Bland luxury SUVs got you down? 2024 Maserati Grecale Trofeo will cheer you right up
Mark PhelanLuxury is about more than leather seats and fancy trim — though those don’t hurt if you’re selling a six-figure SUV. For some owners, luxury also is about standing out in a valet lot full of gray German SUVs.
That’s the 2024 Maserati Grecale Trofeo’s mission statement, and it succeeds admirably.
From its sound system even most audiophiles don’t know about — Sonus faber, and yes the lower case “f” is correct for the brand based in a 7,837-person village whose Wikipedia entry lasts 35 words — to its classically beautiful badge bearing the trident of Neptune, the Roman god of the sea, the Grecale stands out.
It's equally unique outside, from trident-inspired multispoke wheels to long nose, short rear and the three portholes on each front fender.
The SUV also serves as the mounting for what’s probably the most beautiful clock in any automobile today, a brilliantly lit blue face with white markings.
The combination of classic tradition and modern details makes the Grecale stand out, and that’s the name of the game as you approach the peaks of luxury.
2024 Maserati Grecale trim levels and prices
- Grecale GT: $68,500
- Grecale Modena: $77,000
- Grecale Trofeo: $108,000
Grecale Folgore, an electric vehicle, is coming as a 2025 model.
Source: KBB.com. Prices exclude $1,495 destination charge.
What’s a Grecale? Why should I care?
The Grecale — the name is the Italian word for a northeasterly wind in the Mediterranean, perhaps because the wind seemed to emanate from Greece — straddles the line between compact and midsize SUVs. Like compact sport sedans a generation ago, these SUVs belong to the bestselling and most important classes of luxury vehicles around the world.
Brands build their reputation on vehicles like the Grecale. It’s key to a multibillion-dollar program by Chrysler owner Stellantis to raise the brand to the level of BMW, Mercedes and Audi.
Founded in 1914, Maserati built its reputation with race cars until the 1950s. After that, it concentrated on luxury design and performance. The company had decades of ups and downs — mostly downs — that included being owned by Citroen, part-owned by Chrysler and building the ill-fated TC Maserati by Chrysler, a quixotic attempt to turn the 1980s Le Baron convertible into a luxury car with opera windows and a badge that trapped Maserati’s trident symbol inside the Chrysler Pentastar.
Fiat eventually acquired Maserati, seemingly more to curry favor with Italian politicians than out of a desire to support the brand. Fiat already had two brands — Ferrari and Lancia.
Maserati stumbled along, but new owner Stellantis — itself created by the merger of former Maserati owners PSA and Fiat Chrysler — anointed the brand its champion in the global battle for luxury sales.
The upshot of all that is that today, Maserati has a small but growing model line of arguably the best vehicles the brand has offered in nearly a century.
Maserati Grecale selling points
- Unique style.
- Its interior's look and feel.
- Advanced engines, with hybrids standard on GT and Modena.
- Performance.
- Your neighbor doesn’t have one.
How fast? how much?
I evaluated a top-of-the-line model, the Trofeo, which is Italian for trophy, for a week.
Grecale prices start at $68,500, typical for compact European luxury SUVs. The two lower models — GT and Modena — come with 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder engines and a mild hybrid system. The GT and Modena produce 296 and 330 horsepower, respectively.
The Trofeo trades the powerful little hybrid powertrain for a monster of the sort that made Italian performance famous: a 523-hp twin-turbo 3.0L V6 that can disable three cylinders for fuel economy and has two spark plugs and two fuel injectors per cylinder. The engine and platform are related to those in the Alfa Romeo Stelvio SUV and Giulia sedan.
Trofeo prices start at $108,000. All prices exclude a $1,495 destination charge.
All three models come with all-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission.
The Trofeo races from zero to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds and has a top speed of 177 mph.
The EPA rated the Trofeo at 18 mpg in the city, 25 on the highway and 20 in combined driving. The less powerful hybrids got 22/29/25.
The Trofeo has more power and is slightly larger than its German competitors’ compact SUVs. It’s also more expensive.
Select competitors
- Audi SQ5
- BMW X3 M
- Mercedes-AMG GLC
- Porsche Macan GTS
Driving impressions
The Grecale steering is fast and precise. The transmission shifts quickly and responds well to the metal steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. Acceleration is immediate, with a satisfying engine note.
Its suspension uses adaptive shock absorbers and air springs to offer a ride that is comfortable in normal settings, stiff for sporty driving.
The legendary Italian driving position remains intact: I bang my head getting into every Italian car I test for the first two days, then never again.
The controls are simple and easy to use. Stellantis is wisely adopting Chrysler group’s Uconnect software and hardware across all its brands. The result: a big, clear and responsive touch screen and useful steering wheel controls. The 21-speaker, 1,285-watt premium sound system from boutique manufacturer Sonus faber delivers clear, crisp sound at all levels.
The interior is quiet at highway speeds despite 21-inch wheels and summer tires.
Interior trim included real carbon fiber, aluminum speaker grilles and leather sport seats.
What could be better?
- The climate control system stumbled when the engine shut off automatically at stops to reduce emissions. The fan momentarily stopped and temperature rose quickly on a couple of particularly hot, humid days.
- The transmission control buttons should be more responsive. They didn’t change gears several times I pressed them. By the end of my week with the Grecale, they were nearly intuitive, but I could easily have started moving backward when I thought I’d shifted to drive several times before that.
- The controls would benefit from a couple more physical switches or buttons. There are no physical volume and tuning controls on the center stack. The excellent back-of-steering-wheel controls Chrysler vehicles pioneered make up for that, but there’s no fallback to store or select seating positions. That requires a couple of steps on a touch screen mounted low in the center stack.
Why get a Maserati Grecale Trofeo?
There’s no other SUV on the road like the Maserati Grecale Trofeo, from the sound of its engine to its long, low profile, predatory grille and trident badge. It makes an emotional appeal in a segment filled with SUVs that manage to feel stoic despite blazing 0-60 times and dynamics that exotic sports cars would’ve envied a generation ago.
It stands out from the crowd, and it’s a joy to drive, despite a few quibbles.
2024 Maserati Grecale at a glance
Five-passenger luxury SUV
All-wheel drive with limited-slip locking electronic rear differential
Model tested: Grecale Trofeo
Price as tested: $127,450 (excluding $1,495 destination charge)
Powertrain: Twin-turbo 3.0L V6 with dual injection and twin spark plugs
Output: 523 hp @ 6,000 rpm; 457 pound-feet of torque @ 3,000-5,500 rpm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
EPA estimated fuel economy: 18 mpg city/25 highway/20 combined. Premium gasoline.
Wheelbase: 114.2 inches
Length: 191.3 inches
Width: 77.9 inches. Without mirrors, 85 inches with mirrors
Height: 65.3 inches
Cargo room: 20.1 cubic feet behind rear seat
Curb weight: 4,470 pounds
0-60 mph: 3.6 seconds
Top speed: 177 mph
Assembled in Cassino, Italy
Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.