Audi SQ6 vs Maserati Levante

What's the difference?

Sharing the same Volkswagen Group PPE platform as its main rival, the Porsche Macan 4S, the newly launched Audi SQ6 e-tron has promised both efficiency and performance.

Is it a combination that can be achieved in real life? My family of three have been testing it out this week to find out for you.

Driving a whopping great SUV down the straight on a race track at more than 200km/h sounds like fun, but it actually feels a bit wrong, like entering a baby elephant in a dog show.

These are strange times, of course, and the Maserati Trofeo Levante is a suitably strange vehicle - stylish, classy, expensively appointed family hauler that also has the heart and soul of a race car.

Indeed, while performance SUVs are an increasingly commonplace vehicle, the Levante - which was actually getting along in the tooth as a model before this significant upgrade - has higher performance credibility than most.

That's because it has a big Ferrari V8 driving all four of its wheels and delivering a properly supercar-like 433kW and 730Nm.

It's not what you might call a typical Maserati buyer's car, but then only those who know what the Trofeo badge stands for - shouty insanity, basically - will be interested in this end of town. It is a lot of car, but is it worth the large load of money on the sticker ($330,000)?