Fact is, I actually needed to love the Maserati Grecale Folgore. After I flew to Italy’s southeast coast to drive it earlier this Spring, I arrived with excessive hopes set by the V6-powered Trofeo. This 523-horsepower crossover is as quick as it’s nice to take a look at, and crucially, it oozes character. It’s a firecracker that prioritizes an exciting driving expertise over nearly all the things else, exactly as a machine proudly sporting a Trident ought to.
If the Grecale Folgore, Maserati’s first electrical SUV, may harness among the Trofeo’s magic, it could be a transparent winner. Nevertheless, as I piloted this $109,000 EV by way of the winding roads that edge the Adriatic Sea, magic wasn’t precisely what I discovered.
Nearly as good-looking because the Folgore was, elegantly sporting smoothed however not overly aero-focused bodywork, {hardware} issues lurked beneath its fashionable pores and skin. Regardless of receiving an influence increase as much as 542 hp, it additionally gained 998 kilos, making it slower than the outgunned Trofeo. Its suspension struggled to deal with its added heft, producing a bouncy, unsettled journey, whereas its gradual cost price, low estimated vary, and six-figure worth didn’t precisely sweeten the deal. I walked away disenchanted.
It’s practically Winter now, and the stage is about for a correct redemption arc. I’m in a snowy valley in Livigno, Italy, a small city nestled between towering peaks within the Alps. I’ve bought entry to a non-public ice observe for the day. Maserati has introduced out its complete Folgore vary, together with the GranTurismo, GranCabrio, and, in fact, the Grecale. If a automobile can’t make you are feeling a little bit of magic flung sideways on a snowy course in one of the vital lovely locations on the earth, likelihood is it by no means had any, to start with.
A person with a clipboard offers me a thumbs up, and it’s as if a gun goes off within the Kentucky Derby. I virtually dash to the awaiting GranTurismo Folgore, its matte $17,250 Rame Folgore absorbing the odd ray of sunshine because it peaks by way of the mountains, the solar not but totally risen. It’s freezing within the shadowy valley, and an honest layer of snow covers the observe’s icy floor. I’m the primary one up.
As I drive out of the makeshift pits, my proper hand darts to the central display screen to disable traction management. My left disables any type of regenerative braking, then twisting the drive mode selector out of GT, previous Sport, and into Corsa. I’m armed with a 751-horsepower tri-motor $192,000 EV, an empty ice course, and a reassurance that even when issues go horribly improper, the implications received’t be dire.
I mash the fuel to get a really feel for a way the GT lays down energy, and a blizzard shoots out the again with little motion up entrance. Regardless of being all-wheel drive, the GranTurismo has one motor underneath its lengthy hood and two within the rear. As such, most of its monumental output heads south. After the primary bend, I carry to shift its weight stability ahead, flip in, and energy by way of the second sweeper. It’s instinctive, simple even. The snowy floor offers a touch of grip, sufficient of a buffer to really feel out the required quantity of energy, and ample traction to not 180 the factor on the primary go.
Lap two comes, and the drifts decide up velocity as my confidence within the large Maserati GT builds. As counterintuitive as it could sound, the GranTurismo Folgore is downright splendid for this form of factor. It permits you to energy right into a slide whereas it’s close to 5,000 lb heft and comes round predictably, permitting you to hyperlink drifts effortlessly. There’s even respectable suggestions by way of the wheel, so you possibly can instantly really feel if you’ve pushed too exhausting, and the entrance is about to let go.
My run within the GT involves an embarrassingly predictable finish. Emboldened by the convenience with which the Folgore slides, I overcook it and dive nose-first right into a pile of snow. After all, it’s the mound proper in entrance of the pits the place journalists wait their flip as Maserati’s employees appears to be like on with what I can solely think about is a wholesome dose of cringe. I again out, the GT’s oval nostril full of extra white stuff than Tony Montana’s, and I scurry again to the pits with my tail between my legs.
Spherical two comes a lot later within the day, lengthy after every of the ten or so journalists has had a go. The solar beams heat from overhead into the icy valley, and I can really feel my toes once more. Extra importantly, as I line up for my run within the Grecale Folgore, the forgiving layer of snow that made sliding the GT a breeze has begun to make means for patches of uncooked ice. Nonetheless, I shortly reconfigure the SUV as I had the two-door. The Grecale is at its most aggressive in Sport mode, as a substitute incorporating a lifted Off-Highway setting in Corsa’s wake.
