The Levante is Maserati’s first-ever performance luxury SUV

Originally unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show last March, the Maserati Levante finally made its Asian debut at the 14th Beijing International Automotive Exhibition. This is the first ever SUV in the Italian marque’s 100-year history.

Upfront, the Levante proudly wears the trident badge of Maserati. The SUV has a set of sleek headlights complemented with round fog lamps. The whole front fascia is given a sporty and classy look with its chrome and mesh grille. The curvy rear, on the other hand, is fitted with a small and sleek tail lights that give the Levante a bulky appearance.

Inside, the panoramic electric sunroof, 8.4-inch high-resolution touchscreen with rotary control, and trims wrapped in premium leather complete the sophisticated theme.

Under the hood, the Levante is powered by a 3.0L V6 twin-turbo gasoline engine borrowed from the Ghibli that can churn out 350 (Levante) or 430 (Levante S) horses. This is then mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission with all power being transferred to the ground by all 4 wheels.

With this much power, several active and passive features help the driver stay in control are put in place. These include the adaptive cruise control with Start/Stop function, forward collision warning, automatic brake assist system, and lane departure warning. Other technologies available upon request are the blind spot alert, surround view camera, and power liftgate.

It’s also worth mentioning that the Levante boasts a balanced 50-50 weight distribution, electronically controlled damping, 4-corner air-springs with 5 different levels, and a mechanical self-locking rear differential.

All these contribute to the superb performance figures. The Levante blasts from 0 to 100 km/h in 6 seconds flat with a top speed of 251 km/h. On the other hand, the Levante S takes a blistering 5.2 seconds to reach 100 km/h and has a top speed of 264 km/h.

The Levante is a true and pure Maserati that has perfect on-road and off-road capabilities,” said Harald Wester, Chief Executive Officer for Maserati.

Its platform is based on the Ghibli and Quattroporte, except with a taller ride height. This SUV is also poised to slug it out with the likes of the Porsche Cayenne both in a straight line and in corners. We’re just not too sure if its would-be owners are willing to take if on the rough stuff… except for the Saudis.

The Levante is estimated to cost around P7.2-million while the Levante S will most likely have a price tag of around P10.6-million. Maserati Philippines hasn’t announced yet if they would bring in the Levante. But we think that this would be a nice addition to their already eye-catching line-up.

For more information about Maserati and its vehicles, visit the AutoDeal Car Guide.