Life Is Good: The 2019 Maserati Levante S GranSport

The 2019 Maserati Levante S GranSport.

“My Maserati does 185.  I lost my license. Now I don’t drive.”

---Joe Walsh, “Life’s Been Good” (1978)

Far more people have heard Joe Walsh sing that lyric over the years than have ever seen, let alone driven, a Maserati---so that’s probably a good place to begin talking about the 2019 Maserati Levante S Gransport.

First of all, this Maserati does 187, so Joe’s car, a gorgeous 1960s 5000GT, has nothing on it (in fact, Joe indulged in a bit of artistic license in the song---top speed of the 5000S is 168).   

What’s most impressive is that the Levante is an SUV.  That’s right, a 187 mile per hour Sport Utility Vehicle.

2019 Maserati Levante S GranSport.

And it is fierce.  A foot to the floor in the 2019 Maserati Levante S Gransport is met with a standing start to 60 miles per hour in 5.1 seconds, according to Car and Driver magazine, and a howl from the engine that is pure Italian machinery magic.  It’s Pavarotti with pistons.

What’s the market for such a thing, you ask?  Well, just cruise for a few miles in any upscale neighborhood and count the Porsche Cayennes, Mercedes-AMG GLE43s, and Jaguar F-Pace SVRs you see.  High-performance luxury SUVs are a hot market right now and the Maserati Levante S Gransport is aimed right at the heart of it.

2019 Maserati Levante S GranSport.

$91,980 buys you the vehicle without options, but standard equipment includes a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter 424-horsepower V6 engine with an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.  Bi-Xenon headlamps, adaptive air suspension, a Skyhook performance suspension with active damping, heated and ventilated front seats, an 8.4-inch color touchscreen entertainment and navigation system including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a rearview camera with front and rear parking sensors and blind spot alert.

2019 Maserati Levante S GranSport.

.Also included at that price, 20-inch Nereo aluminum wheels, gloss red-painted brake calipers with white “Maserati” script, 12-way power front sport seats, a black leather sport steering wheel, a 14-speaker Harmon Kardon audio system, body-color side skirts and GranSport rear spoiler and black roof rails.

2019 Maserati Levante S GranSport.

As you can see, “standard” doesn’t mean “stripped” with the Levante S Gransport.  Still, Maserati found some room for extra-cost options in our test vehicle:

• ·         Driver Assistance Pack (stability control, integrated vehicle control, adaptive LED matrix headlamps) $1,590.
• ·         Climate Pack (expands the dual-zone climate control to four zones) $290.
• ·         High-gloss metal net trim. $1,690.
• ·         Full natural leather interior upholstery and natural drilled leather seat upholstery. $2,890.
• ·         Illuminated steel door sill. $200.
• ·         Heated black leather sport steering wheel. $90.
• ·         Kick sensor. $100.
• ·         Soft door close. $590.
• ·         Bowers & Wilkins audio system.  $1,990.
• ·         Blu Emozione Mica paint. $925.
• ·         21-inch Helios Staggered-Matte wheels. $2,200.
• ·         Yellow brake calipers. $300.

2019 Maserati Levante S GranSport interior.

And that brought the bottom line on the window sticker to $104,835, which is a bracing figure by anyone’s standards.   Still, it’s in line for this type of vehicle.

So who’s it for?  Well, let’s say the lease on your Porsche Cayenne is about to come up.  You love it, but you want a shade more passion and emotion than the SUV from Stuttgart seems to inspire.  There’s a ton of it in the 2019 Maserati Levante S Gransport.   

Just don’t do 185.  You’ll lose your license and then you can’t drive.