, the Levante delivers power eagerly, especially the V8-laden models. While somewhat docile in its default drive mode, the SUV always feels like an excitable pet who is just barely on its best behavior until it’s let off its leash. When finally set free, the Levante screams forward with a beautiful howl. In the case of the GTS, Maserati claims it can go from zero to 60 mph in four seconds flat, a pretty impressive figure for what is ostensibly a family vehicle. 

Though fitted with a performance-ready double-wishbone and Multi-link front and rear suspension, the Levante’s cornering prowess through winding back roads is sufficient, but not exceptional. Indeed, much of the vehicle’s character seems geared towards high-speed hauling in-between tooling around town.

One of the Maserati’s special tricks is using its air spring suspension system to adapt to differing scenarios and relive the driver of any hard work. For instance, it’s doubtful that this luxury utility vehicle will be anyone’s first choice for an off-road adventure, but if there’s ever a need to traverse beyond the pavement, the Levante can—appropriately, given its name—raise its ride height up an additional inch and a half. Conversely, if speed is on the menu, the Maserati can hunker closer to the road for more aerodynamic stability. 

Being so performance-forward, however, comes at the cost of comfort, which is most evident in the spicier V8 models. Even in comfort mode, throttle is slightly too sensitive while braking requires a heavier step. It’s a combination of inputs that are welcome during spirited driving but hamper the Levante’s smoothness while cruising. 

Packed within the Levante is all the modern safety technology that has become all but expected in modern vehicles. Safety features such as blind spot assist and forward collision warning with active brake assist are joined by the optional “ADAS” driver assistance package. This includes hands-on driving functions to make extended trips easier and more enjoyable. Adaptive cruise control with stop and go abilities is further heightened by highway assist, which keeps the Maserati on the straight-and-narrow at freeway speeds. Lane keep and active blind spot assists provide an extra set of eyes to prevent the car from straying out of bounds or even into another car, and both employ steering torque automatically when warnings are ignored. 

The inside of the Maserati Levante satisfies the anticipations of a performance-oriented luxury SUV by balancing its opulence with a streamlined look. The GranLusso trim offers up a host of leather, veneer and stitching options to choose from while the GranSport option adds sportier materials such as carbon fiber inserts and a grippier steering wheel. GranSport-laden Levantes also swap in sports seats to better support front occupants during high-speed endeavors, while the GTS and Trofeo models get exclusive interior accoutrements. 

It looks great, but in terms of function, the interior feels slightly off-kilter. Buttons and switches for certain car systems are either not where they’d typically be placed or inconveniently buried in a settings menu within the Levante’s touchscreen interface. There are worse interiors out there, but this general obfuscation of functions mars the Maserati’s overall user-friendliness, particular while on the move.