Maserati Grecale vs Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class

What's the difference?

In its surprisingly crowded premium performance SUV segment, the Maserati Grecale Trofeo offers something different. Next to the X4s, GLCs and Macans of this world, it's quietly confident and charismatic with the performance, practicality and value to back up its distinctive good looks. Despite some gripes around warranty, fuel consumption and ride compliance, it's a compelling alternative to those more predictable choices.

If you can get past the relatively steep asking price, the design appeals to you, and its slightly last-gen ergonomics work for you, then there’s a lot to like about the GLE. It’s a big, capable and comfortable cruiser, but given there are cheaper and more efficient options around, it would be a decision of the heart rather than the head.

At close to 4.9m long, a fraction under 2.0m wide and less than 1.7m tall, the Grecale is a 'large' medium SUV with a robust, thick-set look and a low-key design approach relative to its often more overtly muscular competitors.

Signature Maserati elements include a trio of porthole vents in the front fenders, the broad vertically-slatted grille with trident emblem sitting proudly in the centre, and a smaller version of Neptune's weapon of choice adorning the broad C-pillar.

There's also more than a touch of MC20 around the raked headlights (including the DRL signature), a pronounced splitter-style nose piece and broad intakes on either side.

Staggered 21-inch rims fill the arches perfectly, while pronounced side skirts and a gently sloping turret also dial up the sporty look.

The rear is sleek, but again relatively low-key, the major clues to the car's performance potential being the quad exhaust outlets and the carbon nose panel, side skirts and diffuser.

The interior feels sleek and VIP special thanks mainly to the multi-tier dash design, quality of the materials used and multiple screens.

A central 12.3-inch multimedia touchscreen sits above an 8.8-inch 'comfort' screen devoted mostly to heating, ventilation and vehicle settings.

They're tied together in a single, angled panel that looks like an oversized foldable smartphone. Very cool.

The 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster is configurable through multiple custom set-ups and this time around the distinctive dashtop clock is in fact a small screen switchable through classic and contemporary faces.

It can also emit a response signal when it receives a voice command or morph into a G-meter.

From there, the double saddle stitched perforated leather trim, exposed carbon-fibre elements and brushed metal finishes complete a highly polished cabin environment.

The GLE hasn’t changed massively since 2019, but sleeker lights and some tweaks around the face have helped it age relatively gracefully. As much as a 2.4-tonne SUV can be graceful.

There are still references to the original ML-Class the GLE succeeded, like the ‘coupe’ shape of the C-pillar that betrays the true SUV shape of the GLE.

The reshaped front-end has less black plastic on show, and its grille stays true to the pre-facelift design.

Inside, it’s just the steering wheel that’s new, everything else holds up well in terms of a design that’s also practical, though some would say it looks outdated given the many physical controls.

At close to 4.9m long and nearly 2.0m wide, the Grecale is a big medium five-seater and with a 2.9m wheelbase to play with, interior space and practicality are more than respectable.

There's plenty of space up front and in terms of practicality, decent door bins, two cupholders in the centre console, a lidded oddments tray in front of them (housing USB-C and USB-A sockets), a large lidded box between the seats (which doubles as a centre armrest) with a 12-volt outlet lurking inside as well as a generous glove box.

Sitting behind the driver's seat set for my 183cm position, there's plenty of head, leg and foot room, not to mention a surprising amount of breathing space in general.

Enough width for three adults on short journeys and up to teenage kids will be fine. When it comes to baby capsules or child seats, you'll be good with two but three is a bridge too far.

For storage, there are door bins with room for large bottles, hard-shell maps pockets on the front seatbacks, adjustable ventilation as part of the three-zone climate control system, a fold-down centre armrest including two cupholders and a slot for a phone in between as well as another pair of USB (A and C) sockets.

Boot volume is a healthy 570 litres with all seats up, which is 35L more than the lower GT and Modena grades because rather than a space saver spare, the Trofeo cops a repair/inflator kit. Boo...

