[pitchfork]

What sort of cars would you compare the Levante directly with?

I went to check out a Cayenne Turbo S yesterday. Thing drives sweet. A bit heavy but the interior was great. Doors felt a tad bit cheaper than I'd like.

But apart from that I liked the car. Didn't blow me away in terms of design though.

Something I am hoping the Levante wil do.

 

[Maverick]

I realize that the Rolls-Royce SUV is just a rumor and will cost plenty more than the maserati Levante, but I had to post about this rendering of it because it looks like a hearse, don't you think?

Rolls Royce better do a better job of designing its SUV unless it wants to sell only to super expensive funeral homes.

Other comparisons for the Levante would be the Porsche Cayenne, BMW X5, and the Audi Q5.

 

[gibson]

The thing I've never liked about Porsche interiors especially the Cayennes is how busy the center stack is, you're basically swimming in buttons...

I know Levante will be getting the 3.8L 8 from the QP but you have to imagine to go head to head with the Cayenne Turbo S they will think about dropping in the 6.4L from the Cherokee SRT...

I do assume the Levante's interior will top the Cayenne, Maserati has always been known for their fit, finish and style, but the Cayenne is no slouch either....

 

[mavante]

The thing I've never liked about Porsche interiors especially the Cayennes is how busy the center stack is, you're basically swimming in buttons...

I know Levante will be getting the 3.8L 8 from the QP but you have to imagine to go head to head with the Cayenne Turbo S they will think about dropping in the 6.4L from the Cherokee SRT...

I do assume the Levante's interior will top the Cayenne, Maserati has always been known for their fit, finish and style, but the Cayenne is no slouch either....

I always hated the buttons, but it does make it really easy to access things you need to use frequently. What I noticed is that they only put the most important things their.

Porsche's do have a lot of tech and features, they have no choice but to include all of that.

 

[gibson]

it is a little difficult to determine considering Levante does not have a price yet. But I imagine it will be battling the uber luxury SUV's. Think Mercedes G wagon, top of the line Range Rovers. Bentley is getting an SUV, so is Jaguar and Aston Martin is thinking about it...

 

[St.Who]

I would expect the Levante to be priced just a bit higher than the Cayenne.

I do find it weird that the Porsche center console has soooo many buttons. Good design would make the controls as simple as possible, e.g. less buttons. I hope that Maserati can make a better interior. not that the Porsche Cayenne interior is bad or anything, its just you've got to be critical when you are comparing top of the line vehicles.

With Maserati sales growing quickly over the past while I think that the Levante will take a nice bite out of Porsche's market share. Although the Macan should counter that.

 

[pitchfork]

I realize that the Rolls-Royce SUV is just a rumor and will cost plenty more than the maserati Levante, but I had to post about this rendering of it because it looks like a hearse, don't you think?

Rolls Royce better do a better job of designing its SUV unless it wants to sell only to super expensive funeral homes.

Other comparisons for the Levante would be the Porsche Cayenne, BMW X5, and the Audi Q5.

looks like a lifted hearse

 

[mavante]

looks like a lifted hearse

seems close enough....

The Rolls Royce SUV will need a sloping roof in a way to make it seem more sporty and a bit coupe-like with it's roof. Or they can try to make it as bold and loud as the Escalade.

 

[pitchfork]

I don't think Rolls Royce should make an SUV at all.

 

[Maverick]

I don't see why Rolls Royce would make an SUV. Not many people buy RR. Only the mega rich and semi-rich people who rent the RR for their wedding. It just isn't the type of car you drive if you need to transport things. It doesn't need to be an SUV.

 

[pitchfork]

Its hard to incorporate the Rolls Royce front end into an SUV. Its a bit too boxy

 

[Maverick]

Do you think that the Lexus LF-NX will compete with the Levante? I know its smaller than the Levante is going to be, but other than that the two are pretty similar. Production version should be debuting in Geneva next year.

 

[mavante]

the production model of the Lexus SUV above doesn't seems like the type that will compete with a maserati. I doubt they will even come close to being in the same segments

 

[pitchfork]

I think the Levante will cost double that Lexus. Doesn't lexus already have the RX?

 

[mavante]

I think the Levante will cost double that Lexus. Doesn't lexus already have the RX?

No doubt about that. They have the RX, but they need something smaller, which is why they have the upcoming NX.

 

[pitchfork]

This segment is getting competitive quickly

Everyone is jumping onto it like its gold!

 

[mavante]

This segment is getting competitive quickly

Everyone is jumping onto it like its gold!

Because it is gold.
There's a growing demand for SUV's like it with more people becoming wealthy.

 

[pitchfork]

Is the Lexus SUV going to be fully unveiled at detroit?

 

[mavante]

Is the Lexus SUV going to be fully unveiled at detroit?

No mention of it, maybe they're behind on mentions of it being at detroit for now?
It's possible that they might want to unveil it in Tokyo instead of detroit.

 

[pitchfork]

that would make sense. being japanese and all