2022 Maserati Levante

Overview

Maserati was late to join the performance SUV party and, in 2017, they introduced the Levante. And boy, it not only looked great but its distinctive styling elements made it steal quite a lot of attention on the road. In its latest iteration, the Levante did gain quite a few updates with the latest 2021 model year which includes mild fascia updates, revised infotainment, and instrument panel along with some trim-specific updates. For the 2022 model year, Maserati decided to make the trim list simple to eradicate any kind of confusion the earlier model years used to create. So, there are no GranLusso and GranSport trims, including the GTS. Maserati renamed them GT, Modena, Modena S, and the monstrous Trofeo. Along with that, there aren’t many standard feature upgrades, but Maserati made the effort to add 20-inch alloys and adaptive headlights as standard. The engine options have stayed the same, so a 3.0-liter V-6 and a 3.8-liter V-8 are running the show with the Levante series. In my opinion, the Levante is a new breed of SUVs but the competition is stiff with what they are offering. The BMW X5, Audi Q5, Porsche Cayenne, and the Genesis GV80 make the best of the competition.

Trims and Features

As mentioned earlier, the 2022 Levante comes in four trims: GT, Modena, Modena S, and Trofeo. The top-tier Trofeo is reviewed separately and so let’s discuss closely the other three trims. The GT and the Modena are powered by a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 engine, but the latter is a slightly tuned version capable of putting out over 400 horsepower. The Modena S gets the engine from the earlier GTS, meaning that it is the massively powerful 3.8-liter twin-turbo V-8. An eight-speed automatic transmission and AWD come fitted as standard across all trims. Detailed trims and their specs are just below:

GT
Price: $80,895.

• 20-inch wheels.
• Adaptive headlights.
• Electronically adjustable air suspension.
• Leather-wrapped steering wheel with power adjustability and heating.
• 8-way power-adjustable front seats with multi-level heating.
• Premium leather upholstery.
• Dual-zone automatic climate control.
• Panoramic sunroof.
• Power tailgate.
• 7.0-inch driver information display.
• 8.4-inch touchscreen display with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
• Navigation system.
• Eight-speaker audio system.

Standard driver assistance features include:

• Blindspot monitoring.
• Front and rear parking sensors.
• Adaptive headlights.

Modena
Price: $91,895.

• Available above features.
• Bigger and powerful brakes.
• Tweaked engine with more power.

Modena S
Price: $166,895.

• Massively powerful V-8 engine.
• Sports exhaust system.
• Blackened exterior trim.
• Red-painted brake calipers.
• Nerissimo GT package.

Available optional packages and features include:

Comfort and Convenience Package
Price: $1,290.

• Soft-close doors.
• Power-adjustable foot pedals.
• Heated rear seats.
• Heated windshield washer nozzles.

Driver Assistance Package
Price: $1,700.

• Adaptive cruise control with Stop & Go.
• Surround-view camera.
• Active blindspot assist.
• Advanced braking assist.
• Autonomous braking assist.
• Forward collision warning plus.
• Lane-keeping assist.

GT Sport Package
Price: $3,290.

• GranSport front and rear fascia with body color rear sport spoiler.
  21-inch machine-polished wheels with performance tires.

GT Sport Nerissimo Package
Price: $4,490.

• GranSport front and rear fascia with body color rear sport spoiler.
• Black window surrounds.
• 21-inch gloss black Anteo wheels.
• Black front grille.
• Dark taillamps.
• Dark exhaust tips.
• Body colored door handles.
• Piano black front and rear skid plates.

Nerissimo GT Package
Price: $1,100.

• All the above features exclude the GranSport front and rear fascia and 21-inch gloss black Anteo wheels.

Exterior: Advanced Maserati design philosophy

If you don’t get pleased by the looks of the mainstream compact SUVs from Germany, the Levante will not only be your choice but also will make you feel superior while you drive downtown, as it does catch a lot of attention. It is not only unique but also the sheer sportiness that has been conveyed nicely by the Italian brand. The exterior has seen some good upgrades with the 2021 model year, and that has been carried forward with the upcoming 2022 model year.

