RE: Maserati announces V8 Levante prices

[Rawwr]

B17NNS said:

Not a fan of the car but those seats are pretty sexy.

[rxe]

30 grand more than a Stelvio QV (with very similar power) seems a bit of a stretch to me. Yes, Maserati is a step up in brand, but what does it really give you, other than horrific service bills?

[raceboy]

The black seats look a lot nicer than the Caramac colour of the one I had a poke about in last night.




Not my cup of tea, especially in matt blue and £160k But it’s nearly worth it for the noise it makes.....nearly.

[Macboy]

£159000. You may as well set for to a bag of money all the value that’s going to have as soon as you collect it. Have you seen residuals (and dealer bids) on the standard cars?

[PhantomPH]

B17NNS said:

PH Towers, this seems to be a common theme. Why no interior pics?

That looks really nice on the inside.

[SydneySE]

vz-r_dave said:

Who would have thought the Italians are leading the way with exciting, capable SUV's..... Stelvio, Levanta, Urus . Puts the Germans (yawn) to shame really.

I think the Germans still have the upper hand in this market:
1. Urus (really a Q7)
2. Bentayga (really same car as above with dfiffernt styling)
3. Rolls Royce Cullinan (BMW being the interloper in the VAG listing here!)
3. Cayenne Turbo
4. Audi Q7 variants (there was a W12 once upon a time)

I have a Cayenne Turbo, when buying suspension arms for it... they are listed as compatable with Cayenne, Q7 & Toureg.... The Urus and the Bentayga actually share a rear axle/suspension design with rear wheel steer built in..

No one can argue that the Urus is a lamborghini, its the least Lamborghini of them all (hell even my Murcielago has Audi stamped parts on it), but the Urus has the same VAG v8 biturbo thats in everything from the Panamera to the Continental & Bentayga, and shares a VAG platform (MQB? I forget).

Despite having owned some porsches, and still having a Cayenne, I prefer Italian cars, both my Murcielago and Qattroporte feel far more special than their German opposition, but I have to admit the Germans build some damn impressive cars..

[SydneySE]

rxe said:

30 grand more than a Stelvio QV (with very similar power) seems a bit of a stretch to me. Yes, Maserati is a step up in brand, but what does it really give you, other than horrific service bills?

I noticed some similarites between my old Alfa 159 and the equivalent Maserati's.... (how the door cards where stiched etc), but the Maserati did def feel a few rungs above the Alfa overall... even given they both had leather interiors etc.

The biggest drawback for me with the Stelvio- its a V6.... the Levante is now available with a v8; when I look to get rid of the Cayenne (v8 turbo as well), i'd look at the Levante, purely as its got a v8... the Stelvio wouldnt' get a look in....

[Dave Hedgehog]

SydneySE said:

No one can argue that the Urus is a lamborghini, its the least Lamborghini of them all (hell even my Murcielago has Audi stamped parts on it), but the Urus has the same VAG v8 biturbo thats in everything from the Panamera to the Continental & Bentayga, and shares a VAG platform (MQB? I forget).

if you watched the recent utoob series of B is for Build and Goonsquad repairing crashed huracan's you could see audi badges everywhere

[Ares]

Jurdy said:

Drove a nicely spec'd 3 litre oiler when they first came out, nice looking car but the infotainment/dash/toys were so far behind the F Pace S that we ended up buying for less (with a boot that we didn't have to lie our dog in horizontally) that I can't see how a few years evolution and a massive engine make a bit of a snotter into a 100 plus grand SUV.

It's a shame. I really want to like this car.

I had a Ghibli for the weekend, and two friends have Levantes....there is no way they are 'snotters'.

[leglessAlex]

I'm not much of an SUV person, but there's a decent amount of choice now if you want a small/medium sized go-faster SUV.

Alfa Stelvio Quadrifoglio
Porsche Macan Turbo
F-Pace SVR
Maser Levante V8
BMW X3M
Mercedes GLC 63
RR Velar SVAutobiography

And I've probably missed some. I don't find them as obnoxious as the full size SUVs Like Range Rovers, X7s, Q7s, GLSes, and so on.

[Ares]

SydneySE said:

I think the Germans still have the upper hand in this market:
1. Urus (really a Q7)
2. Bentayga (really same car as above with dfiffernt styling)
3. Rolls Royce Cullinan (BMW being the interloper in the VAG listing here!)
3. Cayenne Turbo
4. Audi Q7 variants (there was a W12 once upon a time)

I have a Cayenne Turbo, when buying suspension arms for it... they are listed as compatable with Cayenne, Q7 & Toureg.... The Urus and the Bentayga actually share a rear axle/suspension design with rear wheel steer built in..

No one can argue that the Urus is a lamborghini, its the least Lamborghini of them all (hell even my Murcielago has Audi stamped parts on it), but the Urus has the same VAG v8 biturbo thats in everything from the Panamera to the Continental & Bentayga, and shares a VAG platform (MQB? I forget).

Despite having owned some porsches, and still having a Cayenne, I prefer Italian cars, both my Murcielago and Qattroporte feel far more special than their German opposition, but I have to admit the Germans build some damn impressive cars..

