Maserati Grecale Folgore review

5

Big SUV relinquishes V6 engine as Italian luxury brand initiates electric transition

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Electric cars struggle to excite enthusiasts, so Maserati has used some powerful imagery to sell its inaugural crop of EVs: lightning, or folgore if you’re Italian.

The first of them to arrive is the Maserati Grecale Folgore, a large (4.8m-long) SUV that has been on sale here in V6 and four-cylinder turbo petrol forms (and viewed with tempered admiration by Autocar) since 2022.

There’s a lot of weight on its broad shoulders, not just because it sets the tone for the Italian luxury brand’s switch to electric power but also because it will be the volume seller – well, at least relative to the Maserati Granturismo Folgore coupé and impending Maserati MC20 Folgore supercar.

That might be why, unlike the standard Maserati Grecale, which was very late to the D-segment SUV party, the Grecale Folgore has arrived a little more promptly to fight it out with the Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV, Porsche Macan Electric, Audi Q6 E-tron and Genesis Electrified GV70.

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DESIGN & STYLING

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maserati grecale foglore review 2024 02 panning side

You will need a keen spotter’s eye to distinguish the Folgore from the standard Grecale, as it retains the typically Maserati styling cues of the oval grille and portholes on the side, although the latter have turned into lights rather than vents.

The easiest way to spot the EV is the absence of exhaust pipes, the subtly redesigned bumpers and the unique (but optional) 21in wheels you see in the images here.

The Folgore seems to fix the slightly tippy-toed stance of the standard Grecale. I like the pseudo-three-spoke wheels a lot, too.
Illya Verpraet
Road Tester

Unlike the Granturismo, which uses a bespoke platform to underpin both the 800V EV and ICE versions, the Grecale makes do with what is effectively a radical reworking of the Giorgio platform that was developed for the Alfa Romeo Giulia and Alfa Romeo Stelvio.

The engineers have managed to fit the battery in under the floor though, and a big one it is too: 105kWh, of which 97kWh is usable. It feeds two 275bhp electric motors for a total of 550bhp.

Worryingly, however, they’re not very efficient (2.6mpkWh WLTP), which means that Grecale really needs that massive battery to still have a usable range figure. No, 311 miles isn’t bad, but it’s very slightly less than what the Tesla Model Y Performance gets out of much smaller (75kWh) battery.

As a result, while the Tesla (which is admittedly a smaller car) weighs 1986kg, the Maserati weight a planetary 2480kg. The Q6 E-tron, which has a 100kWh battery, weighs 2350kg.

INTERIOR

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maserati grecale foglore review 2024 06 interior

Inside, it’s largely the same as the petrol Grecale, so we won’t repeat everything here. As in that car, it’s restrained and luxurious but with a mix of some very pleasing and some disappointing materials.

Where the Folgore differs is that leather is no longer your only material choice. You can spec your electric Maserati with a mix of artificial leather and Econyl, which is a type of nylon made from old fishing nets and fabric scraps otherwise destined for landfill. It's really quite nice to the touch and still manages to look the part.

The floor isn't really any higher than in the petrol version, so rear passengers enjoy a natural seating position, which is sometimes a bit knees-up in EVs.
Illya Verpraet
Road Tester

Space-wise, the interior isn’t notably compromised. You lose the space under the boot floor and there’s still a centre tunnel, but the floor isn’t uncomfortably high or have any strange lumps in it. A 535-litre boot is quite impressive, but under that long bonnet hides only disappointment: there’s no frunk.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

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With those twin motors and a combined power output of 550bhp, the Folgore is the most powerful Grecale you can buy. And while it’s not quite as quick in a straight line as the V6 Grecale Trofeo, it’s still jolly quick, needing just 4.1sec to reach 62mph.

The power is reasonably progressive and easy to mete out, but even in a straight line, it feels like too much for the chassis to handle. Put your foot down at low speeds and the front wheels will scrabble as the nose rises up and unloads them. You also need a firm grip on the wheel to stay in your lane, because the Grecale Folgore torque-steers like a hot hatch on the rowdier end of the spectrum.

