Review: Maserati Levante – Thinking Person's SUV?

And yet, although Maserati's five-seat offering, the Levante, has joined a very, very crowded pool, already filled with the likes of the Porsche Cayenne, Range Rover Sport and Audi Q5, it feels fresh (despite being years and years in the making, with the Kubang concept unveiled in 2003). That comes, perhaps, from the distinctive nature of cars that sport Neptune's Trident.

The Levante oozes Italian style, like an Italian banker walking down Milan's cobbled streets. In fact, that's not a mad analogy: the Savile Row tailor, Ermenegildo Zegna, is a partner of the brand, and has designed an interior for Levante (it already does special-edition Quattroportes and Ghiblis), replete with silk inlays in the leather seats.

From the outside, this SUV seems a bigger car in the flesh than it looks on paper. The narrow headlights sit squat either side of the huge Maserati grille. There are curves along the flanks, highlighting the wheelarches, and a pronounced sloping roofline at the rear for a dynamic silhouette.

Inside, however, there's still head and leg room for five tall adults and a large boot, plus big door bins, cup holders, deep storage trays in the centre... the usual fare to attract Americans.

Engines on offer in the UK seem to have increased in the last week or so, and the car doesn't go on sale here until the end of the year. At first it appeared that the UK would get only the 3.0-litre, 271bhp/443 lb ft V6 diesel, as you won't find many people buying petrol SUVs. But customers like their Italian badges to stay sporty, so it looks like the Ferrari-sourced bi-turbo 424bhp V6 petrol is now heading our way too.

That diesel choice is not a bad one, however, especially if you prefer to keep your fuel economy the right side of 30mpg. The engines are mated to an eight-speed auto which you can flip through with the fixed-wheel paddles should you feel the need. There's also a sport button to press: do it once and the engine sharpens up, press it again and the suspension follows suit.

Most of the time, the rear wheels alone will be in action, with torque sent to cover any front-wheel slip as required.

There's the usual fare of a touchscreen with all the functions housed within (although our satnav, displaying on an impressively high-resolution screen, refused to play ball the entire trip), and you can override it at any time using the two handsomely knurled metal dials in the centre. It's worth noting that the rear seats are heated – you'll only normally find that sort of luxury a couple more notches up the price ladder.

On the go, the first thing to note is the silence; you can hear the diesel's performance through the exhausts, but there's almost no wind noise. The hydraulic steering is an absolute joy, reminiscent of the very best Alfas and Maseratis, strongly weighted, with plenty of precision. What feels like a very wide car was easy to place on Lake Garda's winding waterside roads.

We didn't get the chance to take our Levante off-roading, but Goodwood Road and Racing's occasional tester, Andrew English did, and reported a capable performance in the rough.

Visitors to this year's Festival of Speed will get a chance to see the Levante close up, both static and on the move up the hill in the First Glance category, which will be its first dynamic appearance in the UK. We'd urge you to go sit in it at Moving Motor Show on the Thursday, and experience a little slice of Italian automotive history, for not only has Maserati made its first SUV, but it's made a bloody good one.

Price tag: from £55,000