Maserati Grecale review – engine, gearbox and technical highlights

Should you divert your Porsche Macan deposit to your Maserati dealer, the underpinnings of your new performance SUV are favourable. The Grecale is based on a stretched version of Alfa Romeo’s Giorgio platform, and in the Trofeo model there’s a lusty 3-litre twin-turbocharged V6 based on the MC20’s but with a wet sump, new turbos, cylinder deactivation but still with the complex pre-chamber ignition system. It generates 523bhp and 457lb ft of torque.

The Grecale GT and Modena use mild-hybrid-assisted 2-litre four-cylinder engines, each fitted with a 48-volt starter generator unit. The electrical system also features what Maserati calls an e-Booster to support the combustion engine for better performance and efficiency, with Sport mode prioritising the former and Normal the latter. The GT and Modena achieve peaks of 296bhp and 325bhp respectively, with matching torque figures of 332lb ft. 

Height adjustable air springs are standard on the Trofeo and optional on four-cylinder models, with 65mm between the lowest setting and the raised Off Road mode. A limited-slip rear differential and adaptive dampers are also standard on the Trofeo, as well as the more powerful four-pot Modena. 

These electronics are integrated with Maserati’s Vehicle Dynamic Control Module, a predictive system that acts on the Grecale’s dynamics to optimise precision and control. VDCM also helps to prescribe each of the drive modes – Comfort, GT, Sport, Off Road and Corsa, the latter of which is specific to the Trofeo.

The base Grecale is the lightest of the three, coming in at 1870kg, with the V6-engined Trofeo bulking up to 2027kg. That’s around 200kg heavier than its close relative, the Alfa Romeo’s Stelvio Quadrifoglio, partly due to the Grecale’s extended platform.