Maserati Levante S After 1,000 Miles
Maserati’s champion in the premium SUV segment was designed to master any situation effortlessly and Des Sellmeyer from GTSpirit had a chance to put that claim to the test in a 1,000+ mile pan-European road trip from the United Kingdom to Turin.
Equipped with a Levante S, his trip was powered by a Ferrari built biturbo 3.0 liter V6 petrol engine, delivering 430hp and 580Nm of torque. Mated to an 8-Speed ZF gearbox, it can rocket from 0-100 km/h in 5.2 seconds and hit a top speed of 264 km/h. Some may squint at the acceleration number, but the Levante is more of a grand tourer than a sports car on stilts.
Perfect for a 1,000 mile drive, which started at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in Southern England. Though there was a learning curve when it comes to the Levante’s features, mostly due to the large amount of buttons and some are hidden on the back of the steering wheel.
What made up for the less than ideal controls is the plethora of standard equipment the Levante S comes with and how well it kept most road noise and bumps out of the cabin. It wasn’t all straight road cruising across highways, the Levante was taken to The Grand St Bernard Pass between Switzerland and Italy. With plenty of hairpin turns coming one after another, the direct steering and engine response truly shines.
