Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class VS Maserati Levante
Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class
Likes
- More power and torque
- More fuel efficient
- Stylish cabin
Dislikes
- Misses V8 soundtrack
- Big price rise over previous model
- Smaller boot, no spare tyre
Maserati Levante
Likes
- More affordable entry into Levante range
- Great engine note
- Almost identical standard features to the Levante S
Dislikes
- GranLusso and GranSport packs are expensive
- Limited room in the rear seats
- Steering is overly sharp and quick
Summary
Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class
Let’s make one thing clear from the very beginning - this new Mercedes-AMG GLC63 S E Performance is technically superior to the model it replaces. Whether it’s actually better or not, is the real question at the heart of the matter.
Why? Because, like the C63 sedan stablemate, AMG has opted to replace the previous model’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine with a new 2.0-litre four-cylinder hybrid powertrain. It was a move brought about in part because of increasingly stricter emissions standards in Europe, but also ties-in with the German firm’s success in modern Formula One racing.
While the new hybrid system offers more power, more torque and better fuel economy, as the lukewarm response to the C63 has demonstrated, the hard reality for AMG is that its buyers associate it with V8 and even V12 engines. That emotional pull is hard to replace with logic, even if the new model offers technical superiority.
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But how does the new powertrain suit the GLC63 - is it just technically better or is it holistically improved?
| Safety rating | — |
|---|---|
| Engine Type | — |
| Fuel Type | — |
| Fuel Efficiency | —L/100km |
| Seating | — |
Maserati Levante
Maserati. What do you reckon that name means to most people? Fast? Loud? Italian? Expensive? SUVs?
Well, maybe not the last one, but it likely will soon. See, with the Levante SUV accounting for half of all Maseratis now sold in Australia, shortly it’ll feel like SUVs are all Maserati makes.Â
And that may happen even faster with the arrival of the most affordable Levante ever - the new entry-grade, simply called Levante.
So, if this new cheaper Levante isn’t expensive (in Maserati terms) does that mean it’s not fast, loud or even Italian, now?Â
We drove this new, most affordable, Levante at its Australian launch to find out.
| Safety rating | |
|---|---|
| Engine Type | 3.0L turbo |
| Fuel Type | Diesel |
| Fuel Efficiency | 11.8L/100km |
| Seating | 5 seats |
Verdict
Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class7.7/10
Like I said right from the start, this new, hybrid version of the AMG GLC63 is technically superior to the model it replaces in every meaningful way. It is faster, more powerful and more fuel efficient and therefore a better performance SUV than the model it replaces.
Is it a better model than the one it replaces? Ultimately that will come down to how much stock you put into the soundtrack and your feelings on an AMG not powered by a V8 engine.
Because if you can see past that, then the AMG GLC63 is an absolutely fantastic performance SUV. Not only does the new powertrain make it faster in a straight line, but the chassis is very well-balanced, making for an engaging driving experience.
For those who can look past the smaller engine they will be rewarded with an incredibly fast and rewarding-to-drive member of the AMG family.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.
Maserati Levante7.3/10
The entry-grade Levante is the best choice in the current line-up (Levante, Levante Turbo Diesel and Levante S) because it’s almost identical in performance and features to the pricier S.Â
I’d give the GranLusso and GranSport packs a miss on this base Levante, but would consider them on the S where they are possibly worth the extra $10,000 rather than the $35K asking price on the entry car.
The Levante does a lot right – the sound, the safety and the exterior styling. But the quality of the interior, with its FCA shared parts, lowers what should be a prestige feel.
And back seat comfort could be better, Maseratis are grand tourers and an SUV from this brand should be able to accommodate at least four adults in superb comfort – something this one can’t do.
Given the choice and about $130K would you choose a Porsche Cayenne or a Maserati Levante? Tells us what you think in the comments below.
Design
Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class
The GLC63 is unmistakably an AMG from the moment you first lay eyes on it. That’s thanks to the AMG-specific elements, starting with the grille with vertical strikes and the AMG crest on the bonnet; which is now a signature item for the performance sub-brand.
The GLC63 is also fitted with the Night Package II design kit; this adds a darkened grille and black chrome badging to further enhance its visual appeal.
The AMG-specific alloy wheels and more aggressive stance do mean the GLC63 stands out from the rest of the GLC range, helping it look fast even when it’s standing still.
Maserati Levante7/10
The Levante looks exactly how a Maserati SUV should, with the long bonnet flanked by curvaceous wheel arches with their vents, leading towards a grille that looks ready to eat up slower cars. The heavily raked windscreen and cab-back profile is also very Maserati, as are haunches that muscle over the rear wheels.
If only its bottom was less Maserati. It’s a personal thing, but I find Maserati rear ends lack the drama of their faces and the Levante’s tailgate is no different in that it borders on plain.
