[Maserati Levante News]

Maserati’s first SUV, the Levante, will make its North American debut at the 2016 New York Auto Show before the ordering books are open in the U.S. next month.

Base Levantes will start at $72,000 but Maserati has not announced what the destination charges will be so we can only speculate that it’s somewhere close to the similarly priced Ghibli’s $1,250 destination cost. The range topping Levante S will start from $83,000 excluding destination charges.

Both versions will only come with one engine and gearbox option, the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. What’s different is the power output, 345 HP for the base model and the engine is tuned to produce 424 HP in the S. Capable of transferring torque between the axles instantaneously is Maserati’s Q4 AWD system which comes standard in both variants. Also standard is the air suspension, but if you want improved on-road handling and off-road performance you may want to look at the optional Skyhook adaptive dampers.

With the base and S models you’ll be getting these standard features at no extra cost: mechanical self-locking rear differential, power tailgate with obstacle detection, 8.4-inch Touch Screen with Navigation, 8 speaker audio system, cruise control, hill descent control, dual-zone climate system, wipers with rain sensor, keyless entry and start, HomeLink garage door opener, and electro-chromatic mirrors.

If you’re willing to pay more there’s the optional Luxury, Sport or Zegna Luxury packages. Pricing for these packages and other optional features have not been released yet and will not be made public until ordering begins in April.

 

[mrpa1999]

if history repeats itself like it did with the ghibli, these SUVs will be selling in the low $60's within a few months. if you are in the market to purchase one, it would be in your best interest to hold off a few months. you may just save yourself $10k ish.

 

[palladium]

Good tip. And being a new vehicle waiting a few months or more, i'd wait up to 6 months, is a good idea since you see all the initial problems that come up instead of having to deal with them yourself. Typically mid-year to end of year of the first year production is best to buy a new vehicle.

Within 3-6 months of a new vehicle being on the road you see most of the initial issues come to light.