 guys, welcome back to another one. If you are new to the channel, I'm Gold Pony. I do new car truck SUV reviews on YouTube. And today we are in the new 2021 Maserati Levante courtesy of Faulkner Maserati in McKennaxburg PA for more information on their inventory. Please feel free to check out the link in the description box below. So I'm in this one today because for one, I have yet to review a Levante. I've literally reviewed every other Maserati but this one. So quite excited to be in it for that particular reason alone but there are also some major tech upgrades for the specific 2021 model year of the Levante. This is available with a twin-turbo Ferrari-derived V8 as well, we'll get more into the power plants in a little bit here. So in this video, I will be testing out and going over everything about this one from acceleration to braking, steering for ride quality, sound system exhaust clip, all of that fun stuff. So having said all of that, what do you guys say? Let's just go ahead and jump right into it and as always, let's start with pricing. And so as you can imagine, there are several different trim levels for the Levante. First one being the base setup starting at $78,290. Then for that setup, there is a Grand Lusso and Grand Sport. Both of those started at $84,290. Then there is the S trim level for $89,290. And again, two package options, Grand Lusso and Grand Sport going for $94,290. Then there is the GTS. That one goes for $125,890. And lastly, the Trofio. That one goes for $153,090. But as you can imagine with that many trim levels, there are two different engine configurations available for the Levante. First one belonging to that base trim and S trim level. That is going to be a three liter twin turbo V6 putting out 345 horsepower, 369 pound feet of torque for that base trim level. However, if you jump up to the S that bumps it up to 424 horsepower, 428 pound feet of torque sent to all four wheels either way, through an eight speed automatic with paddle shifters available. Zero to 60 time comes in at 5.8 seconds for the base, five seconds flat for the S trim level. And then top speed, 156 miles per hour for the base, 164 for the S trim. MPG numbers coming in at 16 in the city, 22 on the highway. Either way, taking premium unlit fuel. But so then there is the other engine configuration belonging to the GTS and Trophy-O trim levels. And that one is going to be a 3.8 liter twin turbo charged Ferrari-derived V8, 550 horsepower, 538 pound feet of torque for the GTS. Trophy-O jumps that up to 580 horsepower. Again, 538 pound feet of torque sent to all four wheels through an eight speed automatic with paddle shifter zero to 60 time for both of those trims. Four seconds for the GTS, 3.8 for the Trophy-O. Top speed, 181 miles per hour for the GTS, 187 then for the Trophy-O that is quite fast for an SUV. MPG numbers coming in at 13 in the city, 20 on the highway, taking premium unlit fuel. But so then before we do any kind of fun acceleration test here in our particular Levante, I do want to mention to you guys, there are some driving modes. There's drive mode buttons are located just to the left of the shifter. People include normal, off-road and sport. And so having said that, what do you guys say? Let's go ahead and put it in sport driving mode. It did immediately just downshift for me. So it is going to hold the RPMs at a much higher level, giving you more power on demand. That's always a good thing. And ultimately drive modes will just shift points throughout a response and steering sensitivity. So now having got all of that out of the way, what do you guys say? Let's go ahead and find a straightaway. Let's put this thing to the test. And by the way, we do have that base engine configuration today. In case anybody was curious, but let's go ahead and see how quickly we can get our new 2021 Maserati Levante here up to speed. Oh, it seems like a good spot as any. It's fun. All right, I gotta be honest, that was a very fun acceleration. Absolutely no issues emerging onto the highway whatsoever. This thing is a beast. And this is the base engine configuration, you guys. This isn't even the Ferrari-derived twin turbo V8. This thing is still plenty quick for any kind of daily driving without a doubt. But anyways, to go along with that acceleration as always, braking is equally important. So upfront, you will find 13.6 inch ventilated front disks in the back, 13 inch solid rear disks. Do want to mention though, that is for the base engine configuration that we have today. If you jump up to the S trim level, that actually jumps up the brake size as well, bumping that up to 15 inch ventilated front disk. 60 to zero stopping distance comes in at 127 feet for the base trim that we have today. And then 118 feet for the S trim level. So let's go ahead and just, yeah, definitely no issues there. I think I might have enjoyed the S trim level a little bit more. I would imagine it would bring you to a much quicker stop, but it's not a soft braking feel. It's definitely on the firmer side. So I do appreciate that without a doubt. But then touching on suspension and handling upfront, you're gonna get a double wishbone style front suspension with air springs in the back, independent multi-link rear suspension. Once again, with air springs, gas pressurized shock absorbers, front and rear stabilizer bars as well. And to go along with that, a limited slip differential, which essentially, of course, sends torque to the wheel with the most traction, not only giving you a better acceleration, but also