Inside, the Levante looks to be a premium, well-crafted place, although closer inspection reveals there are certain items which appear to be shared with other brands which, like Maserati, are owned by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA).Â
The window and headlight switches, the ignition button, the air-conditioning controls, even the display screen all can be found in Jeeps and other FCA cars.
There are no functionality issues here, but from a design and style perspective they look a little basic and lack the refinement a buyer may expect from a Maserati.
There’s a lack of technological pizazz inside as well. For example, there’s no head-up display or large virtual instrument cluster as you’ll find in the Levante’s competitors.
Despite the Jeep-looking bits the Levante is truly Italian. The chief designer Giovanni Ribotta is Italian and the Levante is made at FCA's Mirafiori plant in Turin.
What are the Levante’s dimensions? The Levante is 5.0m long, 2.0m wide and 1.7m tall. So that means space inside is enormous right? Um… let’s talk about that in the next section, shall we?Â
Practicality
Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class
Inside the GLC63 is clearly a derivative of the rest of the range, with its C-Class-inspired design and layout, but there’s enough AMG-specific elements to ensure it looks and feels special. This starts with the AMG steering wheel, which comes not only with a thick rim wrapped in Alcantara, but also some AMG special dials to adjust the various performance settings for the powertrain, suspension and transmission.
Then there are the AMG-specific seats, which look good and offer good support for the driver and front seat passenger. The rear seats offer decent space for what is a mid-size SUV, with room enough for two adults or teenagers or three smaller kids.
Those in the back aren’t particularly well looked after though, with only rear air-con vents and small door pockets but no USB charging ports or other small item storage.
The boot is 590 litres, down from 620L in the rest of the range, thanks to the addition of the rear-mounted electric motor. There’s also no room for the temporary spare the rest of the GLC range gets and instead you have to make do with a puncture repair kit.
Maserati Levante7/10
You know the Tardis from Dr Who? The time machine police phone box that is much bigger on the inside than it appears from the outside? The Levante’s cabin is a reverse Tardis (a Sidrat?) in that even at five metres long and two metres wide, legroom in the second row is tight and at 191cm tall I can only just sit behind my driving position.
Headroom is also getting tight back there because of the swooping roofline. These aren’t major issues, but If you were thinking of using the Levante as a SUV limousine of sorts then the limited room back there just won’t be enough to let your taller passengers stretch out comfortably.
Also ruling it out as a chauffeur car in my view is the ride experience in the second row. I’ll cover this in the driving section below.
The Levante’s cargo capacity is 580 litres (with second row seats up) which is on the small side, and less than the Porsche Cayenne’s 770 litre boot space.
Cabin storage is pretty good, with a giant centre console bin up front with two cupholders inside. There are another two cupholders near the shifter and two more in the fold-down armrest in the rear. Door pockets are on the smaller side, however.
Price and features
Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class
The power and torque figures aren’t the only numbers that have risen sharply, with the GLC63 clearly impacted by a double whammy of inflation and the usual new-car price rise.
The GLC63 now starts at more than $191,814 for the SUV and $198,415 for the Coupe, which represents a nearly $30k increase over the old V8-powered model, which was priced at $164,600 just two years ago. Even for luxury car buyers that’s a big jump, especially when you’re trying to convince people of the merits of the four-cylinder powertrain.Â
That also means it's more expensive than all of its key competitors, including the BMW X3 M Competition, Maserati’s Grecale and the outgoing, petrol-powered Porsche Macan GTS.
To help explain some of this price increase Mercedes-Benz Australia has opted for a high level of standard specification for local cars. Standard equipment includes 21-inch alloys, AMG composite braking, a panoramic sliding sunroof, a unique AMG steering wheel, power-adjustable sports seats in Nappa leather, a head-up display, dual-zone climate control, wireless smartphone charging and a Burmester 3D Sound system.
Also included is the AMG Track Pace suite, for those who want to unleash their GLC on the racetrack.
There’s also a limited run, AMG Edition 1 Package available too, for an additional $12,900. On the outside you get Manufaktur graphite grey magno paint, foiling with colour gradation and large AMG logo on the sides, an AMG Aerodynamics Package, unique alloy wheels with Edition 1 and AMG branding, yellow brake calipers and an AMG fuel filler cap in silver chrome with AMG lettering.Â
Inside there’s AMG Performance seats, AMG Nappa leather in black with yellow contrasting stitching, AMG illuminated door sills, carbon-fibre AMG trim highlights, yellow seat belts and a unique AMG Performance steering wheel wrapped in carbon-fibre and microfibre.
Maserati Levante7/10
Guessing you want to know just how much more affordable this Levante is compared to the other grades in the range? Okay, the entry-level Levante lists for $125,000, before on-road costs.
