Test Drive Maserati Grecale Folgore: Light Flash of Lightning

Right from the start, my colleague joked – "Greg the Bald drives Grecale – it’s YOUR car!" I actually appreciate the brand with the trident and its products – not all and not from every era. But if someone asks me what my absolute favorite car would be, money and CO2 being no object, it would indeed be the Maserati Khamsin… so much for the backstory.

Our experiment: Driving through Berlin in the posh car with a Swabian license plate…

Because that's the only way to bear it when you're seated in a Grecale Folgore with the license plate UL-M 3530 E in the middle of Berlin, attempting to write a drive review on a late afternoon before a long weekend. Shortly after starting, our "posh car" with the quintessential Swabian license plate (in Berlin, both being major faux pas) draws many dirty looks; pedestrians jump onto the street in front of us, cyclists cut us off, and my electric friend from Modena often has to beep warnings, brake hard, and entertain me. The original idea: We have about two hours, quickly get on the highway, zoom past Elon Musk's Gigafactory, and return home... but: The closer we get to the highway ring, the denser the traffic! In the end, we abandon the attempt at the highway entrance with a laughable 2.8 km/h average speed, especially since the traffic reports have now clearly indicated that while driving in and around Ulm would be smooth, around Berlin, nothing's going to move.

The drive modes indeed change the character significantly

At least we've now gone through the infotainment, typically not Stellantis' strength, but here surprisingly competent: Grecale immediately pairs Greg the Bald's phone and is very understanding: it recognizes "Play channel x" as well as "I'm hungry," which leads to a restaurant search. It understands spoken destination inputs well and quickly recalculates, but: Any idea how to avoid this damn traffic jam? Unfortunately, it doesn’t have one. Unlike German premiums, it doesn’t automatically slow down before intersections or consider speed limits and corners like by "magic" on country roads. But who in Modena cares about that? The sound system delivers PROPER sound even at max volume, briefly cheering us up in the jam – though we usually prefer not to attract attention with our Swabian-registered luxury hut in Berlin. The operation works very "seamlessly" and for the decently complicated reputation of the brand, the Grecale drives surprisingly "Porsche-like". So if you work in the board of Iveco-Magirus and "have to" choose the Grecale Folgore over the Macan – it’s no loss...

Furthermore, he remains fundamentally unobtrusive in a Swabian way: Almost no one turns to look at it, at most drivers of other premium and power cars glance over – a Model Y challenges us at a traffic light – and loses… by now, we have free passage back to the city center and can play a bit with the drive modes and the delightful regen paddles. And yes, the different settings from Max-Range to GT to Sport indeed immediately alter the responsiveness, steering, and suspension, noticeably even in the city at 60 km/h. Offroad? Lifts the whole vehicle for more ground clearance and changes the power distribution to the wheels… just wanted to mention that.

The advantage of the well-matured Giorgio platform: Its incredible lightness

Also noticeable here is the striking lightness of driving, owed to the fabulous Giorgio platform, which also underpins the Alfa Giulia and the closely related Grecale Stelvio. They too stand out for their lightness of being, in the literal sense. True, here work – even in old currency – up to 558 hp (410 kW) and 820 Nm, but with 2,480 kg, the Grecale with its large 98-kWh battery (net) is no longer a lightweight. Still, it feels like around 1700 kg give or take. A characteristic it shares with the Macan. The Grecale steers wonderfully firm and precise, the suspension in "GT" finds a perfect synthesis between precise feedback and damping harsh cross seams or bumps, though it can still be adjusted harder or softer. Here, the air suspension helps.

"Light" also describes the door closing and indicator clicking, albeit not in a positive sense...