The new Maserati Grecale Trofeo will have 530PS

The Grecale sticks to familiar SUV design cues with its 4.8m length and fashionably tall and chunky five-door body. If there’s a nagging feeling of familiarity it’s not just from its larger sibling, the Levante, but also from some commonality with the Alfa Romeo Stelvio whose (excellent) underpinnings the Grecale shares and alongside which it will be assembled at the Cassino plant in Italy.

Irrespective of the Alfa connection, this is clearly a Maserati with its own strong identity. There’s the unmissable Maserati “face” with bold grille and large trident logo, the trio of air vents on the front wings, more trident badges at the back, a trident theme to the wheels and, for fans of Maserati heritage, a subtle suggestion of the “boomerang” rear lights design from the 3200 GT.

Italianness for the Grecale also means newly developed paint colours and trim finishes, and a richness of interior colourways (chocolate brown anyone?) that wouldn’t look out of place on a ‘70s Italian supercar. There’s no mention of vegan leather or fake wood here, just the real stuff. The cabin probably smells Italian (and we mean that in a good way). And most important, Maserati says the Grecale will definitely sound Italian.

It’s not just a pretty face: the company says ths “everyday SUV” boasts best-in-class spaciousness and comfort. They are hard to quantify but for a steer look to the wheelbase which at 2,901mm is 100mm, 4-inches, more than the Macan. Maserati says both back and front seats take 99^th percentile adults (big blokes fit, in other words). The back seats fold flat to boost the 570-litre boot (there’s a little less luggage room in the hybrid models).

All good then but it is of course performance that people look to first from a Maserati and the Grecale delivers with a three-model line-up and a full battery-electric version waiting in the wings.

The one to have? That should be the Trofeo. More aggressive grille, carbon inserts in bumpers and side skirts, 21-inch wheels, wider rear track, sports exhaust, air suspension and new dynamic control system as standard and, most important, under the bonnet a 3.0-litre V6 engine already feted for its sporting prowess.

The twin-turbo engine is a version of the “Nettuno” unit in the acclaimed MC20 supercar and utilises the same twin-plug (Maserati calls its MTC) combustion technology. The engine differs in having wet rather than dry sump lubrication and a cylinder deactivation system to help save fuel. Power is down by 100PS on the MC20 but still healthy with 530PS (395kW) at 6,500rpm and 620Nm (456lb ft) between 3,000-5,500rpm.

Like all Grecales, power is fed to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic and limited-slip electronic rear differential. All up the Trofeo weighs in at 2,027kg and after reaching 62mph in 3.8 seconds will go on to hit a top speed of 177mph. Plenty of firepower there to keep the Porsche Macan honest. Spot the Trofeo by its launch colour of Giallo Corse – a mix of yellow and blue which makes it difficult to miss.

Or you could opt for the four-cylinder Grecale. That’s not as grim as it sounds because it’s a turbocharged 2.0-litre mild-hybrid (not the plug-in sort) that already serves in the Ghibli and Levante. Its 48-volt starter generator provides an extra boost when you need it (and when in Sport mode) and more efficiency when you don’t.

The entry Grecale, the GT, gets this drivetrain with 300PS (224kW) while the third version, the Modena, gets an additional 30PS (22kW). Both can call on 450Nm (331lb ft) from as low as 2,000rpm. With a bonus of around 150kg less weight than the Trofeo, the GT and the Modena get to 62mph in 5.6 and 5.3 seconds respectively on their way to a 150mph top speed.

Folgore is Italian for lightning and the name chosen for Maserati’s coming all-electric models, so in due course we can expect MC20 Folgore and Granturismo Folgore. Before those two though will be the Grecale Folgore, Maserati’s first battery-electric car and due to arrive in the second half of next year.

Worth waiting for? No power or performance thus far but we are promised a 400-volt system with 800Nm (588lb ft) of torque and whopping 105kWh battery. So it should go well, and continue going. Spot it by its burnished trim details and colourways said to be inspired by the Northern Lights.

Maserati says the Grecale’s cabin goes for a simple, minimalist look but it’s executed very much in a dark and brooding Italian way; no light and open Scandi-style minimalism here. The seats are heavily bolstered and the ambience dictated by supposedly “artisan” craftsmanship such as intricate leatherwork, saddle stitching, brushed chrome and burnished trim inserts.

The dashboard is busy with screens: a driver’s information cluster behind the wheel, a 12.3-inch central screen and a smaller “comfort” screen. But there is definite minimalism in the absence of physical switches – bravely, they have virtually all been subsumed into the touch screens. Some will like that, others won’t.

At least there’s a proper round clock atop the dash. In fact while it looks analogue it is digital – Maserati’s first, would you believe – and can do things other than just tell the time.

The news underneath is VDCM – Vehicle Dynamic Control Module. Maserati says it offers 360-degree control of the car’s dynamics in a predictive rather than reactive way. It is also said to offer greater differentiation between drive models, which comprise Comfort, GT, Sport, Race and Off-road. The Trofeo gets VDCM and air springs (optional on the other models) as standard. Six levels of suspension adjustment are available with ride height varying by 65mm.

The V6 Trofeo and hybrid GT and Modena models all arrive in the UK in the second half of this year, followed 12 months later by the Folgore electric version. Available from the start will be a fully-loaded launch edition called PrimaSerie.

No prices as yet but whatever they are, expect the Grecale to become Maserati’s biggest-selling model and thus its most important car. Whether it can put the wind up the highly-acclaimed and firmly-entrenched opposition remains to be seen…