Maserati Grecale Folgore: Trident SUV under power

After the GranTurismo, Maserati now offers the Grecale Folgore an electric car. However, the equity package has its price.

The fact that Audi and Porsche are bringing their two electric SUV siblings, the Q6 e-tron and the Macan, to the market this summer with a delay of almost two years was probably well received by Maserati in Modena. Meanwhile, the Italian luxury brand has its Grecale dealer ready to launch. Using electricity, the SUV is nicknamed Folgore, which translates to electricity.

Maserati is rapidly converting its model portfolio to go electric. The GranTurismo is already available with electric drive. Greek follows the month of May. Next year will be the turn of the super sports car MC20 – as a coupé and as a Spyder. If everything goes according to plan, the next Levante will be available in 2027 and the new Quattroporte in 2028 on an electric platform from the Stellantis Group, called the Big STLA. And this alone. The era of combustion is over. Ghibli becomes a victim of the conversion process.

The most powerful and most expensive model in the series

Maserati has high hopes for Grecale Folgore. A third of customers are said to choose it, even if the electric model is one of the most expensive in the range at 124,300 euros. But it is also more powerful. There is a 205 kW electric motor at the front and rear, provided by Chinese specialists Jin-Jing Electric (JJE). 410 kW is 560 hp. But the generous torque, 820 Newton meters, contributes more to a confident driving experience. Even the best six-cylinder in the Maserati range cannot reach this value.

Already in the first few kilometers you can see how the electric car adapts to the Grecale well, firmly and reliably. It’s fun to drive. Smoothness is impressive, linear acceleration and power. If you want, the 2.5-ton SUV can jump from standstill to 100 km/h in just 4.1 seconds.

As is common in almost all premium cars today, several driving modes can also be activated in the Grecale Folgore. With “Sport” full power available, “GT” limits the output to 80 and “Range” to 70 percent. However, this restriction can be overcome by confidently stepping on the accelerator pedal. The fourth mode is called “Offroad”. The standard air suspension raises the car up to three centimeters for more ground clearance. Thanks to the all-wheel drive, traveling on light terrain is also possible. What the Folgore can’t do is adjust itself using the camera and GPS navigation. The decrease in speed of electric machines must be adjusted using rockers on the steering wheel.

Big battery – high usage

Technically, Grecale is based on what is known as the Giorgio platform. Although it was primarily designed for combustion engines, Maserati engineers already had the idea of ​​integrating a battery-electric pack in the back of their minds. There is room for a 96 kWh battery at the base. This is still a good result compared to competitors. On the other hand: Grecale Folgore also urgently needs a large supply of energy. During our test drive, the display never went below 30 kWh/100 km. That is very strong. So the battery will be empty after more than 300 km. According to the WLTP standard, Maserati promises up to 501 km.

It is not clear why the developers decided only on the maximum charging power of 150 kW. It is now being surpassed even by volume sellers such as VW and Skoda. It takes half an hour to bring the memory from 20 to 80 percent of its capacity. However, we have heard from Maserati strategists that they want to make improvements as part of the upcoming design improvements.

Self wall box, smart charging card

As a small compensation, a Grecale Folgore customer is given a wall box for their garage at home. Charging can be done in three phases and up to 22 kW. And the Italians have another gift in store, calling it the “Luxury Charging Experience”: Through a partnership with Bosch, they were able to access 96 percent of all charging points across Europe, 650,000 in total, using just one card. Record value.

Visually, the Folgore version differs only slightly from its combustion engine variants. No wasted space. The trunk still has 535 liters as in the mild hybrid variant. There is a compartment for the charging cable under the carpet. It would be more practical to have the Frunk in the front under the hood. But with the new electric technology there was no room left for that. (SP-X)