New Modena V6 version adds GT appeal to an overlooked sports SUV, but is it worth £10k more than a BMW X3 M50?
Maserati bosses talk a good game about a stellar future. Sales figures and sell-off rumours be damned: the outlook has never looked brighter for the Italian brand, they suggest, with its positioning as Stellantis’s only true luxury brand and the scope for cost-efficient platform- and part-sharing within that group, such that its current lacklustre commercial performance isn’t necessarily indicative of an uncontrolled descent towards oblivion.But the numbers obscured by that unbridled optimism tell a very different story, which is hard to ignore. Since its launch in 2022, the Grecale – which was to be Maserati’s long-awaited cash cow, its sorely needed and surely unsinkable foray into the less rarefied air of the premium SUV segment – has found just 1600 buyers in the UK. In the same timeframe, Porsche GB has shifted more than 31,000 examples of its closest rival, the Macan.But now the ICE Macan has gone, which could pave the way for the Grecale to start making hay – and with this latest round of updates, Maserati aims to start reversing the slump for its bread-and-butter car.Like the Granturismo and Grancabrio, it now wears a more aggressive look inspired by Maserati’s no-holds-barred MCXtrema track car – clock the sharper bumpers and beefier intakes – and features a raft of subtle interior tweaks aimed at addressing customer criticisms and boosting usability.Chief among these – as in the grand tourers – are a refined drive-selection arrangement, slicker driver display graphics and a new steering wheel that has been reshaped for a meatier, more substantial feel. More significant, though, is the introduction of a new mid-rung Modena V6 derivative, which slots in between the entry-level four-cylinder MHEV at £60k and the shouty Trofeo V6 range-topper at £85,395, to provide what Maserati refers to as “the sweet spot” in the line-up – and which would seem nailed-on to become its best-seller. It also, notably, gives Maserati an ICE-powered Grecale that costs the same as the electric Folgore variant, which might not help the chances of an EV that’s already severely struggling to find its feet in the market.A slightly improved maximum range of 360 miles might nudge the EV towards claiming some meaningful market share; we will be able to better judge when we get our hands on the updated car in the coming months.For now we will focus on the new Modena V6, which we’ve driven in Italy, and the range-topping Trofeo, which we put through the full Autocar road test before the facelift.
