The latest mid-size luxury SUV on the block opens for business with this mild-hybrid derivative, the Maserati Grecale GT.
The Stellantis group’s one true luxury marque is bidding to tempt customers away from the Porsche Macan, Range Rover Velar and Mercedes-Benz GLC with this car, which we’ve reviewed already abroad in range-topping Grecale Trofeo form and in the UK in mid-range Grecale Modena guise. This is our first taste of the entry-level version.
There are currently only two engines available in the Grecale: the 521bhp 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V6 of the range-topping Trofeo version (which sounds like the sort of engine you might expect to find in a Maserati) and an electrically assisted, turbocharged four-cylinder petrol.
The latter is tuned to produce a little more peak power in the mid-range Modena version than it does here but makes the same 332lb ft of torque either way – which quite possibly doesn’t sound like the sort of engine you would expect to find in Maserati. It displaces only two litres of cubic capacity and produces only 296bhp, even with the help of 48V mild-hybrid electrification.
But it’s not an entirely uninteresting engine technically. Ostensibly Stellantis's Global Medium T4 engine that powers various Alfa Romeos and Jeeps, Maserati has fitted it with an electric supercharger in addition to its normal exhaust-gas turbo, in order that it has better low-end response. At the same time, the regular turbo can boost harder at revs without compromising lower-end response, facilitating the higher peak power outputs than it might make in other applications.
There’s a belt-driven starter-generator and a bigger battery too, of course, and the potential for boosted economy that it brings. But Maserati is very clear that its approach with this engine was all about deploying 48V mild-hybrid technology for performance and drivability gains first and efficiency gains second.
Elsewhere around the car, there are other technical differences between the GT and the Modena. Both cars get an electronically controlled four-wheel drive system, but the GT’s rear differential is a conventional one to the Modena’s standard limited-slip diff. The GT also misses out on the widened rear axle track of the Modena and its adaptively damped steel-coil sports suspension (adaptively damped, height-adjustable air suspension, called Skyhook, is optional on both the GT and Modena).
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