Maserati has fitted speakers to the Grecale Folgore because “every Maserati must make noise”. This worried us, having been annoyed by the Abarth 500e’s speaker, but thankfully there’s none of that monotonous fake combustion noise here. Instead, the Grecale Folgore sounds a lot like any other EV, but the noise varies in intensity and volume in reaction to how you’re driving. You can’t turn it off, but it’s pleasantly subtle and fades into the background at speed.

The Folgore retains the large metal steering-wheel paddles from the petrol versions. Of course, there’s no more gearbox to shift; instead they now control the regenerative braking.

The regen can be adjusted between a free-wheeling mode and one where it slows you down quite strongly. Even in that strongest mode, it’s easy to control and drive the car smoothly. There’s no true one-pedal mode, however: you always need the brake pedal to come to a complete stop.

RIDE & HANDLING

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maserati grecale foglore review 2024 10 panning side

Adaptive air suspension comes as standard and has been specially tweaked to make up for the weight of the battery. We’re not convinced that Maserati has done enough, however.

The suspension immediately feels stiffer, but really it feels a bit as if the softest mode has simply been taken out. Indeed, there’s not much body roll, but that might not actually be a good thing.

I like the lightness of touch and rear-driven nature of the current generation of petrol-powered Maseratis, but this feels nowhere near as harmonious as those.
Illya Verpraet
Road Tester

The steering is Maserati-typically light but without the typical feedback and is geared too quick for this tall, heavy SUV. This Grecale seems to have all the inertia of a heavy car but none of the poise that comes from a low centre of gravity. Combine that with the lack of any roll and it makes this car feel quite tippy. We’re not suggesting it’s actually going to fall over, but you simply don’t have much confidence in the chassis. Which is a problem in such an accelerative car.

Not that there’s much nuance to the handling, anyway. The front and rear motors are identical and there’s not much in the way of clever torque distribution going on, so it always feels predominantly front-driven.

And it’s not like the Grecale Folgore is outstandingly comfortable either. It’s all right, with supportive seats and decent noise isolation, but on its stiffened suspension and 21in wheels, the ride can feel a bit wooden over corrugations.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

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maserati grecale foglore review 2024 01 tracking front

With a starting price of £109,905, the Grecale Folgore is considerably more expensive than any rival you could care to mention. The Macan Turbo and SQ6 E-Tron both stay the right side of £100,000, and we would recommend the more sensibly powered versions of those cars anyway. That’s not an option with the Maserati: it’s 550bhp or nothing.

We’ve already mentioned the disappointing official efficiency of 2.6mpkWh. During our test drive in pretty much ideal weather conditions, it returned only 2.4mpkWh, which translates to 235 miles – pretty poor for a premium electric car today. That means it will be expensive to run and you will have to charge it more often.

And while the Porsche, Audi and Genesis (not to mention the Granturismo Folgore) have 800V electrical systems that allow them to charge very quickly (240-270kW), the Grecale has no such party trick. It’s limited to 150kW, which feels a bit 2019.

To its credit, it does have a very flat charging curve in practice: when we hooked it up to a 350kW Ionity charger, it maintained 140kW until 60% state of charge, dropping to 130kW at 70%. Still, that’s not really enough for such a big battery.

At least Maserati throws in a 7kW home charger and access to the Maserati Public Charge smartphone app, giving you access to 96% of public chargers across Europe.

VERDICT

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The Grecale Folgore feels like the car that Maserati’s engineers put off doing while they were busy developing a V6 with pre-chamber combustion, then knocked out in the afternoon of deadline day.

Just on paper, it’s hopelessly behind the competition. Sure, it’s quick, but day-to-day, the poor efficiency and range and unspectacular charging speeds will overshadow the performance.

It doesn’t make up for those shortcomings with Italian flair, either. Other recent Maseratis we’ve driven feel thoughtfully and harmoniously tuned, but not this one. It gives off MG 4 XPower vibes in how overpowered it is – and not in an amusing way. And while the MG is at least a bit of a performance bargain, the Grecale Folgore most definitely isn’t.

Illya Verpraet

Illya Verpraet Road Tester Autocar
Title: Road Tester

As part of Autocar’s road test team, Illya drives everything from superminis to supercars, and writes reviews, comparison tests, as well as the odd feature and news story. 

Much of his time is spent wrangling the data logger and wielding the tape measure to gather the data for Autocar’s eight-page road tests, which are the most rigorous in the business thanks to independent performance, fuel consumption and noise figures.

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