It's enough room to fit our three-piece luggage set or the CarsGuide pram with ease, and the 40/20/40 split-folding rear seat liberates even more space.

There are seat release handles in the cargo area as well as multiple tie-down anchor points, a 12V outlet, bag hooks and a two-piece load cover set-up to deter prying eyes.

The GLE is very easy to use because of those physical controls.

Save for the trackpad in the centre console that can be used like a laptop’s control mat - it’s a little fiddly - everything is easy to locate and adjust and the controls feel nice. The switches along the climate control row all feel nice and clicky, buttons in the centre console are big and obvious, and even the steering wheel’s haptic buttons are laid out sensibly.

The touchscreen’s software has been updated since launch during the facelift and it’s easy to navigate, but wireless Android Auto or Apple CarPlay are a good workaround.

The front seats, as well as being comfortable, are adjustable to an impressive degree for finding your driving position and there’s plenty of room and light to make the cockpit feel airy.

Storage isn’t at a premium, there’s plenty of space in door cards, the central storage bin, and the cupholders and phone charger can be hidden away.

Behind the front row, rear seat space is ample, though if you opt for seven seats the second row can be moved to accommodate a third row of passengers when needed.

In our test car, that isn’t the case, so the GLE’s cavernous 630 litres of boot storage is available. The second row can split 40/20/40, which is convenient for loading long items while four passengers are present.

Oh, but under the boot floor, despite some extra room for bits and pieces, no spare tyre. Big marks down for a car that absolutely has the space for one.

It’s not a strong start for the GLE. Our top-spec (non-AMG) GLE 450d 4Matic variant starts from $154,900, before on-road costs, while our test car has $3800 of option boxes ticked.

So, $158,700 before on-roads as-tested, the GLE is this borderline prohibitively expensive for what it offers.

If the car you’re after must be diesel, the options are still many in terms of rivals… especially if you’d like to save a few dollars.

Moving on from the big Mazdas and VW Touaregs to the proper premium badges, and there’s the $136,815 Audi Q7 50 TDI (if we exclude the $120,530 base Q7 TDI) or the BMW X5 30d for $138,600. Even a Range Rover Sport D300 comes in under the GLE at $159,481.

For a seven-ish year old luxury SUV, the GLE does a decent job of hiding its age in some ways, but there are gaps.

The twin 12.3-inch screens for multimedia and driver display have aged well, plus there’s electrically adjustable leather front seats with heating, though the leather in our new test car needs some softening up. Perhaps over time.

The new steering wheel comes thanks to newer models in Merc’s line-up, though haptic controls can be accidentally bumped (as opposed to buttons).

Wireless phone charging, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, a head-up display, a huge sunroof, LED interior lighting, adaptive high beam headlights, a power tailgate and surround-view parking cameras are all standard.

Optionally, there’s a set of 21-inch wheels as pictured on our test car. They’re $2400 and you’d probably be better off with standard 20-inch wheels for the extra comfort.

The illuminated running boards are a $1400 option, and they’re also probably not necessary. But I’m not your mum, go for it if you want.

Oh, and you can also have the GLE in seven-seat form, but our test car is a luxuriously spacious five-seater.

Lurking under the Grecale Trofeo's bonnet is a 'wet sump' version of the 3.0-litre twin-turbo 'Nettuno' (Neptune) V6 that also found a home between the axles of the Maserati MC20 supercar.

It produces 390kW, which is well in excess of 500hp, and grinds out enough torque (620Nm) to pull a small cottage off its foundations.

It's brimming with performance and efficiency-focused tech. Everything from twin-spark dual-chamber heads and cylinder deactivation to high-pressure direction-injection and variable valve timing.

Drive goes to all four wheels via a ZF-sourced eight-speed auto transmission and an all-wheel-drive system incorporating an electronic self-locking limited slip diff at the rear.

The GLE 450d’s 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder diesel engine is turbocharged, with a healthy 270kW and a brawny 750Nm to its name. That torque peaks all the way from 1350rpm to 2800rpm, by the way. Handy.

