Maserati Grecale 2024 Review | Goodwood Test

The sporty SUV is the new sports saloon, filling an important gap in the market for practical family car buyers who still want a bit of sting under their right foot. A lot of brands have had a go now, but it turns out that simply sticking a big powerful engine under the bonnet of your 2.0-tonne lump isn’t going to cut it.

It’s become the modus operandi of many top sporting brands to supplement its bread-and-butter sportscar sales with the volume of an SUV. Porsche has so far come up with the best solution with the Macan, a feisty family car that’s far nimbler and more enjoyable than it has any right to be. It marries that to a 2.9-litre V6 engine to deliver an overall package that is recognisably a sportscar. Alfa Romeo also nailed it with its own take, the V6-engined Stelvio Quadrifoglio.

Then Maserati decided it too would get in on the act with the Grecale, dropping its own twin-turbo V6 engine first seen in the MC20 supercar under the bonnet of the Trofeo model to face off against the Macan and the Stelvio. You can’t argue with the logic. MC20 sales alone won’t sustain Maserati but when you see the Grecale Trofeo priced from more than £100,000, you have to wonder if the volumes will be what they want them to be. It needs to be pretty special to be worth £20,000 more than the Macan…

The Grecale fits neatly into the Maserati family. All of the genes have made their way into the styling of this car: the dropping nose with the big grille, the angular headlights, the three inlets behind the front wheels – finished in red for Trofeo spec cars – and the quad exhausts.

And really, there’s nothing to dislike about the overall look. It showcases all the muscularity you’d expect from a Maserati, and this sleek coupe roofline that has become the norm for these C-segment SUVs has become more than acceptable, in my opinion.

Fitted with 21-inch wheels it takes on a pretty aggressive stance, too. To look at, at least, the Grecale doubles down on the idea that it’s supposed to be sporty and exciting to drive.

Should you judge this book by its cover? Well, the caveat to this conversation whenever we’re talking about SUVs will always be weight. They’re big and heavy and not likely to ever come close to what you can expect from alternatives that are substantially lighter and closer to the ground.

Within its own inherent restrictions, though, the Grecale absolutely excels when you get it out on the road. This car is spectacular when it comes to cornering. Engage the sports suspension and the chassis becomes wonderfully taut, the adaptive air suspension limits the body roll and gives you the confidence to maintain momentum.

Flick the switch to the most potent Corsa mode and things can get downright rowdy. The stability control slackens and reveals a playful demeanour to the chassis. The limited-slip diff keeps the power delivery in check but there’s no doubt this car has been engineered to encourage exuberance from behind the wheel.

There is a trade-off that is felt whenever you are in the mood to embrace a moment of peace because the Grecale really does struggle to give it to you. Even in the comfiest of comfort modes the ride, no doubt exacerbated by those 21-inch wheels, is jagged and niggly to the extent that you’re never quite able to switch off from it.

The Grecale is arguably at its worst when you just want to cruise. The stiff ride mixes with resonance from the engine that pierces the cabin, that’s made worse by a transmission that is all too keen to drop the revs in a desperate bid to save some fuel. You almost wonder if this is by design, to force you to spend as much time as possible enjoying the car’s strengths.

We’ll touch briefly on fuel because that 25.2mpg figure is optimistic at best. Admittedly I did enjoy my time in the Grecale perhaps a little too much but don’t be shocked to find your economy regularly dropping into the high teens.

You won’t care though, because that 3.0-litre Nettuno V6 is as spectacular as ever, with smooth power delivery that’s well supported by a slick eight-speed automatic transmission that delivers endlessly satisfying performance. It encourages you to reach for the revs, and you’ll want to do it all day long because that sound will simply never get old.

It’s rapid, too. That 530PS (390kW) output blows the Macan out of the water, and 0-62mph time of 3.8 seconds is as alarming, and addictive, as you’d expect.

The cabin really is a strong point for the Grecale. It’s a plush interior, swathed in leather that radiates quality and highlighted with yellow stitching that gives the Trofeo model a wonderful sense of occasion. It feels like an Italian sportscar.

And that feeling carries from the intangible to the tangible, because the seats feel like a sportscar's, too. They’re firm, but in that brilliantly comfortable way that provides plenty of support and never leaves you aching after a longer drive.

The space inside is good, too. The Grecale shares its Giorgio platform with the Alfa Romeo Stelvio, but its longer wheelbase opens up a decent amount of legroom in the back. Likewise, headroom, even with the addition of a panoramic sunroof, is better than you might expect by looking at it from the outside.

A pair of responsive and highly functional touchscreen displays look after your infotainment and climate control settings. The top 12.3-inch display has your options for Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and sat-nav at the top, while the below 8.8-inch screen details your temperature, fan and seat settings. It’s a classy and efficient setup that keeps everything you’re likely to need within one or two touches.

The 12.3-inch digital instrument display is equally crisp and customisable, while the digital clock face set atop the dash – which can be personalised to show a g-force metre among other things – adds another little drop of class. One of the few downfalls of the driver-facing tech in the Grecale is the positioning of the head-up display. Even with the seat in the lowest possible position, I had to duck my head down to be able to see the full readout which is an odd oversight.

The option of the premium sound system is one that I’d certainly have my head turned by. It’s a 21-speaker 360-degree setup that produces a stunningly deep and immersive sound. It’s endlessly customisable and it delivers the kind of sound that could well put all of your other listening devices to shame.

There is an awful lot to like about the Maserati Grecale, especially in Trofeo guise with that glorious Nettuno engine that evokes so much emotion. The styling is everything you’d hope for from a brand that has made sleek design its staple for so many years, and the quality of the interior puts this car right to the very top of the tree.

And with performance that will never fail to deliver a smile, you could argue that the Grecale has everything. It’s not without its problems, as a cruiser it will grate on you quickly, and there’s no point even thinking about efficiency. It’s also incredibly expensive. So expensive in fact that there is really only one reason you would buy it – because you appreciate what Maserati has done here and you’re willing to take the financial hit.

As a complete product, the Grecale is special, more so than a BMW, an Alfa Romeo, even the Porsche Macan. You’ll feel special driving it, you’ll feel proud every time you take the key out of your pocket, and you’ll be incredibly excited when you wake up and remember it’s sitting waiting for you outside.