better handling then as well. And my very favorite, a four corner auto leveling suspension. And so this is your air suspension. And by the way, there is actually a button just behind the shifter here to adjust that air suspension manually if you wanted to go ahead and do that. This essentially is going to give you the very best ride quality possible. Whenever you put an air suspension on any vehicle, you are going to get absolutely amazing ride quality, of course. And I will say, the ride quality is definitely quite nice here in our Levante without a doubt. So absolutely no issues there, but it's pretty much to be expected. As far as steering feel goes, it is a very noticeable difference dependant on which driving mode that you put it in. I've left it in sport for the majority of my drive here, and it is a much heavier steering feel. It instantly points you in the direction that you wanna go. That is the steering feel I prefer, but even in the normal driving mode now that I just now put it back to, it's perfectly fine. So no issues there with the steering feel whatsoever. As far as cabin noise goes, there isn't a whole lot of exterior wind noise coming into the cabin. And that is to be expected with the acoustic laminated glass that we have here in the Levante. So that is definitely quite nice. And touching on visibility, I don't know because of its shape, it's not the very best compared to some of its competitors, but I will say it is definitely something you will get used to without a doubt. So really for me, it wouldn't bother me whatsoever. So visibility is plenty fine. And also rain sensing windshield wipers actually do come standard on the Levante as well. Essentially what that is is whenever this one detects any kind of missed rainfall, it's gonna automatically turn on this windshield wiper. So it's kind of like automatic headlights, just one last thing you gotta worry about there. But that about rounds out the performance segment of this review you guys. So let's go ahead and take a look at the exterior of our brand new 2021 Maserati Levante. All right, here she is, you guys. The new 2021 Maserati Levante finished in Bianco Alpi, I believe the color name was, but let's go ahead and start up front on this one. Of course, front grill, you have that traditional Maserati vertical slats along with that massive Maserati logo front and center. Definitely looks good to the sides by Xenon HID headlights. And they do come with the automatic feature of course, meaning when it starts to get jocked at night, those headlights are going to turn on automatically for you there. LED daytime running lights also coming standard. And I did want to also mention to you guys, every single other trim level, but the base trim level is going to give you adaptive LED headlights, meaning when you're going around a bend at night, those headlights are going to swivel based on the direction of your steering angle, better help illuminating what is around the bends. That is always a big plus as well. And of course, just below those headlights, you guys can probably see it. You do have fog lights as well. And probably my favorite part about this is so many SUVs these days are going with that matte black front lip and side skirts for that matter, but the Maserati Levante does not do either of them. They do make it body colored, which is so much more of a high end look, so much better of a look in my personal opinion. So I definitely appreciate that. But now let's go ahead and make our way to the side of the Levante. All right, so now since we are around to the side of this one, there is a couple of different setups you can go with when it comes to the side profile. For example, the windows surrounds can be found in chrome or gloss black depending upon which configuration you go with. Rear privacy glass does come standard across the board and you gotta love those Maserati fender accents on the front fender, of course, with chrome surrounds, they definitely look quite good up there. Body colored side skirts, as I just mentioned to you guys as well, when it comes to the wheel configurations, 19 inch aluminum alloys coming with the base, Grand Lusso trims and the S trim level. However, 20 inch aluminum alloys coming with the Grand Sport trim levels and the GTS and then the Trophio is going to give you 22 inch alloys in case anybody was curious. But the other thing I wanted to mention is towards the back on the C pillar, you guys could probably see, you got the Maserati logo back there as well, just like the Quattroporte. So definitely a very good looking placement for that logo as well. But now let's go ahead and make our way to the back of this one. All right, so starting up top, you do have that body colored shark fin antennae just below that rear spoiler with an integrated brake light just below that rear window wiper. And of course you guys could probably tell LED tail lights do come standard on this one, a very nice design to them as well. In case anybody was curious about what that Q4 badging is that essentially signifies that it does have all wheel drive and Maserati terms I guess you could say. Just below it all you can find a body colored rear bumper and love that as well. And again, a lot of SUVs are making that matte black so I love that the Levante did not do that and just to the sides of course, dual exhaust outlets with quad chrome tips. And I did want to mention at this point the exhaust note is going to differ depending upon the drive mode that you put it in. I actually found that out. If you put it in a