That may sound expensive but look at it like this: the entry Levante has the same Maserati-designed and Ferrari-made 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 as the $179,990 Levante S and an almost identical standard features list.Â
So how on this planet is it possible there could be a $55K price difference and yet the cars be almost the same? What’s missing?
Horsepower is missing – the base grade Levante may have the same V6 as the Levante S but it doesn’t have as much grunt. But we’ll get to that in the engine section.
As for the other differences – there aren’t many, almost none. The Levante S comes with a sunroof as standard and front seats that adjust to more positions than the Levante, but both grades come with an 8.4-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, sat nav, leather upholstery (the S does get more premium leather), a proximity key and 19-inch alloy wheels.
Those standard features are also identical to those in the Turbo-Diesel which sits above the Levante at $159,990.
Apart from less horsepower, no standard sunroof (as on the S) and upholstery which isn’t quite as nice as the S’s another downside to the base grade Levante is that optioning the GranLusso and GranSport packs is expensive… really expensive.
The GranLusso adds luxurious touches to the exterior in the form of metallic trim to the roof rails, the window frames and protection plates to the front bumper, while in the cabin thee front seats come in a choice of Ermenegildo Zegna silk upholstery, Pieno Fiore (full-grain) leather or premium Italian hide.
The GranSport toughens up the exterior with a more aggressive body kit with black elements and adds 12-way power adjustable sports seats, brushed-chrome shifting paddles and aluminium-face sports pedals.
The features those packages offer are nice – those silk and leather seats are sumptuous for example, but each pack costs $35,000. That’s almost 30 per cent of the list price of the entire vehicle, extra. The same packages on the Levante S costs just $10,000.
While the Levante is the most affordable Levante, and also the cheapest Maserati you can buy, it’s more expensive than its Porsche Cayenne (entry V6 petrol) rival which lists for $116,000, while the Range Rover Sport 3.0 SC HSE is $130,000 and the Mercedes-Benz GLE 43 is $135,529.
Is the new entry-grade Levante good value, then? Yes, for a Maserati, if you don’t option the packages, and yes compared to most of its rivals.
Under the bonnet
Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class
This is what lies at the heart of the AMG GLC63’s success or failure. As I mentioned at the beginning, the previous generation’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 has been replaced by an F1-inspired plug-in hybrid powertrain.
But don’t think that means AMG is suddenly focused on efficiency over performance. When AMG says the powertrain is inspired by the brand’s success in Formula 1 racing, what it means is the battery and electric motor provides a significant performance boost to support the internal combustion engine, not just save fuel.
To that end the combination of the turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and the rear-mounted electric motor produces an impressive 500kW and 1020Nm. That’s a massive jump over the 375kW/700Nm made by the outgoing V8.
Maserati Levante8/10
If you’ve just read the section above on price and features, you’re now probably wondering how much less powerful the Levante is compared to the Levante S.
The Levante has a 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 and it sounds magnificent. Yup, the entry-grade Levante lets loose that Maserati high-pitched scream when you open the throttle, just like the S. It may sound the same as the S but the Levante’s V6 has less horsepower. At 257kW/500Nm, the Levante makes 59kW less in power and 80Nm less in torque.
Is there a noticeable difference? Not much. Acceleration isn’t as rapid in the Levante with 0-100km/h coming in six seconds compared to 5.2 seconds in the Levante S.
Shifting gears is an eight-speed ZF-sorced automatic transmission which is super smooth, but a little slow.
Efficiency
Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class
Mercedes makes no secret that the battery is designed for performance, not saving fuel. It only has a 14km EV range but can recharge quickly on the move to provide a power boost when needed.
But despite all that, the GLC63 is actually significantly more fuel efficient than the old V8, using a claimed 7.3L/100km, which is a massive 4.9L/100km improvement over the old model. Although, on our day-long test drive we didn’t manage to come close to that claimed figure and instead saw returns around 11L/100km, albeit after a lot of spirited open-road driving.
Maserati Levante7/10
Even if you were to drive your Levante conservatively Maserati says you can expect it to use at best 11.6L/100km over a combination of urban and open roads, the Levante S is a bit thirstier at an official 11.8L/100km.Â
In reality you can expect the twin-turbo petrol V6 to want more – just open road driving was seeing the trip computer report 12.3L/100km, You can bet that’ll go up in the city and climb higher if you like to keep raising the Levante's beautiful voice.
Driving
Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class
Anyone who still believes in the adage ‘there’s no replacement for displacement’ hasn’t driven a modern turbocharged and hybridised engine. The GLC63 is a demonstration of the metaphorical and literal power of modern technology, combining an extremely efficient and potent internal combustion engine with an electric motor to make enormous real-world performance.
