Maserati Levante review (2017 - 2024)
Maserati Levante cars for sale
2.0
Expert review
Pros
A rare and exclusive alternative to more obvious premium SUVs
Wonderful-sounding petrol engines
Slick-shifting automatic gearbox
Cons
Uncomfortable ride
Cramped for an SUV of this size
Ruinously expensive to run
The CarGurus verdict
If you’ve got this far and still want one then head down to your Maserati dealer and fill your boots, though be sure to take out the extended warranty and service plan options to keep things sensible. An admirable first effort, but when all its rivals are in their second, third, or more phases of producing high performance, luxury SUVs, it really shows. The Levante is outclassed in almost every area, be it comfort, dynamism, interior quality, infotainment user-friendliness, space – both passenger and luggage – and more besides.
Yes, it’s powered by Ferrari-sourced engines, and the range-topping model offers monstrous performance, but all will bring terrifying running costs, too. A daringly different pick in a marketplace that’s got some incredibly compelling and polished alternatives, the Levante really needs to be better to make any sort of impact against them, in anything other than looks, or rarity.
What is the Maserati Levante?
Add an SUV to your line-up and watch the buyers flock into showrooms and the money come rolling in. That’s the perceived business model for car manufacturers these days, and it’s proved a huge success for brands as varied as Porsche to Rolls-Royce, Jaguar to Lamborghini.
If any manufacturer could use those boosted sales, then Maserati is it, and the Levante helped underpin the brand between its introduction in 2017 and its demise in 2024, if, perhaps, not to quite the extent some might have hoped.
How practical is it?
Based on the underpinnings of its Ghibli saloon, the Levante looks great from the front thanks to its bold grille with a sizeable Maserati Trident badge in its centre, but that boldness doesn’t translate to the rear, which is a bit generic SUV in its look.
The interior looks and feels similar to its Quattroporte and Ghibli saloon car relations, which is to say that superficially it has the capacity to wow, but greater scrutiny highlights that for all the Levante’s flair inside, there are some materials that just aren’t befitting of such an expensive vehicle.
The cabin also feels a bit cramped despite the car's generous size, and the 580-litre boot is also comparatively tight, meaning it also trails its rivals on practicality. A pair of adults will fit in the rear seats, but they won’t have as much room to stretch out as in most premium rivals, and they’ll also have to pack lighter, too.
What's it like to drive?
The Levante’s case wasn’t helped at launch by the fact that it only came with a pair of V6 petrol engine choices and a somewhat lacklustre diesel engine offering, which seems to have since fallen off the price lists. Those V6s are sprinkled with some Ferrari magic, being built by Maserati’s famous neighbour, but it wasn’t until a few years later that Maserati would put some V8 engines – also Ferrari-derived – under the Levante’s lengthy bonnet. Unsurprisingly, none are notable for their fuel economy.
The petrol engines and slick-shifting automatic transmission do a good job, but they're let down by a chassis that’s a bit busy and unresolved in its nature. There are means of switching it, the Skyhook air suspension doing its best to tie down the body control in its more sporting modes, but the Maserati just never seems to settle comfortably into its role as either an overtly sporting SUV, or big luxurious GT. It'll clamber and crawl off-road, if asked, but really, it's inconceivable that customers will be doing so.
It’s good enough to convince some buyers, likely those brought up on numerous Maserati saloons beforehand, but as a car to tempt buyers out of its more polished SUV competition, it’s got a tough job to do, and one that it doesn’t really feel up to the task of.
Technology, equipment & infotainment
Those jumping out of an Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Range Rover or Porsche and into the Levante won’t be impressed, because the switchgear, along with the operation of the infotainment system touchscreen, all lack the quality and slickness that’s expected in this class and price point.
On the plus side, and in the best traditions of Italian tailoring, Maserati has a partnership with Italian fabric and clothing manufacturer Ermenegildo Zegna. The luxury firm provides a lightweight woven nappa leather upholstery finish for the Levante, while Maserati also partners another upmarket Italian firm, Giorgetti, which is renowned in producing unique woodworking, it too contributing to the Levante. A third brand, De Castelli, also helps with metal finishing. All very admirable, and genuinely impressive, but the quality of these finishes in the Levante only further highlight how poor some of the plastics, switchgear and infotainment screen are elsewhere.
Maserati Levante running costs
High performance, Italian-built SUVs with turbocharged V6 and V8 petrol engines built by Ferrari: what part of running costs worries you? If you answer fuel costs, then you’d be right, with even the least thirsty Levante still gulping down unleaded at a rate of 21.4mpg on the official combined cycle. Maserati doesn't actually quote its fuel consumption figures in mpg on its configurator, instead doing so in l/100km, perhaps so you won't work it out. The combined CO2 for even the lowliest model in the range is 300g/km, too.
