Maserati Middle East launch the Grecale SUV in the region
The Grecale is claimed to be the roomiest in the segment with a 530hp twin-turbo V6 under the bonnet
Al Tayer Motors, the official dealership for Maserati vehicles, launched the Grecale SUV in the Middle East region yesterday. The Maserati Grecale midsize SUV is the second SUV from the brand and will sit below the Levante in the product portfolio. The Grecale presents a sporty take on the SUV design with tech-laden luxurious interiors while having multiple powertrains, including a hybrid setup on offer.
The Italian marquee has high hopes with the Grecale as it enters the highly lucrative luxury urban crossover segment with rivals comprising the Porsche Macan, the BMW X3, and its platform-sharing cousin Alfa Romeo Stelvio. Like every other Maserati, even the Grecale was named after a wind – specifically, the north-easterly Mediterranean wind. The SUV can be had in three trim levels – GT, Modena and Trofeo, the latter being the performance-centric variant.
The MC20 sportscar, Maserati’s new flagship sports car, introduced a new design theme for the carmaker. The same has trickled down to the Grecale as the SUV sports a similarly low and imposing grille as the sports car. The triple fender vents and the Maserati logo on the C-pillar are typical Maserati design traits, while the Giugiaro 3200 GT inspires the rear boomerang tail lights. The top-spec Trofeo trim has all the chromed exterior bits in black to denote its sporty character.
The interior design of the Grecale brings a breath of fresh air to the Maserati range. The layout looks more premium than the higher-segmented Levante SUV, with a clean design and enough room to incorporate new technology that is in abundance. No less than four screens are fitted in the Grecale’s cabin, one for the instrument cluster, an 8.8-inch “comfort panel” with a 12.3-inch infotainment unit positioned above it, Maserati’s biggest ever screen, along with a new digital clock placed on the dashboard. The infotainment system features the Maserati Intelligent Assistant (MIA), housing an Android Auto operating system at its heart. Users can configure up to five user profiles on the large touchscreen. Higher dependence on touch screens eliminates the need for buttons, emptying space for a large storage compartment in the center console.
The Grecale features real material elements throughout its cabin. Each of the three trim levels offers a unique mix of colour and materials with the top-spec Trofeo variant, including carbon fibre and perforated leather inside the cockpit. The attention to detail on these elements can be observed on the laser-cut metal grilles for the new Sonus Faber sound system’s tweeters and speakers or the chrome-plated knurled finish on the digital smartwatch and the drive mode selector. Maserati claims the Grecale is the best-in-class SUV in terms of spaciousness and comfort, and the generous 2901mm wheelbase substantiates that.
The GT and Modena trim levels get powered by the same 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine with 48V mild hybrid technology but in different states of tune. While the former produces 300hp, the latter puts out 330hp with 450Nm torques. The top-spec Trofeo spec deploys a 3.0-litre twin-turbo six-cylinder engine with bits lifted off the MC20 sports car’s Nettuno engine. The Grecale Trofeo churns out a whopping 530hp and 620Nm torques, allowing it to hit 100kph in 3.8seconds and topping out at 285kph. An all-electric version, called the Grecale Foglore, is also in the pipeline, making it the first all-electric Maserati with a launch scheduled before 2024.
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