The front gets sleek LED headlights and a massive intake grille with the new Maserati badging which we witnessed with the introduction of the MC20. The Levante screams performance just by the looks of it, especially with its front fascia design. The rear gets matching LED taillights and has quad-exhaust tailpipes included as standard. Maserati will set 20-inch alloy wheels as standard when the 2022 model years will come in dealerships. From the sides, the Levante has bulges like that of sports cars around the wheels. The Levante has a relative stance like that of the Lamborghini Urus in terms of how sharp the overall design aesthetics go. With a $4,490 GT Sport Nerissimo package, you can change a bit of the design and make it look more aggressive. The package will add black-colored accents around the body which includes the front grille, 21-inch Anteo wheels, dark taillights, dark tailpipes, and even the skid plates.

With a base curb weight of 4,994 pounds, the Levante is not the lightest in the segment. It is 197 inches long in length and also has a 118.3 inches wheelbase. All four popular SUVs in the segment including the X5, Q5, Cayenne, and the GV80 are slightly shorter in length than the Levante. Among them, the Q5 is the smallest. If you compare the height and width, all of the above SUVs are kind of similar with the Levante being 66.1 inches tall and 77.9 inches wide.

Interior: Will spoon feed every bit of luxury from the get-go

Rich colors and design in a well-appointed cabin are some of the key attributes of the 2022 Levante. There are no interior upgrades for the 2022 model year. Getting inside the cabin will make you wonder how beautiful Italian craftsmanship is. The material quality is no less than leather and leatherette when it comes to the steering wheel, dashboard, seats, and door panels. But, there are a few areas where I think Maserati made the cabin feel a bit cheap. The buttons and knobs are very similar to the other Stellantis-owned brands such as the Jeep. These are not deal-breakers on the daily run but are something to know about. Maserati even offers separate packages which can add wood, premium leather, and even carbon fiber inside the cabin but will come at heavy pricetags.

The Maserati analog clock contributes to the brand’s heritage and also carries forward the old-school vibes. Much of the updates have been done to the 2021 model year which included the new infotainment display calibration and the driver information display which is of the same quality as the infotainment display. The steering wheel comes leather-wrapped and has power-tilt and telescopic adjustability with multi-level heating options, all fitted as standard. The front seats come with power-adjustability with up to eight levels along with multi-level heating options. The seats are a lot more comfortable than your regular performance SUV.

In terms of spaciousness, the front row has enough space for the driver and passenger and since it is a driver-oriented cabin, the rear row is not where you would enjoy long drives. It is relatively cramped up at the back for adults. Maserati has kept the dimensions a secret and the comments were made according to our experience while having a closer look at the Levante. In terms of the overall practicality, the cargo capacity is decently sized 20.5 cubic feet, which is similar to what the competition has on offer. To sum it up, the interior of the Levante is beautiful with loads of luxury traits and driver-focused ergonomics. A few of the important interior features are as follows:

• Dual-zone automatic climate control.
• Leather-wrapped steering wheel with power-tilt and telescopic adjustments.
• Panoramic sunroof.
• Leather seats with power-adjustability and multi-level heating options.
• 7.0-inch driver information display.
• Wood and carbon fiber trim. (Optional)

Maserati’s infotainment system is a re-tweaked version of the Uconnect which is now an Android-based system and will be housed inside the new Levante. We did not get our hands on the system but will probably share a lot of similarities with the other Stellantis brands’ systems. Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration are present along with the same 8.4-inch touchscreen display from the outgoing model year. Maserati offers a premium 17-speaker Bowers and Wilkins sound system as a standalone option for you audiophiles. Other infotainment system features include:

• Navigation system.
• 8-speaker audio system.
• SiriusXM.
• Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity.
• A 14-speaker Harman Kardon setup is available with the higher trims.

Performance and Handling: Will it justify the tag “Maserati of SUVs”?