Away from the pits, the pedal meets the ground once more, besides I’m met with a wholly completely different response. Not like the GT, the Grecale Folgore employs a pair of motors, with one in every axle. Its energy distribution is extra even, routing it like one thing with a standard all-wheel drive system. Inducing a slide is as simple because it was within the GT, due to the SUV’s plentiful 542-hp output. Nevertheless, when you’re in it, the foundations shortly change.
The Maserati Grecale drifts like a Panda reproduces; it’ll do it if the situations are excellent, however in any other case, it’s happier doing absolutely anything else. This isn’t essentially a nasty factor, although. Even on a slick floor with out studded tires, it clings on surprisingly nicely. To get it sideways, you begin by handing over and prying it unfastened with a bootful of energy, which you have to then preserve; in any other case, the factor completely settles.
It’s difficult to do however rewarding when you get it proper. Modulating the accelerator is troublesome, on condition that energy comes on and off so instantly. Nonetheless, after a couple of laps and one ass-first shunt right into a pile of snow, I get the dangle of it. The Grecale’s steering isn’t practically as talkative because the GT’s and its weight doesn’t swing a lot because it slumps backward and forward. Nonetheless, it’s doing roughly all the things I ask of it. I’m beginning to really feel among the magic I’ve been looking for.
That is, in any case, an SUV destined primarily for metropolis life, a sentiment backed up by its EPA-estimated 245 miles of vary. But right here it’s on the snow, swinging its tail round, firing snow out from all its 4 wheels like a rally automobile, dancing on snow and ice. You could have to power it to slip, and whereas it’s nonetheless not practically as thrilling because the Trofeo, there’s one thing to be stated for the breadth of its capabilities. This time, I return to the pits with out going solely off track. I’m knowledgeable, in any case.
There’s a second in each observe day when that feeling of “one final lap” begins to seep in. It’s the moment when pushing just a bit tougher typically turns into an costly mess, and I really feel it now. Maserati initially deliberate to have us run two stints within the GT and Grecale. Nonetheless keen to finish the set, I request a 3rd run within the GranCabrio Folgore. After some fast discussions between the employees onsite, the person with the clipboard once more lifts his thumb, and I transfer shortly into the GC so he can’t change his thoughts.
The factor is, what little snow stays on the course now hides within the fringes. The 5,129-lb GranCabrio Folgore creeps onto the ice, and even earlier than I’ve induced a slide, I can really feel it sliding round in each course—hints of understeer break into fast oversteer moments. I’m always twitching on the wheel to maintain it pointed in a single normal course. It’s a large number, however I’ve dedicated to a 3rd stint, and I’m going for it.
Remembering my first run of the day, I blip the fuel, anticipating a minimum of some grip, and earlier than I do know it, I’m dealing with the place I’ve simply come from. 751 hp on a slick floor with out studded tires is, as you may anticipate, considerably difficult to wrangle. Nonetheless, I press on, respiratory on the accelerator and slowly acclimating to the deteriorating situations. I handle a couple of slides and some extra 180s, and I’m about prepared to return again in when the decision comes over the radio asking me to do exactly that.
As transient and messy as this ultimate stint is, it’s sufficient to substantiate that the $205,000 remains to be the one to have. Regardless of its curb weight approaching that of a Rolls-Royce Ghost, it’s keen to bounce just like the GT, with the additional advantage of wanting even higher with its high folded. Though that final picture is a reminiscence from the Maserati GC drive within the Summer season, it’s nonetheless freezing on this valley, and its high is latched.
As if schemed by Maserati, I’m allotted a Grecale Folgore to drive again to the lodge in Bormio. There’s no ice on the street, only a gently winding street crossing by way of small cities because it descends from the mountain. The solar is as soon as once more shining between peaks. I dial up the heater in preparation for its departure.
A day within the snow doesn’t magically remedy the Grecale Folgore’s illnesses, even when the surroundings is attractive. Nevertheless, I’m strolling away with a barely deeper appreciation for it.
Maseratis haven’t traditionally been the leaders within the numbers sport, and the Grecale Folgore is old-school Trident on this sense. For the $109,000 it instructions, there are higher EVs and extra sensible SUVs. Nonetheless, I’m not satisfied there are better-looking choices in both class. The Grecale Folgore is an announcement piece, and will you end up on a non-public ice observe, you possibly can relaxation assured that beneath its fashionable pores and skin, there’s a minimum of just a little magic to be discovered.
