Sports SUV trades petrol pump for plug socket to take on the new electric Porsche Macan On sale June Price from £109,900
Dan Jones dan.jones@haymarket.com
MASERATI’S FIRST SPORTS SUV, the Grecale, arrived fashionably late, joining an already well-established class almost 10 years after the Porsche Macan. So, it says something about how important the brand sees its first electric SUV, the Grecale Folgore, that it should beat the upcoming battery-powered Macan to the party.
Indeed, Maserati says 2024 is the era of electrification for the brand; the Grecale Folgore is pitched as its volume seller, complementing the Gran Turismo Folgore coupé and the MC20 Folgore sports car, which will be unveiled later this year.
The Grecale Folgore is visually aligned with its most potent petrol-powered stablemate, the Trofeo. The most striking difference is that the front grille has been redesigned to better cool the electrical system. Most other intakes have been blanked off, including the side vents on the front wings, which now incorporate LED lights instead.
Inside, things are little different from the classy regular Grecale, but you gain the option of switching leather for a material made from recycled fishing nets and scraps destined for landfill. Switching to battery power hasn’t lessened the Grecale’s practicality; the Folgore offers a little more rear head and leg room than the existing petrol Macan, but the BMW iX3 gives you noticeably more. The Folgore’s 535-litre boot is bigger than the iX3’s, though.
The Folgore’s 97kWh (usable capacity) battery gives it an official range of 311 miles, which beats the iX3’s and almost matches that of the Tesla Model Y Performance, but the Macan Electric promises to take you farther. At the Folgore’s maximum charging rate of 150kW, a 20-80% top-up officially takes 29 minutes.
The Folgore is powered by two electric motors (the front and rear axle get one each for four-wheel drive), for 550bhp in total, making it the most powerful Grecale you can buy. The lighter Trofeo narrowly beats it from 0-62mph, though, taking 3.8sec compared with the Folgore’s 4.1sec. Still, on paper, the latter car will outsprint the entry-level Macan Electric.
Adaptive air suspension is standard, set up to deal with the Folgore’s extra weight; it’s stiffer than that of the petrol-powered Grecale, in an effort to keep body lean to a minimum. What’s more, it works, and thanks to brilliantly weighted steering, it gives you loads of confidence to