A nine-speed automatic transmission sends drive to all four wheels ('4Matic' in Merc-talk), while a 48-volt ‘mild-hybrid' system ('EQ Boost' in Merc-talk) means take-offs and shifts are aided by a bit of electric power.

Mercedes says the GLE can dispatch the 0-100km/h sprint in just 5.6 seconds, and that feels about right.

Maserati's official combined cycle fuel economy number for the Grecale Trofeo is 11.2L/100km, emitting 254g/km of CO2 in the process.

We covered urban, B-road and freeway running, not to mention some enthusiastic driving along the way, and recorded an average of 16.9L/100km. Which is thirsty, but not outrageous relative to the competition.

The fuel tank requires 64 litres of 95 RON premium unleaded to fill it which translates to a theoretical range of around 570km, dropping to just 380km using our real-world number.

Even if you're okay with the Trofeo's hefty consumption rate, regular visits to the fuel pump will be kind of a pain.

Mercedes claims a 7.4L/100km combined cycle (urban/extra-urban) fuel consumption figure for the big lug, but achieving that and making the most of its large 85-litre tank is a challenge.

We averaged 8.7L/100km on test but the trip computer showed as low as 8.0L/100km at one point. Get the GLE on the highway and fuel use plummets.

Theoretically you should be able to get about 1150km from a single tank, but realistically we wouldn’t plan trips any longer than 900km between fuel stations. 

Still impressive, given that’s about the distance between Melbourne and Sydney, or Sydney and Brisbane. Roughly.

Engage the standard launch control function, step through the blast-off procedure and Maserati says you'll rocket from 0-100km/h in 3.8 seconds, which is supercar fast.

And the way this twin-turbo V6 delivers that kind of performance is impressive; beautifully linear without a hint of lag.

Trundle along at 60km/h, pin the throttle and you'll be in 'lock 'em up and throw away the key' territory in the blink of an eye. This is a full-blown rocket sled.

All 620Nm of peak torque is available from 3000-5500rpm with maximum power (390kW) arriving at 6500rpm. No matter which drive mode you've selected (more on that shortly), thunderous performance is only an extension of your right ankle away.

And the aural accompaniment walks a perfect line between potency and civility, the signature Maserati exhaust growl stepping up a notch in the racier settings but rarely crossing over into bellicose 'boy racer' territory. We have no problem with an occasional pop and bang on the overrun!

At a touch over two tonnes, the Grecale Trofeo is far from a featherweight, but when you're racing up and down the quick-shifting auto transmission's eight ratios, it feels like one.

The elegant alloy, column- (not wheel-) mounted 'manual' shift levers add to the fun and there are five drive modes to play with - 'Comfort', 'GT', 'Sport', 'Corsa' and 'Off-road' - adapting the engine, transmission, steering and suspension.

The track-focused Corsa set-up starts to soften off some of the traction and stability controls, so we didn't go there, but can confirm off-road raises ride height by 30mm (FYI, we didn't head off-road, either).

Suspension is by double wishbones at the front and multi-links at the rear supported by active dampers and air 'springs' all around.

In the softer Comfort setting, ride compliance is on the firm side. Never harsh, but a little more communicative in terms of bumps and thumps than you might expect.

Not for the first time I found the best arrangement was Sport, dialling everything up to racier settings, and the suspension in 'Comfort' which can be achieved with the press of a wheel-mounted button.

The electrically-assisted rack and pinion steering is accurate and quick to respond with excellent road feel thrown in for good measure.

Just beware the flip side of this type of 'quick' steering rack is invariably a large turning circle, and the Grecale Trofeo is no exception.

The staggered 21-inch rims are shod with high-performance Bridgestone Potenza Sport rubber (225/40 fr / 295/35 rr) and the AWD system, complete with rear LSD, help the car feel securely planted and balanced in quick cornering.

Braking is professional grade with big ventilated and cross-drilled rotors front and rear with fixed Brembo calipers at both ends - six piston front and four-piston rear.

