RE: North Coast 500 by Maserati Levante

[number1nesta]

I always maintained that a Maserati key was the ultimate to drop onto a pub table, made all the better by the lack of numbers and a brand unknown to many.

Whilst i appreciate selling numbers is the way to stay in business these days, and an SUV is an essential model in any line-up, I think this totally misses the Maserati brand identity and also, in a more basic analysis, just doesn't look right. From any angle.

Range Rover totally understands the management of bulk, presence and SUV stance, with perhaps the exception of the new Disco (that bulbous back end though) and is totally committed to an SUV nothing more in form than and SUV. This however, if it were removed of all its badges, would very very easily pass off as a Kia, Hyundai, <insert any mainstream brand here>.

Such a shame. And you just know there will be evidence of flaky build quality somewhere...

[Leggy]

Looks horrible. Certainly not what you'd expect from Maserati.
It reminds me of Porsche's first attempt with the Cayenne.
Plenty of better looking SUV's as already mentioned.

[Ares]

PhantomPH said:

Ares said:

But even then, I wouldn't say any were an absolute dogs dinner. Even the Nissan.

I was being a touch harsh describing the looks as st - but the reality is it looks really disappointingly 'nothing' to my eyes. It looks too long in the nose, under wheeled (unless you go for the nuts £3.7k+ wheels option...) and bland. I find that what lines do feature on the car, do little to enhance it's form and it looks like the arse has melted in the heat of our un-seasonally warm June. (see image below)

The new Lambo has come in for some stick on this forum, but that seems to have much sharper lines and a more purposeful design. The Maz is just a blob.

Their design has started to slip a few times lately. The Quattro lost some of it's taught lines for the recent version. The Ghibli is not too bad and the Granturismo is just great looking (if hilariously large on our roads!). I think I expected a little more character and purpose from a Maz SUV and it's completely lacking in either of those...to me of course!

Contrast that with the F-Face (spelling on purpose!) and the Jag has much tighter lines and design language. Something which appeals a lot more.

I could have added the new Velar to the above list. That car embraces softer lines but manages to look modern, cohesive and stylish. It won't be to everyone's taste, but at least it has some character to it.

I love that it exists - more choice is a good thing - but based purely on looks, it's not where my money will be going in the next year when we make a change.

ETA: image to illustrate my first paragraph's assertions:

Edited by PhantomPH on Monday 26th June 17:28

Agree on the Velar. Lovely.

And do see what you mean with the Levante, I don't think it is any worse than it's competitors in that regards, especially the F-Pace, and think it has far more unique features than many (especially the Japanese). That image is a poor shot too.

[Ares]

number1nesta said:

I always maintained that a Maserati key was the ultimate to drop onto a pub table, made all the better by the lack of numbers and a brand unknown to many.

Whilst i appreciate selling numbers is the way to stay in business these days, and an SUV is an essential model in any line-up, I think this totally misses the Maserati brand identity and also, in a more basic analysis, just doesn't look right. From any angle.

Range Rover totally understands the management of bulk, presence and SUV stance, with perhaps the exception of the new Disco (that bulbous back end though) and is totally committed to an SUV nothing more in form than and SUV. This however, if it were removed of all its badges, would very very easily pass off as a Kia, Hyundai, <insert any mainstream brand here>.

Such a shame. And you just know there will be evidence of flaky build quality somewhere...

Ranger Rover only make SUVs though, so their brand/style is pure SUV. Taking an established car brand and making an SUV is tough.

First iterations from BMW, Merc, Bentley, Audi etc have all been pretty crap.

[PhantomPH]

Ares said:

And do see what you mean with the Levante, I don't think it is any worse than it's competitors in that regards, especially the F-Pace, and think it has far more unique features than many (especially the Japanese). That image is a poor shot too.

The image in my post is a screenshot I took from the Configurator - the tool you use to,see what your Maz will look like...and it doesn't look good.

You mention the Japanese, but the poster above is exactly right - it LOOKS Japanese. So I cannot possibly agree on it having more unique features than the cars it already looks like one of. Agree to disagree.

[anonymous-user]

I quite like the levante

I couldn't buy a Maserati diesel though, it would just feel wrong to me to do that

The granturismo s I had a while back was marvellous and put the marque pretty high up in my estimation

[eglf]

Ok how many locations can you name, I think I have 4 out of 9.

