This battery-electric midsize SUV is dressed to thrill
Test Drive: 2024 Maserati Grecale Folgore
This battery-electric midsize SUV is dressed to thrill
Following the 2023 debut of Maserati’s all-new five passenger midsize SUV, the Grecale, its battery-electric version, the Grecale Folgore is now available. We traveled to its native soil, traipsing around Puglia, Italy and its many olive tree groves, to get hands on. Even luxury brands have to bend to government dictates for electrification, and the storied 110-year-old Italian automaker is on track to have a battery-electric version of every current model by the end of 2025, and is planning on phasing out combustion engine models by 2028 (just in time for the redesigned Maserati Quattroporte’s arrival). For now, electric versions of the brand’s models receive the additional nomenclature of “Folgore.”
For far too long Maseratis have been tragically beautiful but haven’t always been as exclusive as they were in the past. Recent models like the mid-size Ghibli sedan and the Levante SUV were introduced, only to suffer from little follow-up to sustain any enthusiasm the new models generated. When the vehicles didn’t sell in the anticipated volume, the company resorted to inexpensive leases and incentives to move the metal and the brand lost some of its equity and status in the process.
True luxury never comes at a discount, and this is something Maserati is now taking to heart. The Modena, Italy-based automaker is pulling back, choosing class production over mass production and pricing its vehicles accordingly. Volume is being limited alongside an increased focus on higher end trim packages to enhance the brand’s exclusivity, and prices are reflective of that strategy. More customization options are now available for owners to personalize their vehicles, something its competitors in the luxury segment are also focusing on.
The 2024 Maserati Grecale Folgore promises the driving experience you expect from a purebred Italian car thanks to its clean, modern design aesthetic and sporty stance. Its sophisticated, mature presence is readily apparent, shaped by its designers with the typical Italian visual haiku. Nothing is extraneous in its design execution aside from the sensuousness of its body panels. There’s a timelessness at work here, despite design details nicked from past Maserati models.
Being a Folgore, this Grecale gets a unique grille, with much of its exterior detailing finished in a gloss black. It’s a subtle modification, but works well with the vehicle’s lower ride height. To maintain the SUV’s height engineers dropped the floorpan to make room for its battery pack, and its ground clearance drops to 6.7 from 8.3 inches, endowing the Grecale Folgore with an even greater sense of speed. Check out the line the sweeps up from the headlamps, arching over the front fender as it sweeps back under the windows, and is echoed by the muscular sheetmetal side sculpting lending a sense of motion to its design. Specially designed aerodynamic wheels improve EV performance and enhance the vehicle’s styling. What you might not expect are the portholes, which are lit using LED lighting.
Inside, our vehicle’s cabin was dressed in black with red stitching. The seats are covered in Econyl, an upscale recycled nylon fabric manufactured from fishing nets, and increasingly seen in luxury clothing. The shifter seen in other Grecales is gone, replaced by pushbuttons sandwiched between the upper 12.3 inch infotainment touchscreen and lower 8.8 inch touchscreen. Instead of changing gears its paddle shifters adjust the vehicle’s regenerative braking settings. The excellent 1,200-watt, 21-speaker Sonus Faber audio system, wireless charging, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto remain unchanged.
This Grecale is dressed to thrill. Given that Grecale means Greece and Folgore translates to lightning, you’d rightly expect to go fast—and you will. Running 0-to-60 mph takes about four seconds as dual electric motors churn out 550 horsepower. All-wheel drive is standard. Recharging the battery to 80 percent requires 29 minutes using a DC fast charger, and provides a range of 311 miles according to Maserati. While more efficient tires might eke out more range, odds are you’re buying a Maserati for a reason. Thankfully, its engineers have endeavored to deliver what the nameplate promises.
Perhaps that’s why they’ve endowed the driveline with artificial noise (that you can’t turn off) to make it sound like a high-performance, gas-burning Maserati both inside and outside the vehicle. Though EVs are, by their nature, silent, the 2024 Maserati Grecale Folgore will not go quietly into that good night, and like all brands is exploring how to add sound to its driving experience.
The Grecale Folgore is fitted with air shocks that adjust along with the Sport, Offroad and Max Range driving modes. With Sport dialed up, the Maserati proves worthy of its Italian automotive heritage, as the full power of the battery is unleashed. But don’t expect the gut-punch acceleration typical of many EVs–Instead, you’ll find it possesses a strong, linear authority that feels sophisticated and grown-up. This is no boy racer. Still, it acquits itself well when the road turns twisty, proving to be well-behaved with little-to-no body motion and negligible body lean. Some may find the softest GT setting a bit too firm, but this is a Maserati. Compared to the gas-powered Grecale Trofeo, the Grecale Folgore seems less inclined to hang its tail out while cornering, no doubt due to the battery pack’s extra weight. Like all EVs its lower center of gravity helps absorb road shocks, which seem much less intrusive than in the Grecale’s fossil-fueled siblings.
Maserati hasn’t announced pricing, but expect it to run north of $100,000. This ensures that this is one EV that will be very exclusive, even for an already exclusive brand. But that guarantees that unlike some alleged luxury EVs, you won’t see yourself coming and going.