While the trim names changed, the powertrain options didn’t. So, that means the performance is average? Yes, but majorly no. The base GT trim with its 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6 puts out 345 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque. It drives via all four wheels and gets mated to an eight-speed shiftable automatic transmission. Now, as a base engine, the 3.0-liter engine is quite capable of holding good acceleration timings but it is the other way round. The higher curb weight of the SUV is the one to blame, actually. The Modena uses the same engine but is a heavily tweaked version that can put out 424 horsepower and 428 pound-feet. With this setup, it will cost you about $11,000 extra from the base GT trim but the performance gain will be great. Lastly, let’s talk about the Modena S which uses the same engine as the GTS from the outgoing model year. The engine is a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V-8 which is a Ferrari built, of course. This engine is fiercely powerful with 550 horsepower and 538 pound-feet of maximum torque. Both the Modena and Modena S get an eight-speed automatic and AWD as standard.

In real-time accelerations, the GT does sprint up to 60 miles per hour in 5.8 seconds, and that is sad considering its price tag. Let me tell you, you are going to get trounced by a Durango SRT on the speedway. The Q5 with its 2.0-liter turbocharged engine can accelerate up to 60 miles per hour in 5.6 seconds which is horrendous. The X5 with its twin-turbo straight-six hybrid powertrain does push out slightly less power but the 0-60 and quarter-mile timings are impressive at 4.9 seconds and 13.6 seconds while costing relatively lesser than the GT. The Modena with its tuned V-6 engine improves the knot to 60 timings in five seconds flat. The Modena S which is just below the range-topping Trofeo holds impressive numbers in real-world performance but also costs a lot more than the other two trims. Taking 3.8 seconds for 0-60 and about 12.1 seconds for the standing quarter-mile timings means that the Modena S is fast.

Maserati did not just focus only on the engines but also on the handling and driving impressions too. The brand has been known for its superb handling dynamics and for an SUV like the Levante, they had to work hard to commemorate their legacy. So for starters, adaptive air suspension comes fitted as standard and so does a set of driving modes. The system is not as fluent as Porsche’s adaptive suspension, or the system from JLR. But, what Maserati has done is, they have tried to work with the driving modes and made them take most of the responsibility with the overall steering inputs and suspension dampening. For example, the Comfort mode will enhance the comfort as usual but will weaken the steering input and in Sport mode, it is just the other way round. We recommend engaging the Sport mode around a racetrack. The braking performance gets better with the higher trims and I am sure that the Modena and Modena S with their 15-inch front and 13-inch rear brake rotors will be enough to stop this raging bull. So, the overall performance of the Levante is decent for the GT and good for the two Modena trims. So, it is not exactly superior to its competitors unless you opt for the higher trims which are dead costly.

Fuel Economy

It is strange how the EPA rated the previous Levante and Levante S with similar mileage figures for the city/highway/combined with 15/21/17. Since the new GT and Modena will have the same engine configuration of their outgoing iterations, the mileage will possibly be the same as mentioned above. The Modena S will strip down the figures further to 14/18/15 for city/highway/combined, making it the worse out of the bunch. If you compare the Levante to its competition, the GV80 and X5 lead the segment with 21/25-26/23 for city/highway/combined and the Cayenne is just second best with 19/23/20. So, the Levante is nowhere close to being economic.

Safety Convenience

The Levante does not come bundled with loads of driver assistance features as standard. It only has blindspot monitoring, automatic high beam headlights, hill descent control, front and rear parking sensors, front and rear row airbags, stability control, and emergency brakeforce distribution. We recommend that you should consider the Driver Assistance package for $1,700 and will include:

• Surround-view camera.
• Adaptive cruise control with Stop & Go.
• Advanced braking assist.
• Active blindspot assist.
• Autonomous braking assist.
• Forward collision warning plus.
• Lane-keeping assist.

Should you consider the 2022 Maserati Levante?

Choosing it over the competition would be a tough call. We do appreciate how the Italian design and performance can be impressive along with the standard set of features. But considering the starting price of the Levante, you can easily opt for the higher-spec German SUVs if you want reliability and practicality along with a good set of performance. Also, after paying about $80,000, you will not be given the modern driver assistance features as standard meanwhile a less priced Tesla packs more than enough features from the get-go. We think that the Levante is a great compact SUV but is not the one we would easily recommend.