~original
Balnakeil , Durness

~original
Loch Assynt

~original
Kyle of Tongue (just below Tongue House)

~original
Naver bridge , Bettyhill

Edited by eglf on Monday 26th June 21:00

Edited by eglf on Monday 26th June 21:17

Edited by eglf on Sunday 23 July 15:32

Edited by eglf on Sunday 23 July 15:34

[JM]

matchmaker said:

Snow? When the hell did you do this journey?

Must be at least a couple of months ago since it was pitch dark at 9pm.


I'm also interested in where the forest track between Lochinver and Ullapool is, and who you need to speak to to get permission to drive it?

[JM]

Drumbeg...despite not going there.

[Fasterrr]

Saw one the other day and thought it was a new Kia, until I saw the Maerati badge. Surprisingly bland.

[jorders500]

All cars of this type are ugly. Or is it just that PHers by nature prefer low slung sports cars and SUVs just don't fit that aesthetic? Plenty of normal people seem to like them.

[coppice]

Sublime scenery. stunning roads but done in a lard arsed SUV , as wide as a bus and guaranteed to insulate you from .the sensory delights of this journey. Using a Levante to experience the NW of Scotland is like giving a pig a strawberry...

[urquattroGus]

Maserati are a joke at the moment.

No sports car halo model.

2nd rate engines in all but the Quattroporte.

And by that I mean power wise etc.

If they stuffed the Quattroporte V8 into the Ghibli, at least it would give them some kind of enthusiasts flagship with 520bhp.

The brand is being de-valued from the bottom of the range, but yet there is nothing to pump it up at the top of the range.

I don't think the Levante is a bad car, but again, witness their initial plans to sell it as diesel only. I believe it's only just been announced that the V6 Turbo petrol with 424bhp or so it to be sold in the UK.

[PhantomPH]

urquattroGus said:

The brand is being de-valued from the bottom of the range, but yet there is nothing to pump it up at the top of the range.

I see what you mean here. For a long time, the Maserati brand was very, very cool. Cars were rare and the brand itself seemed to have a kudos and mystique that meant that if someone said they had a Maserati, you knew they 'got it'. With the possible exception of the Granturismo MC Stradale, I feel like they have become a bit of a 'nothing' brand.

Hopefully the Granturismo replacement that is coming soon and the Alfieri, give the brand the kick up the arse it so richly deserves to get it back in to the minds of those who may rock up to the Porsche/Ferrari/Lambo dealer by default.

Interestingly tho, they opened a Maserati dealership up here in the NE a few years ago and it didn't last very long. I don't think people up here are lacking the money, just that they opened the dealership with a vehicle range that was/is really not all that desirable (or perhaps still considered more expensive and fragile than an Audi/BMW??)

[Hackney]

Having now seen one in the flesh (but not driven one), the photographs just do not do it justice.
It is *a lot* better looking in reality.

OK, it's an SUV so it'll never be Miura good looking but don't judge the looks on these pictures.

[JerryF]

One word: UGLY!

[anonymous-user]

JerryF said:

One word: UGLY!

And another: Heavy!

[_Superleggera_]

I'll be buying this instead.

[Ares]

PhantomPH said:

Ares said:

And do see what you mean with the Levante, I don't think it is any worse than it's competitors in that regards, especially the F-Pace, and think it has far more unique features than many (especially the Japanese). That image is a poor shot too.

The image in my post is a screenshot I took from the Configurator - the tool you use to,see what your Maz will look like...and it doesn't look good.

You can tell....no would would actually spec the worst colour and the worst wheels on a physical car

[PhantomPH]

Ares said:

PhantomPH said:

Ares said:

And do see what you mean with the Levante, I don't think it is any worse than it's competitors in that regards, especially the F-Pace, and think it has far more unique features than many (especially the Japanese). That image is a poor shot too.

The image in my post is a screenshot I took from the Configurator - the tool you use to,see what your Maz will look like...and it doesn't look good.

You can tell....no would would actually spec the worst colour and the worst wheels on a physical car

That's the standard spec - no options applied. And you will also note my previous point about it only looking slightly better if you spec the biggest wheels - which are £3,700!!! That's a bloody laugh. Even the 20's which are £2,000, still look too small for the flobbery styling.

Look at the Alfa above - that looks big and heavy, but the styling holds together miles better than the Levante. I know you could argue that the top-of-the-range Alfa should not really be compared to the Levanter, but your arguments have been about looks and styling so it's a reasonable comparison.

Oh yeah and add the Afa to my list of better looking SUVs. Ha ha