Maserati Levante Hybrid: Heartbreak | STERN.de

Does anyone remember the VW Polo Harlequin? The Polo on which the VW designers poured out several buckets of paint in the mid-1990s. Today the brightly colored small car is a cult. Whether it is handsome is another matter. With a Maserati Levante, the question of how well it looks is not an issue. The trident SUV shines with stylish details such as fine leather seat panels made of silk from the luxury fashion brand Ermenegildo Zegna. But now the Italians have also discovered the splendor of colors for themselves and painted a Levante blue-yellow.

“Fuoriserie bicolor” is the name of the two-tone play. But much more important, whether this is a visual mistake, is the technology under the body. Maserati has taken the mild hybrid drivetrain from the Ghibli Hybrid and packed it into the crossover. The Italians combine a two-liter four-cylinder petrol engine with a 48-volt belt starter generator and an electric compressor: The conversion work is extensive: The synchronization between the electric compressor and the belt starter generator in particular required a great deal of detailed work. “This drive train was intended for the Levante from the start,” says engineer Corrado Nizzola, dispelling concerns that the transplant might not work. But it is not that simple. On the one hand, the Levante is an SUV and thus a good 200 kilograms heavier than the Ghibli and, in addition, all-wheel drive brings both axles into play.

The technicians take this into account with a modified rear axle ratio, since normally up to 100 percent of the drive force moves to the rear and within 150 milliseconds a maximum of 50 percent is transferred to the front axle: while the Ghibli’s drivetrain has a ratio of 2.8 it at the Levant 3.27. In addition, there are changes in the engine management system due to emissions standards. With the technical adjustments, the technicians put the lever in the right place, especially since the performance data with 243 kW / 330 PS and a torque of 450 Newton meters, of which 350 Nm are already available at 1,500 rpm, have remained unchanged.

However, the Levante Hybrid does worse in terms of drive dynamics than the Ghibli. The range of driving modes is pronounced, but in the ICE and normal driving program, the five-meter-long SUV is more of a friendly, sporty character than the agile alpha. The comfortable tuning of the air spring suspension, which is a little tighter in sport mode, in which the body is also 20 millimeters apart, also fits in with this. But even if you set the dampers extra tight at the push of a button, the Levante is not a bone breaker. Basically, the sporty driving program is the best choice because then the electric compressor and the belt starter generator pull together more consistently. Then the Levante hangs on the gas more greedily and the aggressively hissing four-cylinder does its best to push the 2,090 kilogram Chose forward.

That happens in a somewhat ambitious way. The Levante Hybrid reaches the 100 km / h mark in 6.0 seconds and is up to 245 km / h. However, this does not yet express the lateral dynamics, in which the well-known all-wheel drive plays an important role, in which the electronically controlled multi-plate clutch provides the front axle with a maximum of 50 percent of the drive force within 150 milliseconds. Normally, the Italian plays the thoroughbred rear-wheel drive and, thanks to the limited-slip differential on the rear axle, comes around the corners with some liveliness, but without reaching the nimble footing of a Porsche Cayenne. This is also due to the doughy steering, which acts surprisingly indirectly and also only communicates to a limited extent how the interaction of the wheels with the ground is going. In terms of consumption, Maserati indicates a value of 10.7 l / 100 kilometers according to the WLTP cycle. We came to 11.9 l / 100 km in our test drives.

As stylish as the Italians are in terms of materials and design (well, mostly, as you can see from the color combination), they approach the topic of infotainment with restraint. That has improved with the Levante Hybrid. In view of the tablet-like orgies of other manufacturers, the 8.4-inch central touchscreen looks like a relic from the last generation of smart devices. It actually is, and the Levante lacks space. However, the Italians have lend a hand with the technology, which makes use of the Android Automotive operating system, which can be brought up to date via wireless updates. This is also noticeable in the operation, which, with the app tiles, is similar to a current smartphone. The navigation system comes from TomTom, who also provide the real-time traffic data. The integration of the cell phone via Apple CarPlay or Android Auto is also possible. The last thing that remains is the price for the Levante Hybrid, which will be available from dealers from August. That is 79,254 euros, but you get an SUV that stands out from the road monotony. Even without the two-tone paintwork that takes getting used to.