• Seating for five in comfort
• Well-shaped boot with electric tailgate
• More room for people than immediate rivals 

How much space is there?

There’s plenty of room in the cabin, too. Maserati says the Grecale is the most spacious car in its class, and it certainly feels it. Up front, it’s comfortable and roomy with a huge amount of adjustment from its plushly-trimmed electrically-adjustable seats. The driver and front-seat passenger also have a great deal of space between them, further adding to this car’s airy feeling.

In the rear, that feeling continues, offering more than enough room for two adults to travel in luxury. There are USB-A and USB-C sockets to power up their electronic devices, as well as vents and air conditioning controls for each side (in the Modena and Trofeo cars).

Head and legroom are particularly good, with the Grecale offering more inches in the back than the Macan or the X3. A six foot passenger can easily sit behind a similarly-sized driver, with room to spare.

Boot space and storage

The boot – at 535 litres, seats up – is impressive for a car offering so much performance. It’s usefully larger than the Macan’s (498 litres), but is a touch smaller than the ones found in the BMW X3 (550 litres) and Jaguar F-Pace (650 litres). The rear seats drop at the touch of a button to reveal a flat boot floor. 

What can’t be argued with is that it is well shaped, with a nice, square load area and reasonably low loading sill (for a large SUV). But it’s not that configurable, with no under-floor stowage or removable panel, but you do get a 12v socket, curry hooks, and a stretchy belt and cargo net for locating small objects. 

In-cabin stowage space – often a weakness in performance SUVs – is excellent, with the obligatory large cupholders paired with a well-sized central cubby, and usable glovebox. There’s no space-robbing gear selector, either, with the Grecale having a row of retro transmission selector buttons instead. Some people like them, but each to their own.

Is it easy to park?

The Grecale is larger than average, with a length of 4,846mm and width (including mirrors) of 2,163mm. It’s also a curvaceous design, so its bulging flanks and smooth bumpers all leave you feeling exposed when parking. But the large door mirrors and and front and rear parking sensors go a long way for alleviating multi-story anxiety.

All models get front and rear camera view and a suite of sensors, which should keep you away from the walls. In the event of getting too close, the vehicle will automatically brake to avoid damage on bumper in parking procedures.

Safety

• Lots of active safety kit
• Not tested by Euro NCAP, so no star rating
• The most advance features are optional

The Maserati Grecale has yet to be tested by Euro NCAP and it’s unlikely it will be, given the niche nature of this offering. However, the closely-related Alfa Romeo Stelvio is a five-star car (tested way back in 2017), but we reckon that the Grecale won’t do as well because too many features are on the options list.

As standard, it comes with:

• Forward Collision Warning and Autonomous Emergency Braking with pedestrian detection.
• Lane Departure Warning – delivers visual and audible warnings, but cannot steer the Stelvio back into lane.
• Rear Cross-Path Detection.

But to get the best stuff, you need to tick the options list. The basic driver-assistance pack gets you adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist and blindspot assist systems. Although LED headlights are standard across the range, the adaptive matrix upgrade comes as part of the package, as does driver drowsiness protection and auto-dimming rear view mirrors. 

Advanced Driver Assistance Plus Pack adds traffic sign recognition, intelligent speed assist and intersection collision assistant, many of which you’d expect to find as standard – a genuine disappointment.