To be blunt, the GLC63 feels like a rocketship out of corners, launching with a ferocity and relentlessness the old V8 simply can’t match. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, a mid-size SUV with 1020Nm was always going to have plenty of performance, but even so it’s a shock to the system every time you give the GLC63 full throttle. Officially AMG claims it takes just 3.5 seconds to run 0-100km/h and has an electronically limited top speed of 275km/h - mighty impressive figures for a five-seat mid-size SUV.
To help get all that torque to the road, AMG deploys torque distribution technology that allows for it to be split an even 50/50 front/rear all the way to 100 per cent to the rear tyres.
Other technologies deployed to enhance its handling include AMG Ride Control suspension with adaptive damping and rear-axle steering. There’s also eight AMG Dynamic Select driving modes and four AMG Dynamics settings (Basic, Advanced, Pro and Master), so it’s a complex vehicle that is designed for the enthusiast.
While it’s easy to drive around town, once you get out on the open road you can really get a sense of the GLC63’s performance potential. Beyond just its powertrain the suspension offers good body control and the rear-axle steering helps it feel agile and responsive.Â
It’s not perfect though. At times the complexity of the system does lead to some hesitation when you put your foot down. It certainly lacks the linear power delivery of the old V8 and makes for a slightly trickier driving experience at times.
As for the sound, which is one of the biggest elements missing from the V8, Mercedes has added AMG Real Performance Sound, which features a pressure sensor in the exhaust that picks up on the engine note and plays it through the speaker system. It certainly helps make for a louder, more noticeable engine noise, but it still sounds more like an A45 than the previous GLC63 and for many would-be buyers, that’s a major turn-off.
Maserati Levante8/10
When I reviewed the Levante S at its launch in 2017 I enjoyed its good handling and comfortable ride. But impressed as I was with performance from the engine I felt the car could be quicker.
So how then would a less powerful version of the same car feel? Not much different, actually. The base grade Levante is only 0.8s slower to 100km/h than the S at six seconds. The air suspension is the same as the S’s and returns a comfortable and compliant ride, and handling with the dampers in the firm setting is impressive for a two tonne, five-metre long vehicle.
Front brakes in the Levante base grade car are smaller (345 x 32mm) than in the S (380 x 34mm) and the tyres aren’t staggered either with 265/50 R19 all around.
The variable-ratio, electrically-assisted power steering is well weighted, but too quick. I found the car turned in too far, too quickly, with regular mid-corner corrections a tiresome necessity.
To me there’s no point going for the S based on the assumption that it’s going to be a much higher performing car. The Levante and Levante S and are both mild in their power delivery and have better dynamics than an average large SUV.
If you are after a true high-performance Maserati SUV then you might be best off waiting for the Levante GTS coming in 2020 with a 404kW V8.
The base grade Levante V6 sounds just as beautiful as the S’s, but there's one place where it isn’t very pleasant. The back seat.
At the launch of the Levante S in 2017 I didn’t have the chance to ride in the rear seats. This time around I let my co-driver steer for half-an-hour while I sat in the left rear position.Â
For starters it’s louder back there – the exhaust note is almost too loud to be pleasant. Plus, the seats aren’t supportive or comfortable.Â
There’s also a slightly claustrophobic, cave-like feeling in the second row, largely due to the roof's accentuated slope towards the rear. This, to me, rules it out almost completely as something to ferry guests around in comfort.
Safety
Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class
The GLC63 comes standard with a comprehensive suite of safety features including 'Distronic' (Mercedes’ name for adaptive cruise control), 'Active Lane Keeping Assist', 'Blind Spot Assist', 'Traffic Light Assist' and 'Adaptive Highbeam Assist'. It also includes Mercedes’ 'Pre-Safe' accident anticipation system - which pre-tensions the seat belts and will even play a white noise to protect your ears if it senses a crash is imminent.
A parking system that includes a 360-degree camera and active parking assist is also included.
The GLC range was awarded a five-star ANCAP rating in 2022, which pre-dates the latest testing protocols, so doesn’t provide a like-to-like comparison for vehicles tested after that date.
Maserati Levante8/10
The Levante is yet to be tested by ANCAP. That said, the Levante has six airbags and is equipped with advanced safety equipment such as AEB, lane keeping assistance and lane departure warning, blind spot warning with steering assistance, traffic sign recognition and adaptive cruise control.
A puncture repair kit is under the boot floor.
Ownership
Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class
The GLC63 is covered by Mercedes Australia’s usual five-year/unlimited kilometres warranty.
As for maintenance, Mercedes offers service plans, spanning three to five years. Three years will cost you $5025, $6455 for four years and five years is priced from $7180. Servicing intervals are 12 months or 20,000km, whichever comes first.
Maserati Levante6/10
The Levante is covered by Maserati’s three year/unlimited kilometre warranty. Servicing is recommended at two year or 20,000km intervals. More brands are moving to longer warranties and it would be good to see Maserati offer its buyers longer coverage.