Maserati Levante

Italian firm’s larger SUV competes in a much tougher segment than when it first entered. How’s it coping? It’s eight whole years since Maserati launched the Levante. It entered the premium SUV market long before Aston Martin or Lamborghini had succumbed to such money-spinning moves; Ferrari had thus far sworn blind it would never make a crossover. Yep, times change.Initially sold with V6 petrol and diesel engines (and adding a useful chunk to Maserati’s sales figures in its early days), it has evolved over time; the range now consists of a four-cylinder mild-hybrid petrol and a V6 petrol, with prices starting at £92,935.This feels quite a leap when the range began below £60,000 at launch. Naturally the smaller Maserati Grecale SUV slots into the financial chasm left behind. Get in quick and you can wave goodbye to V8 Maseratis with the Levante V8 Ultima. Just eight will come to the UK, priced from £160,625 and using a 572bhp, 3.8-litre tune of Ferrari’s sensational twin-turbocharged F154 engine. Big money but a big heart.