The Maserati Grecale Trofeo is staking its claim between supercar rivals

The Maserati brand was once a peer of Ferrari and Lamborghini, dueling on both the road and the track at the peaks of style and performance. Today, under the Stellantis umbrella, Maserati is reaching to achieve greatness once again.

The Italian automaker now has a full lineup including two sportscars, GranTurismo and GranCabrio, the MC20 supercar and the compact luxury 2024 Maserati Grecale SUV. The four-door Quattroporte and Ghibli and smaller Levante SUV are still on sale as well.

Following in the design of the MC20, the Grecale uses vertical elements on the grille, which now features a larger Trident badge than previous versions. It comes in chrome on entry-level models and chrome and black on the more expensive versions. The sporty Trofeo model gets a version that’s slightly shifted forward to accentuate its more aggressive character.

The profile is clean with a few carbon fiber accents and the classic Maserati portholes on the front fender. The trapezoidal taillights were inspired by the Giugiaro 3200 GT, says Maserati, all of which is capped by a body-color spoiler with a carbon edge.

The 2024 Maserati Grecale is offered in GT, Modena and Trofeo trims (tested here), with the latter two gaining 1.34 inches of rear wheel track width.

The most powerful Trofeo trim uses 526-horsepower (hp), 3.0-liter twin-turbo six-cylinder engine. That gives the SUV a 3.6-second sprint to 60 mph and a top speed of 177 mph. The base GT has a four-cylinder mild-hybrid powertrain delivering 296 hp. The Modena makes 325 hp from the same unit.

The Grecale, cutely, makes a little trumpet sound on startup, and when shifted into reverse. It feels very Italian. The new V6 engine is exceptional, both in sound and fury, motivating this compact SUV to expressway speeds in seconds. When the accelerator is pressed past halfway, especially in the sportier drive modes, it blats and pops when switching between gears either automatically or by using the giant paddle shifters attached to the steering column.

The Grecale is all-wheel drive, but appropriately rear-drive biased meaning the rear end will slide a little before the front end when accelerating hard around a corner. It’s also notable that in Corsa (Race) mode the traction control protection loosens up considerably. The steering also quickens in those modes making its sharp handing even sharper.

An air suspension comes standard on the Grecale Trofeo, and is an option on the Modena trim. There are six levels of suspension settings, selectable by the user and related to drive modes with a total span of 3 inches. Off-Road mode goes to that highest setting and is perfect for dirt roads and wet bumpy fields. The wheels are also wide enough, and not extremely low profile, to roll over most smaller sized imperfections.

The Grecale is not a Jeep by any means, but it is competent in the stuff normal owners will use it for.

Gracale’s cabin features tightly pulled black leather with double-stitched red accents and carbon fiber trim. The slim but comfortable seats have chevron motifs on the backs and bottoms, in addition to the perforation for heating and cooling. Its roof and pillars of the Trofeo are lined in suede.

The Grecale comes with no less than four screens including the 12.3-inch digital driver instrument cluster, new 12.3-inch touchscreen, an 8.8-inch climate control touchscreen and a digital clock.

Wireless Apple CarPlay was easy to initialize and worked well. Android Auto is also available, as is a wireless car charger.

Between the touchscreen and the climate control screen are the buttons for the automatic transmission. They take some getting used to and aren’t as intuitive as either a column or console shifter. Some of those hard buttons on the piano black finish (like volume and power) also wash out in the sun. That volume adjuster is a hard slider when a knob or rocker switch would be easier.

Most of the buttons and switches feel hefty and robust, though there are a few plain Stellantis cues, like the buttons behind the steering wheel, that feel a little out of place. It uses Sonos Faber sound, with metal speaker covers that are machined so flat the edges feel uncomfortably sharp.

The backseat is fine for three kids or two adults. Car seats fit well, and the seatbelts are easy to latch for children. There are buttons to open the doors instead of handles, which kids love. Importantly, the doors aren’t too heavy for an elementary aged child to close on their own.

The 2024 Grecale GT comes standard with automatic emergency braking and pedestrian detection. The Modena and Trofeo trims add adaptive cruise control with stop and go, driver attention monitor, blind spot assistance with intervention and lane keeping. A surround view camera, traffic sign information, intersection collision assist and Active Driving Assist are optional.

The 2024 Maserati Grecale GT starts at $68,500 before destination and handling. The Trofeo tested here has a base price of $108,000, which may seem expensive until you look at the competitive set.

The basic Grecale lands between the Porsche Macan ($60,900) and Cayenne ($79,200) in both size and price. The Trofeo model has more power than both of those base vehicles and their midrange options, though the Cayenne has the 650-hp Turbo GT trim at the top of the range. However, that model is almost double the price at just under $200,000.

It really comes down to space as the Grecale is also in between the Mercedes-AMG GLC and AMG GLE SUVs too. The Maserati would overpower the GLC 43 but not the GLC 63, which now uses an F1-derived hybrid powertrain making a whopping 671 horsepower.

But the Maserati name still means something. It may not be as impressive as some of its Italian countrymen, but it’s still an Italian sports car, even if its in SUV form. And if a family needs something a little bit bigger than a compact but not quite as big as a midsize SUV, and also needs massive amounts of horsepower, and name recognition, this is the only option.