The Sophisticated Supercar SUV
The 2024 Maserati Grecale Trofeo puts you in a different world of luxury, but more importantly, sophistication, elegance and refinement. Luxury is something that you can buy – sophistication is not. Luxury can come at you like bubbles from a young waiter at a society event, sophistication is a different matter. Sophistication won’t announce itself as such. It is not brash. It is calm. Luxury may shout but sophistication does not. Sophistication can however be luxurious. Such is driving a Maserati. It has all the proof of racing excellence that you might need from a century-old brand. It brings a gravitas that few can muster. Maserati brings a sense of intrigue to all that look upon her fair lines.
This car speaks to the heritage of many decades of building cars that are often the fastest and most beautiful in the World. All have heard of the brand but few have experienced it. Incredible refinement is in every aspect of the vehicle. This Trofeo edition is something special on top of the tree. Trofeo denotes the very highest performance and presentation of Maserati models and this takes the cake with the extraordinary Nettuno 3.0 litre V6 engine with a Formula One twist on a Maserati twin spark.
What does that mean in reality? Drive around town in comfort mode and you’re transported in a near-silent luxury and refinement. Just a murmur tells you that more is to come. Notch it up to the GT mode and you have a fabulous Grand Turismo. A to B Yes. Ideally, A and BA are separated by quite some miles and you shall arrive perfectly refreshed. The car was a standout on a longer trip.
Twist the mode again and enter sport mode. You realize there is more to this vehicle than elegance. Under the hood is a feisty fire-breathing power plant that combines light weight with torque and power. Gear changes are executed higher in the rev range and the exhaust frees up giving you more performance.
A final twist and Corsa is selected. Italian for race. The car changes spots again. It lowers down on its haunches further. All of the 390 Kw (530hp) and 620 Nm torque are now on tap from the from the Nettuno mill that is shared with their MC20 supercar. Now you have a true supercar with 0 – 100 kph in 3.8 seconds. And while this might pack one of the most powerful 6-cylinder engines ever fitted to a car, there’s so much more than that. Body roll is imperceptible at any speed – incredible for a high 2-ton car. Ever the sophisticate, you seldom deploy full throttle, not that you are likely to get in trouble because the driver aid systems are likely to chip in to save you from remembering that you are not indeed Nuvolari or some other famous Italian driver.
Now the sophisticated is sophisticated in all situations and as a mid-sized SUV, this vehicle should be capable off the road as well as on it. It does. I’m not one to let a vehicle off the hook lightly. And if you serve up something with a four-wheel drive system and a good ride height then I’m going to put it to the test. I did this with over 500 kilometres of off-road driving around the gorgeous Raglan area.
Oh boy, did it impress!! The smile on my dial was in overdrive. I pushed it to misbehave, yet it handled everything I sent its way with aplomb.
This is not a shiny Sharkskin Italian suit that glints in the sunlight and glows in the dark, this is not the runway model (though it has the looks). This is the car for someone in the shadows who pulls the strings. This is the car you take to the opera and the car you take to a wedding (I did). And while most off-road owners may show this car is turning onto the driveway of the kid’s private school, it can navigate the most challenging of roads. So, you don’t think anyone would do it? Put a set of knobbly tyres on this thing and go anywhere – probably the Dakar race.
A good heads-up display that in sports mode shows the tachometer! Other automakers please take note The driver’s display is beautifully integrated, seamlessly merging into the other instruments as required. The main display covers core functions such as Navigation and Settings, vehicle setup and media and the lower display always has our air conditioning and key vehicle settings on it. It has a very intuitive way of changing temperature and air settings. Other manufacturers, please take note.
The leather steering wheel is well appointed with all of the buttons that you need meaning that when driving with haste, hands never need to leave the wheel, and all of your wiper control is available on stalks. Behind the wheel are gorgeous milled metal paddle shifters to control the engine through an eight-speed transmission. Voice commands are quite well managed and let you control most things as you would expect and the Fiat-parent inherited trick of putting media control buttons behind the steering wheel is very intuitive and space-efficient.
The entertainment system in this top-of-the-line model is a Sonus Faber multi-speaker system. With my musician’s ear, it is certainly a step up from most things that I usually hear it was a pleasure. Often I would simply sit in the car to enjoy the sounds. As a result of a clever combination of physical and voice control, it allows you a mostly unobstructed view of the road which makes for nice change from overly intrusive screens. This means they have room for proper air vents – you can touch them and point them where you want them forming a gorgeous sophisticated pinstripe across the front of the cabin, occasionally punctuated by stitching on leather. The clock doubles as an occasional fifth screen for certain information. Slick.
I took my parents out in the Grecale. It was announced as the favourite car that they’ve ever been in for several reasons. Obviously the gorgeous trim and looks and presence, but also for comfort. Entry and Exit height and many more sophisticated aspects. I mean the car lowers itself for entry and exit. Handy for everyone. The younger generation loved its performance and it was cool enough to meet with their seal of approval. Let’s just say that it will be hard to find a better car to take on a date. Be at number one or number 100.
The interior is a gorgeous mix of quality materials in the right places with just about the least number of reflective surfaces I’ve seen in the car, other manufacturers take note. The pillars and ceiling are covered in sound-absorbent material, making for a very quiet car.
You feel that every angle is intentionally selected. There’s a trend for vehicles getting worse and worse rear visibility, but not here. It’s wide open. It’s actually a fairly large car it’s definitely wide so it’s a little bit hard to see exactly where every corner is, yet the 360-degree cameras do a fabulous job of making sure you keep the exterior pristine.
