2019 Maserati Levante GTSHandout / Maserati So, you want a Maserati SUV — a really fast one: Well, your timing is impeccable. Two years after the launch of the Levante, its first SUV, Maserati has followed up with the new GTS. Essentially the Quattroportes twice-turbocharged 3.8-litre V8 plunked into the engine bay, the Levante GTS boasts a Porsche Cayenne Turbo-challenging 550 horsepower and an equally stout 538 lb.-ft. of torque. Now, if numerical one-upmanship matters to you, know that the GTS is officially a little slower than the Porsche, Maserati claiming it takes around four seconds to scoot from rest to 100 km/h, while the Cayenne Turbo can get there a smidge faster with the Sports Chrono package.You wouldnt know it from the drivers seat, though. Once you get the (admittedly hefty) 2,170 kilogram Levante rolling, the thing is the proverbial rocketship, seemingly getting faster the more it gathers speed. Its hard to remember anything short of a supercar with such immediate roll-on throttle response. One second youre doddling behind a semi, the next youre getting a notification from air traffic control that youre cleared for takeoff. Seriously fast is this Maserati and if you want even more, theres a Trofeo version with even more 590! horses. Seriously, if you need an SUV with more horsepower than the Levante is now offering, you need therapy.It doesnt quite sound the part, though. Oh, it bellows and roars, but after the symphony of the V6 in the Levante S creates, I expected more of an intoxicating V8. Only as musical as a Porsche V8 might not sound like much of an insult, but if youre ever driven the Levante S, youd know my disappointment. Maybe the Trofeo ups the ante. Not much else ruins the ride. The suspension variable, natch is firm when you need it; supple if not. The seats, swaddled in the most hedonistic of leathers, will flatter your behind. Theres room a-plenty in the rear seats, and even if the cargo area isnt the most commodious among comparable SUVs, its still plenty roomy. The Harman/Kardon sound system is faithful in its aural replication, but it could stand a few more decibels when Billy Idol starts lamenting his ex-girlfriends White Wedding.Even Maseratis MTC+ infotainment system is top notch. Oh, the graphics may be six months out of date thats 48 months in Silicon Valley years but, based on Chryslers UConnect system, its one of the most capable touchscreen systems in the segment. Nothing fancy no gesture control, for instance, just straight-up good programming.The GTS also does right by your wallet that is, of course, if youre filthy rich. The base price $138,500, some $3,300 cheaper than the equivalent Cayenne Turbo. Like Porsches ubiquitous SUV, the GTS can get pricier quickly, my test unit optioned out to a cool $155,540. But thats also true of all of Porsches Turbo models, not just the Cayenne, notoriously expensive when you throw in the doo-dads. 2019 Porsche Cayenne Turbo Brian Harper / Driving You still want the Porsche: Of course you do. Porsche fans are only slightly less devoted deluded? than Tesla fanatics, so no matter what I say here, the Levante will never going to outsell the Cayenne. That said, I dont have anything really bad to say about the Cayenne Turbo. As I mentioned, Porsche would make toilet paper a (costly) option in a public bathroom, were it in the commode business. But pricing issues aside, its a more than competent vehicle.In fact, these two vehicles are so similar they could easily have been separated at birth. Both are powered by twice-turbocharged V8s with roughly the same horsepower, both boast the Cayennes Sport Chrono package notwithstanding the same acceleration, and and both reach about equal lock-you-up-and-throw-away-the-key top speeds: 286 km/h for the Porsche, versus 291 for the Maserati.Theyre roughly the same size and though their interiors are vastly different, the cabins are equally luxurious. Hard to say anything bad about either, though if it matters to you, Porsche Cayennes are becoming as common as VWs these days. 2019 Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S Handout / Mercedes-Benz You want a different kind of German muscle: Then you might want to consider AMGs version of the Mercedes GLE, the 63 S. Boasting 577 horsepower from its twin-turbo V8, the 63 S also undercuts both Porsche and Maserati with its $116,300 starting price. That said, whod have ever thought thered come a day when Mercedes-Benz would become the price-point competitor in the luxury segment.It shows: The interior isnt quite as nice, and the ride isnt quite as settled as the Cayenne or Levante. And while were being frank, the GLEs styling leaves me a little cold, exhibiting neither the passion of the Maserati nor the ruthless efficiency of the Porsche. Buy it for the horsepower or its booming exhaust if you must, but its not quite as sophisticated as either of the other two. (It’s worth noting the 63 S is still based on the bones of the
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