Maserati Levante vs Lotus Eletre

What's the difference?

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)?

This is a Lotus - but it’s not like any Lotus you’ve ever known.

In fact, forget everything you know about Lotus, the British brand previously famous for small, lightweight sports cars is now evolving into something very different. Very, very different.

Under the control of Chinese automotive giant Geely since 2017, Lotus will shed its past and focus its future on all-electric, luxury vehicles like the Eletre we’re testing here.

The Eletre is a full-size luxury electric SUV designed to take on the likes of the Audi SQ8 e-tron, BMW iX and Mercedes-AMG EQE on the electric side, while also trying to lure buyers away from the likes of the Bentley Bentayga and Lamborghini Urus.

So, how does this radically different Lotus measure up to the brand’s reputation and stack up against its would-be competitors? Read on to find out…