RE: Maserati Levante Trofeo | Driven

[joedesi]

tvrolet said:

I hear this a lot - but usually from folks who've never even sat i one. Pay tell, how is the interior 'crap'?

I took delivery of my new TrackHawk a week past Monday and while the interior wasn't really part of the decision process I really find it hard to fault. Ergonomically everything's easy to reach, easy to use - nothing's hidden-away or in a wacky place. And even if it was the voice command would do it anyway. Comfort wise although I've had it just under 2 weeks I've done 3 x 300mile+ daily journeys in it (as well as local stuff) and it's supremely comfortable. As you'd expect the seats are heated - but what's really great is they're cooled too through perforations in the leather that blow cold air; great on hot days.

Maybe it's the quality that irks you? I've just a lay-person's view on what quality leather looks like and feels like, but the Jeep leather is as good as I've seen and had my ass on...any to me at least, it looks better than the Maserati leather on the car I traded-in for it. In fact the guy who fitted the tracker (who spends his time fitting trackers to high-end stuff) was the first to comment (unsolicited) that he thought the leather and stitching was as good as he'd seen - I guess he too expected plasticised leather or similar (like my old Grand Cherokee). Most things are leather covered, but the trim strip etc are carbon fibre and certainly look real enough - certainly no less real than the carbon in the Maserati I traded. I'm no fan of wood in cars so being wood-free isn't an issue to me.

Design-wise it's not as swoopy as the Maserati (or the Cerbera interior I had some time back, held up as a high-point in design) but while it maybe doesn't look so jaw-dropping everything is easy to find, easy to use, and seems to be put together well.

Money no object how might I improve the interior? Not sure really - I'm finding it pretty hard to fault without going to silly levels like 'replace the wiper stalk with one made of carbon fibre with gold inlays'. Maybe I just have simple tastes, but looks and feels pretty good to me.

Rant over...

Now, back to discussing underpowered Italian stuff

Yes yes yes. Agree with all that. But how does it drive man ?! The want for one of these trackhawks is so high. Sat in one at Goodwood and was fine about the interior. We currently have an SQ7 and would probably change to one of these

[Helicopter123]

joedesi said:

tvrolet said:

I hear this a lot - but usually from folks who've never even sat i one. Pay tell, how is the interior 'crap'?

I took delivery of my new TrackHawk a week past Monday and while the interior wasn't really part of the decision process I really find it hard to fault. Ergonomically everything's easy to reach, easy to use - nothing's hidden-away or in a wacky place. And even if it was the voice command would do it anyway. Comfort wise although I've had it just under 2 weeks I've done 3 x 300mile+ daily journeys in it (as well as local stuff) and it's supremely comfortable. As you'd expect the seats are heated - but what's really great is they're cooled too through perforations in the leather that blow cold air; great on hot days.

Maybe it's the quality that irks you? I've just a lay-person's view on what quality leather looks like and feels like, but the Jeep leather is as good as I've seen and had my ass on...any to me at least, it looks better than the Maserati leather on the car I traded-in for it. In fact the guy who fitted the tracker (who spends his time fitting trackers to high-end stuff) was the first to comment (unsolicited) that he thought the leather and stitching was as good as he'd seen - I guess he too expected plasticised leather or similar (like my old Grand Cherokee). Most things are leather covered, but the trim strip etc are carbon fibre and certainly look real enough - certainly no less real than the carbon in the Maserati I traded. I'm no fan of wood in cars so being wood-free isn't an issue to me.

Design-wise it's not as swoopy as the Maserati (or the Cerbera interior I had some time back, held up as a high-point in design) but while it maybe doesn't look so jaw-dropping everything is easy to find, easy to use, and seems to be put together well.

Money no object how might I improve the interior? Not sure really - I'm finding it pretty hard to fault without going to silly levels like 'replace the wiper stalk with one made of carbon fibre with gold inlays'. Maybe I just have simple tastes, but looks and feels pretty good to me.

Rant over...

Now, back to discussing underpowered Italian stuff

Yes yes yes. Agree with all that. But how does it drive man ?! The want for one of these trackhawks is so high. Sat in one at Goodwood and was fine about the interior. We currently have an SQ7 and would probably change to one of these

I've sat in one and also found the interior to be better than expected.

Would be good to hear some sensible thoughts on running costs as well. It won't be cheap but then it's a £90k car so shouldn't be expected to be cheap to run.

[defonsecca]

Ugly as sin. If Maserati can't even design an attractive SUV there's no hope.

[eftiem64]

Helicopter123 said:

Other than the fact the fact that they are widely popular with consumers and hugely profitable for manufacturers?

Selling a product that people want to buy is the direct opposite of "completely pointless".

Yup, take something that weighs as much as a house and is about as aerodynamic, try and make it as fast as a Ferrari, ignoring that it’s 3x taller and handles like a truck and would get stuck if you tried driving it on anything other than tarmac. That every respected marque is producing these ridiculously over priced, environmentally shameful and hilariously ugly travesties is only because money matters more than anything else. Luckily there’s a market for these to keep footballers, drug dealers and accountants happy but when McLaren or Lotus produce one of these obscenities, it is the end of the world. These things serve no purpose and so are utterly completely and irredeemably pointless. Still, the catastrophic depreciation is justice I suppose.

[Robert-nszl1]

eftiem64 said:

Yup, take something that weighs as much as a house and is about as aerodynamic, try and make it as fast as a Ferrari, ignoring that it’s 3x taller and handles like a truck and would get stuck if you tried driving it on anything other than tarmac. That every respected marque is producing these ridiculously over priced, environmentally shameful and hilariously ugly travesties is only because money matters more than anything else. Luckily there’s a market for these to keep footballers, drug dealers and accountants happy but when McLaren or Lotus produce one of these obscenities, it is the end of the world. These things serve no purpose and so are utterly completely and irredeemably pointless. Still, the catastrophic depreciation is justice I suppose.

Yet in a pervious post you laud the lardy M8, possibly an even less useful tool as viewed against your own measures...heavy, ugly, overpriced, and environmentally shameful.... So my SUV won't go offroad much (it is decent enough depending on the tyres of course) , but speedbumps, and poor road surfaces can be ignored, and much as the centre of gravity is 'wrong' it's amazing how well it goes around bends. Sure an estate could do it as well if not better, and I've owned them too. But I unashamedly like the tonka toy looks of SUVs. I'm not a footballer, a drugdealer, nor indeed an accountant....I do believe in choice, recognising environmental factors are an ever growing aspect of life, and will impact how we consume everything, cars being part of that. But (most) plastics aside, cars are eminently recyclable, and powertrains will get ever cleaner.

Anyway keep the clichés coming, the lack of irony on here never ceases to amaze me at times....