You feel it the moment you get into the car and sink into its supple, coffee-colored interior. Your hands reach for the wheel and wrap comfortably around its leather-wrapped edges. Everything is plush and smooth, almost too inviting to the touch. You gaze around the cabin and see the black suede lining everything that isn’t the smooth brown leather, chrome or carbon fibre. Are you in a luxury getaway on wheels?
This vessel is Maserati’s 2021 Levante GTS. It oozes comfort, luxury and, of course, money from its inner- and outermost crevices. I often found myself forgetting I was in what the segment considers a “crossover SUV.” And damnit — although I have quite the aversion to most all crossovers, I can’t stop thinking about this one.
Full Disclosure: I tried to get a Ducati for my week-ish long visit in New York, and instead, because there were too many automotive journalists who wanted to play on the Ducatis during the New York International Auto Show, I was given this 2021 Maserati Levante GTS. It had a full tank of gas for me to enjoy what the island proper had to offer.
Prior to my trip, our EIC informed me that I’d need to get out of the city and avoid the highways to enjoy some scenic driving. My original idea to drive to Montauk (which the Maserati would have likely fit right in) might not do the vehicle testing justice. After some explorative Google searches, I decided the Maserati and I would follow along the Belt Parkway from the sight-seeing port views of Red Hook on up to Amityville and back. In all honesty, my trips to NYC via car have been straight there to park and straight out to leave. So this, was going to be an adventure — maybe a terrifying one.
Sure, I found myself in stopped traffic every few miles, wherever there an on/off-ramp was found. There were “scenic view” exits where you could park and take in the Hudson Bay and Atlantic scene to your right and spots of trees in the ‘burbs once you left the comforts of Brooklyn into Long Island.
You just followed the road and “fuhgeddaboudit.”
The Drive
The crossover and SUV segments have really blurred lines as of late. I’d like to believe automakers deemed crossovers as “SUVs” in an attempt to rebadge a segment often pooed on by enthusiasts and buyers alike. The reality of this was likely that some automaker’s marketing department looked at their SUVs and then over to their crossovers and simply said, “These are the same thing, right?” And here we are. Regardless, it’s a heated debate, both here at Jalopnik and buried in the depths of car Twitter. What really constitutes a crossover vehicle anymore, and what defines an SUV?
Maserati’s Levante GTS is one of those vehemently marketed as an SUV. (I’ll give you a moment to roll your eyes.) In a way, I found myself somewhat curious about this labeling, because when you drive it, it’s certainly not an SUV, but it also doesn’t feel like your stereotypical crossover.
And it shouldn’t, most of all because it’s a Maserati. While you are getting AWD and a 3.8L V8 – yes, V8 – putting out 550 hp, there’s no locking differential or body-on-frame construction like a truck or SUV to it. But you sit higher than you might in a crossover. You have the power of an SUV. So, if it acts like an SUV and sounds like an SUV, does it make it an SUV?
The Levante GTS is operated with an electronic shifter, which I have yet to acclimate to on any vehicle. I could have done without having to second guess which direction and button combination I needed to press in order to park or move the car. I know that sounds rather silly, but these electronic shifters are not the most intuitive nor consistent (as I found with operating the Polestar 2 weeks ago, or on Audis).
Your other option is to have a little fun and work more exclusively with the carbon fiber paddle shifters behind the wheels to go to town, with way more torque than any grocery-store run would need.
To add to the luxurious ride, Maserati also incorporated drive modes: Normal, ICE, Sport and Off Road. There was more than just suspension settings to play with here. Each setting would also adjust your ride height (although as small as I am at 5'4", I barely noticed a difference), throttle input and the dulcet exhaust notes accompanying your ride. Off Road was, of course, more forgiving of rough roads and potential inclines, although I missed the chance to put them to use across the brick-paved roads of Red Hook. It also tuned the engine to handle slower, crawl-like conditions. I noticed a considerable reduction in throttle response here. On the other side of the spectrum, Sport was more attuned and quick to respond to your throttle input, accented by a throaty exhaust note. To add, there’s one nice thing about having a car like this in the concrete jungle — is you can hear it.
The Tech
If you feel particularly taken by the idea of customizing your vehicle’s ride, Maserati gives you that ability — allowing drivers to adjust ride components to your desired preference. After selecting any of the four different “modes,” you can then adjust them to your taste. I was executing heavy city and suburb driving, so there was no sense in fine tuning for this drive.