The 20-inch rims are simply some of the most beautiful things about the car, subtly evoking the all-important trident of Neptune. Funnily enough, they’d be one of the first I would change if I were going to do serious off-road work in this car because I couldn’t bear to put them through too much stress, no I would keep these for going to the opera and the wedding and the private school drop off.
Drive this car and it gives you something that so many cars do not give these days – feedback, the steering is accurate without being harsh and you can tell what’s happening from the height-adjustable air suspension The extraordinary thing about this car is that while it covers so many bases – it does them so capably. Genuinely better than many sports cars bid arrived and most high-end limousines? It’s a rally car, it’s an off-roader. It’s a GT. It’s a track weapon. It’s a supercar. It’s a sports car. What it does not do is probably a shorter list. You probably won’t tow with it. But you could.
One of the core pieces of magic that has been woven in is the ability to blend a pliable, comfortable GT and eye-opening performance all in the same car. This car is mild-mannered and affirming at low speed, but you hit 3000 in the rev range and you’ll be living in a very different universe. This car speaks to the heritage of many decades of building cars that are often the fastest and most beautiful in the World.
Now the sophisticated is sophisticated in all situations and as a mid-sized SUV, this vehicle should be capable off the road as well as on it. It does. I’m not one to let a vehicle off the hook lightly. And if you serve up something with a four-wheel drive system and a good ride height then I’m going to put it to the test. I did this with over 500 kilometres of off-road driving around the gorgeous Raglan area.
Oh boy, did it impress!! The smile on my dial was in overdrive. I pushed it to misbehave, yet it handled everything I sent its way with aplomb.
This is not a shiny Sharkskin Italian suit that glints in the sunlight and glows in the dark, this is not the runway model (though it has the looks). This is the car for someone in the shadows who pulls the strings. This is the car you take to the opera and the car you take to a wedding (I did). And while most off-road owners may show this car is turning onto the driveway of the kid’s private school, it can navigate the most challenging of roads. So, you don’t think anyone would do it? Put a set of knobbly tyres on this thing and go anywhere – probably the Dakar race.
A good heads-up display that in sports mode shows the tachometer! Other automakers please take note The driver’s display is beautifully integrated, seamlessly merging into the other instruments as required. The main display covers core functions such as Navigation and Settings, vehicle setup and media and the lower display always has our air conditioning and key vehicle settings on it. It has a very intuitive way of changing temperature and air settings. Other manufacturers, please take note.
The leather steering wheel is well appointed with all of the buttons that you need meaning that when driving with haste, hands never need to leave the wheel, and all of your wiper control is available on stalks. Behind the wheel are gorgeous milled metal paddle shifters to control the engine through an eight-speed transmission. Voice commands are quite well managed and let you control most things as you would expect and the Fiat-parent inherited trick of putting media control buttons behind the steering wheel is very intuitive and space-efficient.
The entertainment system in this top-of-the-line model is a Sonus Faber multi-speaker system. With my musician’s ear, it is certainly a step up from most things that I usually hear it was a pleasure. Often I would simply sit in the car to enjoy the sounds. As a result of a clever combination of physical and voice control, it allows you a mostly unobstructed view of the road which makes for nice change from overly intrusive screens. This means they have room for proper air vents – you can touch them and point them where you want them forming a gorgeous sophisticated pinstripe across the front of the cabin, occasionally punctuated by stitching on leather. The clock doubles as an occasional fifth screen for certain information. Slick.
I took my parents out in the Grecale. It was announced as the favourite car that they’ve ever been in for several reasons. Obviously the gorgeous trim and looks and presence, but also for comfort. Entry and Exit height and many more sophisticated aspects. I mean the car lowers itself for entry and exit. Handy for everyone. The younger generation loved its performance and it was cool enough to meet with their seal of approval. Let’s just say that it will be hard to find a better car to take on a date. Be at number one or number 100.
The interior is a gorgeous mix of quality materials in the right places with just about the least number of reflective surfaces I’ve seen in the car, other manufacturers take note. The pillars and ceiling are covered in sound-absorbent material, making for a very quiet car.
You feel that every angle is intentionally selected. There’s a trend for vehicles getting worse and worse rear visibility, but not here. It’s wide open. It’s actually a fairly large car it’s definitely wide so it’s a little bit hard to see exactly where every corner is, yet the 360-degree cameras do a fabulous job of making sure you keep the exterior pristine.
The 20-inch rims are simply some of the most beautiful things about the car, subtly evoking the all-important trident of Neptune. Funnily enough, they’d be one of the first I would change if I were going to do serious off-road work in this car because I couldn’t bear to put them through too much stress, no I would keep these for going to the opera and the wedding and the private school drop off.
Drive this car and it gives you something that so many cars do not give these days – feedback, the steering is accurate without being harsh and you can tell what’s happening from the height-adjustable air suspension The extraordinary thing about this car is that while it covers so many bases – it does them so capably. Genuinely better than many sports cars bid arrived and most high-end limousines? It’s a rally car, it’s an off-roader. It’s a GT. It’s a track weapon. It’s a supercar. It’s a sports car. What it does not do is probably a shorter list. You probably won’t tow with it. But you could.
One of the core pieces of magic that has been woven in is the ability to blend a pliable, comfortable GT and eye-opening performance all in the same car. This car is mild-mannered and affirming at low speed, but you hit 3000 in the rev range and you’ll be living in a very different universe. This car speaks to the heritage of many decades of building cars that are often the fastest and most beautiful in the World.