Maserati claims the Grecale Trofeo will slow from 100km/h to a standstill in less than 40m, which is not a lot of metres from that speed.

I had one telling 'will I, or won't I?' situation when presented with an amber light and in deciding to give the brakes a workout (there was no one behind me) was rewarded with a secure and insanely rapid stop.

In terms of general observations, the placement of the start button and drive-mode dial on the steering wheel is a nice touch, the front seats are superb in terms of support and comfort, the media interface is quick and easy to use and the only strong hint of Maserati's Stellantis ownership came in the form of familiar 'Jeep-style' audio control rocker switches on the back of the steering wheel.

A trip in the GLE feels like a welcome step back in time. Sure, coming in close to five metres long and two-and-a-half tonnes means it’s not a nimble steer, but the GLE strikes a nice balance of comfort and tactility that’s getting rarer.

None of it feels particularly sharp in terms of inputs or feedback, but it’s easy and predictable to a point where even winding back-roads are effortless to flow through.

The big diesel engine feels almost lazy, but it’s just so effortless in getting things moving as it strives to sit close to idle whenever possible. Because of that, there’s little noise from the engine bay even under reasonable acceleration, and the powertrain is helped by that 48-volt system which makes stop-starts from the lights super-smooth.

The mild-hybrid also helps smooth out power delivery, to the point where the only time the GLE feels clunky is the occasional lag when shifting from Drive to Reverse or vice versa.

The test car’s suspension isn’t the optional airbag set-up, but the non-adaptive steel does fine in terms of comfort and soaking up harsh surfaces. And even the big 21-inch wheels aren’t too bad over sharp bumps.

With smaller wheels (more tyre cushioning) and the air suspension, it feels like the GLE would ride gorgeously.

Its body control is predictable on smooth roads, and if you’re careful you steer the hefty SUV through tight, winding roads easily, but consistently rough surfaces can make the GLE feel unsettled for a short period of time.

There’s an overall softness to it that means gentle off-roading is possible, and the tyres are thick enough to make it comfortable. You won’t find yourself being tossed around on a flat enough gravel road.

There’s a lot under the skin in the GLE in terms of safety, and it doesn’t always make itself known. This is a compliment.

The GLE scored a maximum five stars in its ANCAP assessment in 2019, and though the criteria has changed significantly since then, it feels like it should still score well.

The GLE doesn’t intervene unless it needs to, but the ability is there for the big Merc to avoid incidents and employ many means to protect passengers and pedestrians alike.

A warning for the driver and a gentle seatbelt tension comes in before the car slams on the brakes, though if no action is taken before an expected collision the GLE will drop its AEB anchors.

There are nine airbags if it all goes pear-shaped, plus some well-tuned adaptive cruise control with lane keep assist and departure alert, there’s traffic sign recognition with that, too.

Blind spot warnings, front- and rear cross-traffic alert, front and rear parking sensors and driver monitoring are joined by Mercedes’ plethora of other little safety features that minimise impact and damage in a crash.

The Grecale Trofeo is covered by Maserati's three-year/unlimited km warranty, which is off the market pace, with five years/unlimited km the expected norm. Roadside assistance is included for the duration of the warranty.

Maintenance intervals are 12 months/15,000km, and service over the first three years will set you back $4639, or $1546 per workshop visit. Not cheap, but again, not out of line for a performance model in this part of the market.

Maserati also warrants the body for "perforation by rust corrosion" for four years, extendable up to eight if vehicle maintenance, from an authorised dealer, is up to scratch.

Servicing isn’t cheap at Mercedes, even in the context of this market segment. A three-year service plan for the GLE costs $4045, while five years is $8055. That’s $1348 or $1611 per service respectively. The later services in those five years will of course be much more expensive and bring the average up.

Intervals are every 12 months or 25,000km, but Mercedes’ five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty means anything major that goes wrong in that time should be covered - always read the fine print.

The brand’s Australian website lists 67 Mercedes-Benz dealers that can service your car.