I’d also add that if you really wanted to get into that kind of depth with a setup on the Maserati, you’re typically not shopping for an off-roader in the $150,000 price range. Unless, I guess, you buy a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen. But you’re buying the Wagen for a specific reason — one you’re not typically buying this Maserati for. Or maybe you are.
Many of your vehicle controls can be accessed through the steering wheel and/or the Levante’s touchscreen. But Maserati did take your comfort and accessibility to another level with a dial by the electronic gear shifter. As a small-statured human, I quite enjoyed the ability to adjust the volume or change music without awkwardly reaching for the screen. It takes a little getting used to, sure. But the amount of scooching or reaching needed to access touchscreens sometimes makes this little dial a worthy addition.
That same screen is also where you will find your vehicle settings, especially for your “Safety & Driving Assistance” systems. While I kept most of them on, I did take the lane-keep assist off. There was also an alert that kept going off on the car, and I could not for the life of me figure out which alert it was for. Each time I thought I had figured it out, it wouldn’t happen again.
The Sorta Bad
Honestly, a lot of what might be considered “bad” on the vehicle comes down to taste. I don’t know why a six-figure luxury vehicle would need any sort of off-roading settings, because when are you taking a luxury SUV off road (aside from those Porsche Cayenne off-roading enthusiasts)? I also wished the grille had a little more to it. It just looked like a gaping mouth with missing teeth.
Inside, cup holders and compartments do this nifty thing where they open up via the press of a button (see video below). But then you have to pull them back, and I feel that whatever mechanism is behind it doesn’t appreciate the return. But the compartment does earn more brownie points for just being fun to play with.
I did touch on my dislike of the electronic shifter earlier on, but in all honesty, many drivers of newer vehicles are used to this, and I sound more like an “old man yells at cloud” than a car connoisseur. Drive systems have evolved a lot over the years, so there has always been adjustments needed. I just appreciate one that if you pulled a lever a certain way, you knew exactly where it needed to be to shift, intuitively, on every vehicle. But that’s another rant for another day.
The Goods
Anyone who owns this car, or has the privilege to be a passenger within one, will enjoy it. Every detail is thought out in order to pamper you, from the plush luxurious textiles to the ample legroom in front and rear for adult-sized humans.
There’s also the arm rest that opens like a double door — no longer are you a slave to the large, awkward, gaping part of your armrest that sticks up a foot into the air, just so you can get a hold of something you stowed away (like your hidden away wine collection or something...).
Or the glorious sunroof that opens the length of the vehicle and has a shade to cover when appropriate (and which was handy to keep things a little cooler on the 70-degree day I had it).
If reading this has you intrigued enough to look into the possibility of your own Levante, here’s what Maserati offers: Four different trim levels — with the Levante GTS being a step down from the top Trofeo trim offering. The specific GTS I operated (and fell for) comes optioned with an MSRP of $125,890 in 2021, which includes that mossy green metallic gloss color, optioned at $6,500, and a happy $4,000 for the 22" matte wheels (I would avoid all curbs at that price).
You can get an entry-level base Levante or the S starting at an MSRP of around $80,000. In those two trim levels, the Levante is optioned with the 3.0L V6. The most expensive, the Trofeo, rolls in at a starting MSRP of $149,990. That beauty also comes optioned with the 3.8L v8 you get in the GTS but produces an additional 30 horsepower. Options for a 2022 Levante have changed up a bit, but the price range is fairly similar; the top-tier Trofeo is an extra $10,000.
If you take into consideration the insanity that is car prices right now, the $84,700 isn’t as difficult to swallow. But a base price is never permanent, and the latest dealer markups will likely put that price near the six-figure mark. The other thing to consider is the price of up-keep on a Maserati, along with the painful charges you’ll endure at the pump with that large V8 engine only giving you 16 miles to the gallon. You might just cry and have no one to blame but yourself.
You know, like the Levante’s truck-like gas mileage, a lot of its options and qualities could pose a decent argument for team SUV. But some of the compelling traits of what made an SUV great in its glory days — the rugged quality that could get through anything, carry anything, tow anything — it’s not all here. The Maserati roars like a lion, but is still delicate, like a flower. Is the Levante capable of SUV duties? I would say so. But if you look at its underpinnings, it is indeed a crossover.
However, the Levante doesn’t need to be defined. Perhaps we as a society — as automotive enthusiasts and engineers — need to rethink a name that is neither SUV or crossover. Or perhaps labeling vehicles no longer matters as labels for near everything begin to fall away.