sport driving mode it is a much nastier growl. It sounds amazing. So having said that, I do believe you guys know what we have to do next. As always here is that exhaust clip. All right, so now since we are around back of the Levante here when it comes to opening that rear tailgate there are a couple different ways to go ahead and do that. There is of course a button on the key fob itself. That is one way. There is also of course a button on the tailgate itself. So either way of course is perfectly fine. Once opened up cargo capacity comes in at 20.5 cubic feet. If that was not enough space, there is a 60-40 split bumping that up to 57.4 cubic feet. In that cargo area though you will find tie down anchors back there. There are some grocery bag hooks, of course some cargo lighting. There's cargo area ventilation as well. You do not always get that in SUV. So I wanted to mention that. And if you look underneath the cargo floor you will find some in-floor storage actually as well. And to my surprise there's actually a clever little contraption that actually holds up the cargo floor if you were to be loading several things within it. So it is kind of a Velcro kind of setup to actually go ahead and hold that cargo floor up. But I don't think I've ever seen an SUV that was clever enough to do such a simple thing like that. So well thought out Maserati. I think that is very useful. But anyways then making our way up to the rear legroom that is going to come in at 37.2 inches. So for reference I mean even six feet tall. This is how much space I had in the second row there behind my own driving position of course. Reclining rear seats also do come standard. There is a rear center armrest with cup holders as well. Rear ventilation also standard. And it is a cool little setup for the charging ports back there because there are dual rear USB charging ports and a 12 volt power outlet as well. But you can actually choose to close that up if you did not want it exposed or you can leave it open if you did want it exposed. So just taking the extra step. So I like that I wanted to mention it. And since we're back here I also wanted to mention another very cool feature of the Levante here. You have frameless doors. That is a frameless door glass I should say. Which is so cool. It's kind of a coupe like silhouette then with the frameless door glass. So I thought that looked pretty cool and also soft closed doors. I don't think I've mentioned that yet either. So essentially if you do not close the Levante's door all the way it's going to kind of suck it in like a vacuum type suction kind of ordeal. So Mercedes Benz does that, BMW does that. So I thought that was pretty cool as well. But now let's go ahead and make our way up to the front seats. 12 way power adjustable front seats do come standard heated front seats. Also standard of course. And they do come with two way memory positions as well for two different drivers. So I thought that was pretty cool. If you want a ventilated front seats go with either the Grand Lusso or the Grand Sport or any of the upper trim levels of course. And these seats by the way were extremely comfortable and perhaps the most comfortable part of the seats just like in the Alfa Romeo Stelvio I recently reviewed were the headrests. So if you were to happen to really get on the Levante and your head goes thrown back in the headrest it's like a stinking pillow. It is so amazing. These softest headrests that I've ever tested through my 550 ish vehicles that I've done so far are between the Stelvio and the Levante so far. They are absolutely amazing. I love them. But anyways, now let's go ahead and make our way up to the steering wheel. It is tilt and telescoping. It is leather wrapped. It will actually be heated for every single trim level as well. I guess it's expected at this price range but you don't always get that. So I was pretty surprised I liked that. Then when it comes to the startup let me first start by showing you guys the key here. You do have your Maserati logo on the one side and when you flip it over lock, unlock that button to pop the rear hatch and that times two button is going to be a remote start. So when super cold days you can actually warm up the Levante before you actually get inside. So that's definitely a nice little convenient feature there as well but it is all keyless entry with a push button start. So all I'm going to do is simply put my foot on the brake and press that engine start button which is actually located just by the driver's left knee with just about every other vehicle out there. It is not located there so I wanted to emphasize that but once started up when it comes to the gauges they will do a full sweep speedometer is going to be on your left tachometer is on your right and there is a small digital display front and center which can be controlled by using the steering wheel mounted controls and really that gives you everything you could possibly want up there like outside temperature, trip A, trip B when you need your next oil change, digital speedometer the list goes on. So pretty much everything you can need up there. So then making our way to overall interior quality a dual pane panoramic sunroof actually does come standard on Levante love that. My favorite part though is going to be the suede headliner. You guys have known if you watched my reviews in the past I love suede headliners it gives it such an upscale feel to the cabin, to the interior of any vehicle and I love that it comes standard here on the Levante. Maserati analog clock