The week I drove the Maserati Levante GT Hybrid the Sydney area was experiencing one of the flood major events that had occurred so far this year. With Sydney receiving its average annual rainfall in the first three months of 2022, it felt like Poseidon the ancient Greek god of the water himself, had come.
Although I felt some apprehension that I would be driving this luxury SUV in these poor weather conditions, I remembered how impressed I was when I drove the Levante off-road. This has a lot to do with the Q4 all-wheel drive system, which provides a solid driving feel even on wet roads. Also, using buttons on the centre console you can raise and lower the SUV should you find yourself in need of extra ride height. The photo below on the right shows the Levante GT at its highest ride height.
The Maserati Levante GT Hybrid combines a 4-cylinder, 2 litre engine with a 48V motor delivering a total of 243kW (330hp) and 450Nm. The official combined fuel consumption is 10.3L/100km and for my week I used close to this amount at 10.7L/100km. This engine is adequate for the Levante GT and is capable of accelerating the Levante GT from 0-100km/h is 6.0 seconds and reaching a top speed of 245km/h. There are however no paddle shifters for ‘manually’ changing gears on the 8-speed automatic transmission should you feel the need.
I found the ride in the Levante is comfortable, even over the ever-increasing number of potholes on Sydney roads. When you do get the opportunity to enjoy smoother roads the suspension can also be firmed up using another button on the centre console. The exhaust note can be deepened by pressing the Sport mode button on the centre console for extra aural entertainment.
On approach to the Levante GT, you can’t but help admire the strong-looking front grille with the large trident, the symbol of Poseidon, front and centre. As your eye follows along the front quarter it is drawn to the side gills with blue edges, which designate this is the hybrid Levante. The rear quarter has an additional trident with a small blue highlight and the Levante rear-end features quad exhausts.
From a practical point of view, I liked that after you unlock the front and rear doors using the keyless entry and opened them they remained stationary at any point along the door’s arc, rather than at set points like many other vehicles. This gave me confidence that the doors would be less likely to bump into another car next to me in a carpark.
Nestling into the Levante GT I was soothed by the feeling its sumptuous leather seats and their sweet scent. The finish of the interior in the Levante GT is to a standard you would expect from luxury car manufacturer Maserati. Both front seats are heated with 12-way power adjustment that includes front and rear seat height adjustment and 4-way lumbar adjustment and the driver’s seat has two memory positions.
For me there are many elegant aspects throughout the Levante GT starting with the substantial feeling key fob. So often the key fob for the luxury cars that I have driven has not reflected the stature of the car I was driving, but this is not the case with Maserati, thanks to weight of the key and the metal inserts. The infotainment screen, the analogue clock on top of the dash, and the leather steering wheel all look and feel up to a high standard of finish.
The voice control can be used with the infotainment system and I found that this worked well for making calls, changing media and entering a destination on the sat nav, the three standard operations I do with all vehicles I drive to test the voice control system. But, like many other manufacturers the voice control button in the Maserati is designated with a masculine-looking silhouette.
Storage is plentiful in the front of the cabin with a deep cubby under the arm rest, which can be cooled, with two indents in the base to hold drink bottles or alternatively there is drink bottle storage in the front door cubby suitable for a 600ml bottle. There is one 12V outlet under the arm rest and at the front of the centre console is a felt lined cubby to store your phone with one USB port, one SD card slot and one AUX inlet.
The rear seats have ample head and leg room for two adults to comfortably travel in the back of the Levante, but I did feel my knees were up a little high when I sat in the seats. The rear seats have manual recline adjustment and although the seats are beautiful, they have slightly unusual contouring at the base of the seat that pushed against my body. For younger passengers there are two ISOFIX/three rear tether child seat restraint points, but due to the width of the rear seat I think you would only be able to fit two car seats in.
This allows the centre seat to be folded down as an arm rest and it has two shallow cup holders at the front of it. There is also drink bottle storage in the door cubbies that would fit a small-sized bottle. Rear passengers get two central air vents with manual on/off and direction control and above these there is one 12V outlet and two USB ports. There is only a shallow transmission tunnel in the rear of the Levante with no mat over it.
The boot is power operated and can be open/closed from the key fob, in the cabin and from the button under the boot lid. Maserati should be commended for putting the boot closure button on the side of the boot meaning children and short adults can reach it. The boot is a good size and could fit a pram and the weekly shop. It has four tie down points, two hooks, two lights and one 12V outlet and under the boot floor there is a tyre repair kit. For extra storage the rear seats can be folded down with a 60:40 split or there is a centre ‘peek-a-boo’ door as my children like to call them, so you can stow long items and still use both outer rear seats.
The Levante GT I drove had standard cruise control and blind spot monitoring. It also has a standard rear view camera with front and rear sensors, auto lights and auto wipers. The Maserati Levante range does not have an ANCAP safety rating. All new Maserati vehicles come with a three-year unlimited kilometre warranty, which includes three year’s road side assistance as well. The service interval for the Levante is 12 Months or 20,000kms, whichever occurs first and there are two pre-paid service options available that cover the first three services.
Despite the extreme weather experienced during my week with the Maserati Levante GT Hybrid this luxury SUV did not feel out of its depth. The Maserati Levante GT starts at $126,990 excluding on-road costs and as test with optional Metallic paint in Grigio Evoluzione – a GT specific colour, Gloss Blue Brake Calipers and 20” Efesto wheels (Platinum) the Levante GT I drove was $140,895 excluding on-road costs. Visit your preferred Maserati dealer to go on your very own Levante adventure.
| Pros | Cons |
| It’s an elegant SUV | Only has a three-year warranty |
| Capable performance | No paddle shifters |
| Boot close button located down low | No ANCAP safety rating |
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.