Maserati Levante (2016-2024) Review

Want a used SUV but are bored of the run of the mill models you see everywhere? Then the Maserati could be the car for you. Like the Alfa Stelvio, it’s something different from the rows of BMW X5s and Audi Q7s. That Maserati badge on the front makes it feel that bit more special. It’s the kind of car when you park, someone is likely to come up and start asking you about it.

The big diesel may not be the most exciting model in the range but it’s the one we’d recommend. It has plenty of power, sounds good and at least makes an attempt at economy. We’d all like a GTS or Trofeo of course, but they’re big money. If you want petrol, stick with a 3.0 V6 rather than the hybrid-assisted 2.0-litre four-cylinder motor.

The GranSport is the best trim and comes with plenty of luxury touches like 12-way power sport front seats, a power-adjustable sport steering wheel with aluminium gearshift paddles, power-adjustable sport pedals and navigation.

If you’re looking at a standard petrol or diesel Maserati Levante, you can see it as a rival to higher powered diesel versions of the BMW X5 and Audi Q7. And fellow Italian the Alfa Stelvio. Move up to the more performance biased models and the Porsche Cayenne is the most obvious rival along with AMG versions of Mercedes' big SUVs.

There's no denying the quality of the Maserati Levante interior. It feels superbly finished and well put together, plus there are various wood trims and leather finishes available so new buyers could personalise their Levante as much as they’d like. Of course, whether a used buyer will share their taste is another matter.

You'd expect some of the buttons and controls to be nicer on a car at this price - the large indicator/wiper stalk looks distinctly old hat - but those are only small gripes in what is a very high-quality cabin.

The big 8.4-inch touchscreen in the Maserati Levante controls all the main functions, although there are still buttons for the air conditioning and a proper dial to turn the radio volume up and down. 

In fact, it is one of the best infotainment systems around with a responsive screen and a crisp, high-res display.

Given the size of the Maserati Levante at 5005mm long, 2158mm wide and 1693mm tall, you’d be disappointed if the boot wasn’t huge. With 580-litres, it’s a match for the competition (although a BMW X5 has a bigger boot) and means you can carry golf clubs (and an accompanying electric trolley) with no problems. There’s acres of space for a pushchair too.

There’s no issue for those in the back with plenty of head and legroom, even with six-foot plus people sat in the front and stretching out their legs for fun. However, there was never a seven-seat option for the Levante, which may rule it out for some used buyers.

When it was first launched, the Maserati Levante was only available with a diesel engine. Not what you’d expect from Maserati. The 3.0-litre twin-turbo is also used in the Ghibli and the Maserati Quattroporte with the same 275PS. That's slightly more than a Porsche Cayenne diesel of the same period and the Levante also came with more torque at 600Nm.

It’s this pulling power that makes the Maserati diesel so strong. All that grunt means it's not short of get up and go when you want to overtake a slower vehicle or are pulling onto a fast dual carriageway from a short slip road.

The Trofeo and GTS models are the best of the bunch with a huge 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 that’s hugely powerful and sounds sublime. There is a pay-off, of course, with their shock-inducing fuel economy.

In 2019, Maserati introduced a 3.0 V6 petrol as an alternative to the diesel. It’s far from slow and in the fine aural tradition of Maserati this is a great sounding engine, especially in sport mode when the exhaust flap opens. It's incongruous coming from an SUV, and all the more enjoyable for that. 

The eight-speed auto has a strangely polar set of characteristics. In comfort mode it’s reticent to shift down a gear, keeping the V6 in the lower rev range where it’s really not at its best. In sport mode, opposingly, it holds a gear for too long, so unless you’re going full tilt it’s just not that pleasant.

Early Levantes had a rather clunky automatic gear lever which wasn’t pleasant to use and it could be tricky to get it into reverse first time round. Fortunately, in 2019 this was addressed with a redesigned gearshift lever that is far better and only needs a light touch to go into gear.

None of the engines in the Maserati Levante are especially quiet, but then they’re not really designed to be. The petrols sound wonderful - with the exception of the 2.0-litre - and even the diesel is characterful with a deep rumble that reminds you this is a Maserati and something a bit special. If it’s a calm hush you want, look elsewhere. 

Put it in Sport mode and the engine note is even more pronounced in all models, plus the exhaust is louder, although accelerate hard and you're met with a not especially nice suction noise.

The Maserati Levante wasn’t tested by Euro NCAP.

All versions of the Levante come with six airbags, ABS brakes and ESP traction control, but automatic emergency braking was an optional extra until later in the car's life when it became mandatory in mid-2022 across Europe. The same options pack also brought lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, and traffic sign recognition.

Whilst Maserati didn't feature on the latest HonestJohn.co.uk Satisfaction Index, and nor did Fiat which Maserati is a part of.

There are a few surprises here. Every model sits in the highest insurance group of 50 so it’s not a cheap car to insure but is similar to most performance SUV rivals in this respect.

The Maserati Levante was launched in 2016 so when it was registered will affect how much tax you’re paying. Models registered before April 2017 will cost more due to high CO2 emissions. The least you’ll pay is £385 a year in VED for a diesel with the S costing £735 a year in Band M.

Post-April 2017, this drops to a flat rate of £195 a year, so newer models are worth seeking out. Just be aware that all Levante models have a list price of more than £40,000 so will incur the extra £425 a year showroom tax for five years from the second time it’s taxed.

Standard equipment levels are high as you’d expect and all models have leather-trimmed upholstery, an 8.4-inch touchscreen, cruise control, dual-zone climate control and keyless entry.

The Maserati Levante GranSport adds 12-way power sport front seats, a power-adjustable sport steering wheel with aluminium gearshift paddles, power-adjustable sport pedals, parking sensors and navigation.

Choose the Maserati Levante GranLusso trim and you get posh stuff like Ermenegildo Zegna Silk interiors, Radica open-pore dashboard wood and leather steering wheel. It also had soft-close doors. Nice.

Top of the range is the Maserati Levante GTS with premium leather on the seats and 12-way power sport front seats with memory function, power-adjustable sport steering wheel with aluminium gearshift paddles, power-adjustable sport pedals and velour floor mats.

The sportier Maserati Levante Trofeo gets sculpted sport seats feature a premium full-grain  leather available in black, red and tan, all with contrast stitching and “Trofeo” logo stitched on the headrests.

Latterly, there was also the Maserati Levante GT Ultima that has the 2.0-litre engine. It also came with climate control, leather upholstery, keyless entry and cruise control. It also has air-suspension and an 8.4-inch infotainment screen.

Above this sat the Levante Modena Ultima with much the same spec, but with the 430PS twin-turbo V6 engine.