2023 Maserati Grecale First Drive: Could This Be the One?

Modern Maserati's rebirth has been long and painful, marked by a succession of cars launched over the past 20 years that never quite lived up to the legend behind the famous trident badge. But Maserati might have its mojo back. Meet the 2023 Maserati Grecale.

Yes, it's a compact luxury SUV rather than a modern take on the elegant coupes that made Maserati famous in the '50s and '60s. But in the context of a world where 80 percent of the mass market passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. are now SUVs, and the model mix in the premium segment is fast going the same way, the Grecale is right on point.

Maserati insiders won't spell it out, but the Grecale is clearly aimed at Porsche's Macan. It's slightly bigger overall but has a similarly sporty personality, and in the U.S. it will be priced and equipped to tempt cross-shoppers out of Porsche showrooms. That's not to say it's simply an Italian clone of the Macan. Far from it. The Grecale has a personality and character all its own.

The Grecale is built on a modified version of the Giorgio platform that underpins the Alfa Romeo Stelvio, and every model will have permanent all-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission. The Grecale's 114.2-inch wheelbase is 3.3 inches longer than the Stelvio's, 3.7 inches longer than the Macan's, and stretches 1.1 inches longer than the big-for-the-class Jaguar F-Pace's measurement. Though noticeably more compact than its big brother, the midsize Levante, the Grecale is bigger than it looks. From the outside, at least.

Opening the doors reveals a remarkably spacious interior. Maserati claims both the front and rear seats will comfortably accommodate 99th-percentile adults, and there's no reason to doubt that claim: I'm 6-foot-2, and with the driver's seat set the way I like it, I can sit behind it with my knees 2 inches away from the backrest and with almost 2 inches of clearance between the top of my head and the roof lining, even in Grecales with the sliding glass roof. And, crucially, there is ample room for my feet under the front seats.

The Grecale is not only vastly more spacious inside, particularly in terms of the rear seat, than the cramped Macan and the Stelvio, and even the Jaguar F-Pace, but it also has the most upscale interior ambiance of the three. Yes, the Porsche's interior is beautifully finished and offers a wide choice of color and trim options, but the Maserati cabin has a touch of Italian fashionista flair to it, even on the entry-level models.

It also has an impressive array of four screens. In place of the gauge cluster is a configurable screen. Above the center console is a structure that houses a 12.3-inch touchscreen that controls the nav, audio, phone, and vehicle settings; below it is an 8.8-inch touchscreen that controls comfort functions like the climate control and seat heating and cooling, as well as audio volume.

The two screens are behind a single surface that kinks from the near-vertical alignment of the upper screen to an angle that matches the upward sweep of the center console for the lower screen. Separating the two screens are push-button transmission controls.

The fourth screen? It's the clock at the center of the upper dash, which can be configured between classic analog and digital time displays, and to show performance data such as throttle and brake inputs or g-loads.

The Grecale lineup comprises three models. The entry-level Grecale GT is powered by a 48-volt mild hybrid version of the 2.0-liter turbocharged four that also sees duty in the Alfa Romeo Stelvio. In Grecale GT trim the powertrain makes 296 hp at 5,750 rpm and 332 lb-ft from 2,000 to 4,000 rpm. Next up is the Grecale Modena, which shares the GT's powertrain, albeit boosted to 325 hp at 5,750 rpm, and its 332 lb-ft of torque spread out from 2,000 to 5,000 rpm.

Maserati claims the Grecale GT will hit 60 mph in fewer than 5.6 seconds and 124 mph in 23.7 seconds before topping out at 149 mph. The Grecale Modena has the same top speed but is three-tenths of a second quicker to 60 mph and 1.8 seconds quicker to 124 mph. Both are quicker to 60 mph than the four-cylinder Macan and 5 mph faster at the top end.

The halo model is the Grecale Trofeo, which packs a detuned, wet-sump version of the Maserati MC20 supercar's innovative twin combustion, twin-turbo 3.0-liter Nettuno V-6 under its hood. In the MC20 this engine produces 630 hp at 7,500 rpm and 538 lb-ft of torque from 3,000 to 5,500 rpm. In the Grecale Trofeo it makes 523 hp at 6,500 rpm and 457 lb-ft between 3,000 and 5,500 rpm.

Detuned though it may be, the Nettuno is an engine that's going to get the attention of Macan GTS buyers. Alfa Stelvio Q4 Quadrifoglio and Jaguar F-Pace SVR buyers, too.