front and center leather wrapped and stitched shifter didn't mention that previously someone didn't mention that lecture mechanical parking brake does come standard there is actually a button just behind it all to raise and lower the suspension manually as well which I've always found is pretty cool in other vehicles as well. So let me go ahead and stop this video here for a second. I'm going to show you a quick time lapse of the adjustability of that suspension configuration because I thought it was pretty cool. So here you go. Anyways, continuing on with the interior quality here contrast stitching found everywhere. We have some orange contrast stitching found in the doors. It continues just above the passenger side glove box as well then wood trim accents are going to be found with the Grand Lusso configuration of this one. Then in front of the shifter you're going to have a little bit of storage there USB charging port, auxiliary port and an SD card slot then as well behind the shift you have dual cup holders and then within the center armrest there is a ton of storage within that including dual cup holders actually within the center armrest as well. I didn't expect to find that there but they are 12 volt power outlet also coming standard then within that center armrest too but now let's go ahead and make our way to the tech display. Continue on with the interior here new and improved. This is really where the change came in the big change for 2021 here. New and improved 8.4 inch color touchscreen display Bluetooth and audio streaming coming standard Android Auto Apple CarPlay factory navigation system also coming standard you can of course check out your climate control settings up there as well and your radio information. And by the way when it comes to the sound systems on the Lavante eight speakers do come standard. That's the one we have today but there is a 14 speaker harming card and sound system that will come standard with the Grand Lusso and Grand Sport. So we again we do have the eight speaker sound system. So what do you guys say? Let's go ahead and turn on the radio see what we got playing today and let's test out the clarity of this one. It's all right. It's not too bad. I mean it's not the best sound system I've ever heard but it will certainly get the job done for the Lavante plenty of base for this thing. It's a big last thing I wanted to mention to you guys on that infotainment screen at least is when you do put the Lavante in reverse you will find an extremely high definition rear view camera letting you know who or what is behind you which is always is going to lead us into safety. And so to start front side, side curtain airbags do come standard. In the back you're gonna have latch AKA lower anchors and tethers for children for the rear car seats. Rear child door locks, tire pressure monitoring system also coming standard though front and rear parking sensors. You usually don't get that standard. So I thought that was pretty cool. Also a blind spot monitoring system as well but there is a driver assistance package that is optional that goes for $1,700. That really gives you the good stuff. That's gonna be adaptive cruise control forward collision warning with autonomous emergency braking, a 360 degree monitor, traffic sign recognition, active driving assist and pedestrian recognition then as well. And so all in all when it comes to my final thoughts here of the Lavante the finishes and the materials used in this SUV are perfection. I will say that it does not get much better than you got in the Lavante here with the suede headliner with the leather and wood finishes in the contrast stitching. Definitely very nice interior quality. Acceleration is really great as well even in the base Lavante. I will say that you're not gonna have any issues merging onto the highway in this one. Styling is wonderful as well. Exhaust note is brutal. I love it. Do not expect that on the base Lavante here but once you switch it into that more aggressive driving mode it definitely gets so much deeper. I love it. But anyways, the tech is very high definition as well. Probably one of the more high definition infotainment screens I've seen in quite a while. And again, that was the improvement. So that makes sense. But definitely like that. As far as room for improvement goes on this one full digital gauge cluster is pretty much a necessity in this day and age. I would say especially on a luxury vehicle like this BMW does that, Mercedes-Benz does that. Hyundai does a Mitsubishi does it. I could go on and on but just about everybody's doing that now the reason they do it is because it does give the driver full customization. You can change the different gauge loadouts to make it look however you want to make it look. So I don't know, I would have loved to have seen that. And also safety should never come optional especially at this price point. I did what I said that with that driver assistance package I do believe that should probably come standard on the Lavante. But that's just my personal opinion. Hey, so that is about it for this one you guys. Thank you so much for watching. Feel free to follow me on social media at the bottom of the screen there if you wanted to see what's coming next to the channel before it actually gets to YouTube be sure to hit the subscribe and the bell notification button if you're into new car reviews. That is what we do here on this channel after all. Do appreciate you guys watching more than you know when I will see you guys all in the next video. Stay cool.