At the opposite end of the scale, the 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 in the Trofeo is quoted as covering just 17.7 miles for every gallon of premium unleaded you pour into it. Remember, that’s a combined consumption figure, under test conditions, with the reality likely to be less. And, if you’re in a real hurry, the WLTP worst-case figure for consumption is just 11.6mpg. Scary. CO2 emissions are listed at 360g/km, too. It’s safe to say you’ll be on your petrol stations’ Christmas card list; indeed, they might even send you a hamper, so frequent will your business with them be.
High performance cars use consumables quickly, too, so brakes, tyres and more will need replacing regularly. Maserati does offer maintenance programs, in Premium and Premium Plus guises, these being fixed-price in their structure, and covering up to five services, and they can be transferred to any future owners if they’re not all used by the first owner during their ownership. Insurance, tax and anything else associated with running the Levante is going to be expensive, but if you’re in the fortunate position to be able to afford one, you’re unlikely to find the costs of running it too punitive, even if similar performance rivals are certain to cost less to own.
Maserati Levante reliability
Maserati’s reputation for reliability might not be stellar, with it regularly scoring poorly on surveys, but things have certainly improved in recent years. If you’re buying one new you’ll have the back-up of the three-year, unlimited-mileage warranty, while if you’re picking up a used Levante, or hang onto your new one after the usual three-year ownership cycle, then you can extend the warranty.
Indeed, Maserati’s extended warranty service allows you to pay to extend your cover up to seven years, with no limit on mileage, with any warranty work undertaken at official Maserati dealerships. There are two options, the entire car being covered for five years, with the further two years – to that maximum seven after the car’s original registration date – being for the main mechanical components of the car, so the engine, gearbox and the all-wheel drive transmission. In Europe, doing so also means you’ll have roadside assistance for the duration of your warranty.
We’d suggest if you’re intent on keeping - or buying - a Maserati over three years, that you take out that warranty, as it’ll likely pay for itself in time, and save you the worry of facing cripplingly expensive repairs, for what is, after all, an exotic, low volume, high performance car.
- Ferrari makes petrol engines for Maserati, and for the Levante that means a pair of 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6s with either 345bhp or 424hp in the Levante and Levante S, respectively. Should you find those lacking there are a pair of V8 choices (again Ferrari-built), these both 3.8-litres and fitted with a pair of turbos, with the Levante GTS developing 522bhp and the Levante Trofeo 572bhp. All are four-wheel drive, using a rear-biased four-wheel drive system and an eight-speed automatic transmission.
- Any Levante is quick, with the entry-level model able to reach 62mph in 6.0 seconds, the Levante S managing it in 5.2 seconds and those V8s being even quicker at 4.3 seconds for the Levante GTS and 4.1 seconds for the Levante Trofeo. That range-topper is able to reach 188mph, which, makes it one of the fastest production SUVs that money can buy, with only a handful of rivals – the Lamborghini Urus, Bentley Bentayga Speed and Audi Q8 RS – able to better it, and only then by a couple of miles per hour.
- A saturated marketplace means the Levante isn’t short of some really strong competition in the upmarket SUV marketplace. Its price sees it line up against cars like the Porsche Cayenne, BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz/Mercedes-AMG GLE, Audi Q8, Jaguar F-Pace, the Land Rover Range Rover and Land Rover Range Rover Sport, Alfa Romeo Stelvio, Lamborghini Urus, Bentley Bentayga and more besides. Any one of those rivals are strong opposition, but viewed collectively, it’s a very determined-to-be-different buyer who opts for the Maserati over them.
- The Grizzly: If you’re going to be a bear, be a Grizzly, and that means only the most powerful version will do. That’s the Levante Trofeo. It’s not perfect, but a 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 built by Ferrari is one hell of a distraction. As is its ability to reach 62mph in 4.1 seconds and a 188mph top speed. It’s the most aggressively styled, too, with massive 21-inch alloy wheels as standard, although there’s always the option of 22-inch ones if you don’t think they’re quite big enough.
- The cheapest: That’s relative, of course, because the entry-level Levante isn’t exactly inexpensive. Still, the Levante’s rarity is such that few folk are likely to know that you’ve not dropped the full whack on the range-topper, and the 345bhp from the sonorous 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 is enough to have it reach 62mph in a respectably brisk 6.0 seconds. It’ll ride better than its more powerful relations, too, thanks in no small part to its standard, smaller 18-inch alloy wheels.
- The one to buy: The Levante S in GranSport or GranLusso guise is probably all the Levante you could need, with its 3.0-litre twin-turbo pushing out a useful 424bhp, which will be quick enough on UK roads, and all for comfortably less outlay than either of the V8 choices above it.