Maserati claims the Grecale Trofeo will hit 60 mph in fewer than 3.8 seconds on the way to a top speed of 177 mph. By way of comparison Porsche claims a 4.1 second 0-60-mph time and 169 mph top speed for the 434-hp Macan GTS. The 550-hp Jaguar F-Pace SVR posted a 3.7 second 0-60 time in our testing and has a claimed top speed of 178 mph. The punchy Stelvio Quadrifoglio nailed 60 mph in 3.5 seconds and has a claimed top speed of 176 mph.

On paper, then, the Grecale Trofeo is right in the mix. And that performance comes in a package with an interior that's roomier than any of its rivals' and has a premium ambience only Porsche comes close to matching. But how does it drive? The short answer: Not like a Porsche Macan. And we mean that in a good way.

It's all in the ride. Even in Trofeo spec, with its standard air suspension and 21-inch wheels, the Grecale is, in its default GT drive mode setting, more compliant than a Macan. It rolls and pitches noticeably—the hood rears skyward like an old muscle car's when you mash the gas from a standing start, unleashing an edgy snarl from the Nettuno V-6—but the motions are well controlled, and when you really lean on it, the suspension stiffens its sinews and gives you the support you want.

Those body motions clearly indicate the forces acting on the chassis, giving you a more complete picture of what's going on where the rubber meets the road. "We wanted the car to communicate its dynamics," said Maserati validation engineer Federico de Medio, who openly admits the Grecale's chassis setup repudiates the German obsession with stiffness. "Too many cars today are too rigid."

The Grecale Trofeo comes standard with height-adjustable air suspension, an electronic rear differential, and bigger brakes than the four-cylinder models. While the steel-sprung, four-cylinder Grecales offer three drive modes (Comfort, GT, and Sport), the air suspension, which is optional on the four-cylinder models, allows the addition of a two-stage Off Road drive mode that raises the ride height 0.6 inch or 1.2 inches.

The Trofeo also gets a Corsa mode that sharpens throttle, transmission, and braking responses, dials back the traction and stability control, and activates launch control. Corsa also ups the damper rates from Sport to Hard, and it does exactly that, to the point where the ride is simply too stiff for anything other than a billiards-table-smooth racetrack.

Fortunately, a button at the center of the steering-wheel-mounted rotary drive mode controller allows you to switch damper modes independently of drive modes. In Corsa you can choose between Hard and Sport. In all the other modes apart from Off Road, you can switch between Sport and the standard damper rates.

As you'd expect, the four-cylinder engine powering the GT and Modena models doesn't have the visceral punch of the Trofeo's Nettuno V-6. Nor does it have the aural appeal, with a rapid tick-tick-ticking from the 200-psi direct injection system being the dominant sound from the engine compartment at cold idle.

That noise becomes less intrusive as the engine warms, but the character remains more sandpaper than silk. You can't really feel the mild hybrid system's e-booster at work, either, but the power delivery at lower revs is relatively linear, and throttle response gets sharper above 3,000 rpm.

Despite their steel springs, the four-cylinder Grecales have a better low-speed ride than the Trofeo, not the least because they ride on tires with taller sidewalls. Standard wheels on the GT are 19-inchers, shod with 235/55 tires front and rear. The Modena has 20-inch wheels and Trofeo 21-inchers, and both run a staggered tire setup: 255/45 front and 295/40 at the rear on the Modena, and 255/40 front and 295/35 rear on the Trofeo.

The four-cylinder Grecales feel lighter in the nose than their Macan counterparts, and more responsive to initial steering inputs, though the six-cylinder Trofeo has better overall steering feel, with more consistent weighting.

The smaller Macan might be more agile, but the Grecale, on first acquaintance, arguably strikes a better balance between handling and comfort. However, as our drive route lacked any decent winding roads and all the test cars were on winter tires, we'll reserve final judgment until we've spent more time in the Maseratis on good roads with summer tires.

Maserati Americas boss Bill Peffer expects the Grecale to account for more than 40 percent of Maserati's sales in the U.S. Though not all prices have been confirmed, Peffer says the base Grecale GT will start at $63,500 when it arrives stateside this fall, with a limited-volume Launch Edition based on the mid-spec Modena but with 21-inch wheels, air suspension, a panoramic sunroof, and the choice of five unique colors priced at $77,600.

More luxurious than an Alfa Romeo Stelvio, more charismatic than a Jaguar F-Pace, more exotic than a Porsche Macan, the Grecale could be the Maserati that finally brings the storied Italian brand into the premium mainstream in America.