Sorry, but as a driver, the Urus is no more 'really a Q7' (and it would be Q8 FWIW), than a Q7 is really a last-generation Touareg...and the Cayenne is a LOT more Q7 than the Urus is.

The Urus might have VAG parts, but it has the best of every one in one package, and more on top. And the best tune of the same engine.


And a Cullinan is as BMW as a 911 is a beetle.

The Italian marques have taken on the Germans and upped the game.

Best sports SUVs around? IMO... Levante, Urus, Stelvio, RRS SVR, Velar SVR, F-Pace SVR, Cayenne Turbo.

[Ares]

Dave Hedgehog said:

SydneySE said:

No one can argue that the Urus is a lamborghini, its the least Lamborghini of them all (hell even my Murcielago has Audi stamped parts on it), but the Urus has the same VAG v8 biturbo thats in everything from the Panamera to the Continental & Bentayga, and shares a VAG platform (MQB? I forget).

if you watched the recent utoob series of B is for Build and Goonsquad repairing crashed huracan's you could see audi badges everywhere

Does that really matter though...? Would it be more premium if it had 'Bosch' or an Italian name you'd never heard of?

[vz-r_dave]

SydneySE said:

vz-r_dave said:

Who would have thought the Italians are leading the way with exciting, capable SUV's..... Stelvio, Levanta, Urus . Puts the Germans (yawn) to shame really.

I think the Germans still have the upper hand in this market:
1. Urus (really a Q7)
2. Bentayga (really same car as above with dfiffernt styling)
3. Rolls Royce Cullinan (BMW being the interloper in the VAG listing here!)
3. Cayenne Turbo
4. Audi Q7 variants (there was a W12 once upon a time)

I have a Cayenne Turbo, when buying suspension arms for it... they are listed as compatable with Cayenne, Q7 & Toureg.... The Urus and the Bentayga actually share a rear axle/suspension design with rear wheel steer built in..

No one can argue that the Urus is a lamborghini, its the least Lamborghini of them all (hell even my Murcielago has Audi stamped parts on it), but the Urus has the same VAG v8 biturbo thats in everything from the Panamera to the Continental & Bentayga, and shares a VAG platform (MQB? I forget).

Despite having owned some porsches, and still having a Cayenne, I prefer Italian cars, both my Murcielago and Qattroporte feel far more special than their German opposition, but I have to admit the Germans build some damn impressive cars..

Yeah I didnt think of the VAG owned Lambo so fair point, however in terms of looks, more than likely driving appeal I'd take the two Italians over the German competition. They also look better to my eye.

[Nerdherder]

Does not excite me one bit. ...Oh wait..

[moldy]

Macboy said:

£159000. You may as well set for to a bag of money all the value that’s going to have as soon as you collect it. Have you seen residuals (and dealer bids) on the standard cars?

I think anybody in the market for one of these doesn’t give a rams a**e about residuals

[Macboy]

moldy said:

Macboy said:

£159000. You may as well set for to a bag of money all the value that’s going to have as soon as you collect it. Have you seen residuals (and dealer bids) on the standard cars?

I think anybody in the market for one of these doesn’t give a rams a**e about residuals

You couldn’t be more wrong. Go onto any of the super car forums and see how much of an issue depreciation is even if you can afford it.

[leglessAlex]

Macboy said:

moldy said:

Macboy said:

£159000. You may as well set for to a bag of money all the value that’s going to have as soon as you collect it. Have you seen residuals (and dealer bids) on the standard cars?

I think anybody in the market for one of these doesn’t give a rams a**e about residuals

You couldn’t be more wrong. Go onto any of the super car forums and see how much of an issue depreciation is even if you can afford it.

Aye, rich people don't get rich by being silly with their money.

[okenemem]

ugly

[LooneyTunes]

moldy said:

Macboy said:

£159000. You may as well set for to a bag of money all the value that’s going to have as soon as you collect it. Have you seen residuals (and dealer bids) on the standard cars?

I think anybody in the market for one of these doesn’t give a rams a**e about residuals

Really? Poor residuals will adversely impact PCPs which, I was a little surprised to learn, are still pretty common at the top end of the market. When I bought the wife’s last car, the dealer was saying that a good 65% of customers take dealer finance. Even if you’re not financing, people rarely like seeing their cash vaporise.

With respect to the Levante, this car really needed more power at the outset. Wife test drove one last year and decided it didn’t have the punch she was looking for. Given Maserati’s brand image, she was simply expecting more than the small engine could deliver.

She went back about a month ago to look at a GranCabrio. Same dealer as she’d driven the Levante with. No mention of the impending V8 Levante even when she discussed the previous test drive and reason for not buying. Mind you, given they asked on the test drive whether she was looking for a car for her husband, it probably wouldn’t have increased the chances of buying from them...

[Mike335i]

Surely it can't just be me that thinks this is a properly bland looking car, like a Hyundai before they started making interesting cars? The rear looks very Nissan to me.

I'm no SUV lover, but even factoring that into the equation, its just so dull looking.