Maserati Grecale vs Tesla Model S

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.

I spoke to a friend who bought a Model S before one had even hit the ground here in Australia. He chuckled when I told him how much this car cost but then said something I'd already suspected. "My mates who own a P100D would never drop that kind of money on a normal car. Buying a Tesla is like buying shares in the company, you're buying into the future."

And that's kind of the point. A $300,000 Audi RS7 (fully-loaded, obviously) is a bit slower in a straight line, looks just as good, is extremely well-built and emits noises that make people like me go as weak at the knees (just as the Model S' acceleration does). And would probably win a 10 lap race with the Tesla around Mount Panorama.

The Tesla is the future of cars. It may still be decades before the internal combustion engine is gone, but Tesla buyers are getting the jump, and today the Model S is the best car in which to make that leap.

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 Model S is definitely the looker of the three Tesla models on sale (the Model 3 might be some way from release, but you can reserve one and it's... weird-looking). With a slinky, Jaguar XF/Audi A7 roofline and low-slung stance, it looks the business. Like the X, the detailing of the car's surfacing and panel gaps aren't where other $200,000+ cars are, but it has improved a lot over the last couple of years.

The cabin has improved even more than the exterior.

The styling is quite sparse, really. Teslas look like computer renders in real life, especially in white, with little in the way of jewellery or detailed design elements. And that's probably the idea. It's a cleaner design than when first launched, with a simpler, flatter snout that brings out the headlights better.

The cabin has improved even more than the exterior. It's still the same minimalist design, but it fits together much more tightly than it used to. The 17.0-inch portrait screen is still there in its central but skewed-to-the-driver position and is now up to version 8. It's an impressive interface, covering off the vast majority of functions in the car, and is mostly easy to use. The responsiveness is key to its usability. If it was underpowered, you'd quickly start demanding real buttons.

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 Model S is a rare car in this class in that it has an almost completely flat floor, meaning rear seat passengers don't have to negotiate a transmission tunnel. The two motors run physically independently of each other so there's no crankshaft to get in the way.

The floor is thicker than a normal car, it's like a big skateboard underneath. That means your knees are up higher, which might cause numb bum on a long trip. The rear seats are comfortable enough, but middle seat occupants might feel like the outboard passengers are falling into them.

With all that torque, when you do load it up, the extra kilos barely make a dent on the performance.

The view out isn't too bad given the rising window line, and if you've got the big two piece sunroof (without cover, irritatingly... ), it's quite airy out back. And hot (with the sunroof), but you do get rear air-con vents.

The boot is an eminently sensible 744 litres with the seats up and 1795 with the seats down, although the floor doesn't fold flat. While it's a big boot, it's relatively shallow so your suitcases go in on their sides. Up in the front boot (or froot) there's another 150 litres, so you can pack a lot in to the Model S. And with all that torque, when you do load it up, the extra kilos barely make a dent on the performance.

Tesla is basically a technology company - well, a battery company - that makes cars, so the features and options reflect that. It's a gadget-laden five-door hatch powered exclusively by electricity and seemingly full of things that will drain the batteries quickly.

If you view the car's price purely through its standard features list and the cost of options, you're missing the point. If it had a 3.0-litre turbo six, there's no way you'd pay this kind of money for the Model S. But it doesn't have that, it has a bleeding edge battery pack and propulsion system.

The Model S can be had for as little as $118,652 for the 60 offering 400km range, rear-wheel drive, and 5.8s 0-100km/h (but move quickly, Tesla has just axed this model), or as much as this P100D which starts at $250,582.

Standard are a seven-speaker stereo, leather-like trim, 19-inch alloys, reversing camera, 17.0-inch touchscreen, keyless entry and start, forward collision warning, digital dashboard, electric front seats, sat nav, auto LED headlights, auto wipers, internet connectivity via included SIM card, power mirrors and windows and air suspension.

Our P100D came with 21-inch grey 'Turbine' wheels ($6800), panoramic roof ($2300) multi-coat pearl paint (white, $2300) and carbon-fibre interior trim bits for $1500, as well as a carbon lip spoiler for another $1500.

We also had the 11-speaker audio upgrade (with neodymium magnets, don't you know) for $3800 and the 'Subzero Weather Package' (seat heaters, heated steering wheel, wiper blade defrosters and washer nozzle heaters) and on-board high-power charger (speeds up charging with the 'Tesla Wall Connector', $2300).

There was also 'Enhanced Autopilot' ($7600) and 'Full Self-Driving Capability' ($4600). The former is meant for highway running, and comes with four cameras (up from one) and 12 ultrasonic sensors around the car, as well as upgraded processing power to run it all.

The full self-driving is meant for around town. The idea is you punch in a destination, or speak to the computer or passive-aggressively stay silent, which triggers the car to check your calendar and take you to the address in the appointment. Part of the extra cost of that is yet more cameras (up to eight), more sensors, and more number-crunching power.

A 'Premium Upgrades' package adds the overkill of a 'Bioweapon Defense (sic) Mode' that knocks out 99.97 per cent of exhaust particulates and other contaminants.

We would love to tell you how all that worked, but being Tesla 'Hardware 2', it's not ready yet. While these features are being fleet-tested by 1000 cars in the US, your car will run it all in "shadow mode" for data and behaviour validation. One day you'll go to your car and a software update will be ready to download and install the functionality.

Unusually, you can retrofit both of these features for about $1500 more (each) than if you order them up-front. That's very cool and Tesla is probably the only car company in the world that will let you do it.

The 17.0-inch screen's software is regularly updated, like a mobile phone's. Also like a mobile is the sometimes less successful update, in this case the slightly bewildering and difficult-to-use music interface that is very keen for you to make a selection with voice commands, but not ones that go through your phone.

A 'Premium Upgrades' package adds the overkill of a 'Bioweapon Defense (sic) Mode' that knocks out 99.97 per cent of exhaust particulates and other contaminants, using two activated carbon air filters for other nasties like NO2 and hydrocarbon exhaust fumes.

LED turning lights and fog lights, real leather on the armrests, steering wheel and lower dashboard (if you also have leather seating), nappa leather and Alcantara on the dashboard, soft LED interior lighting, power tailgate and backlit door handles for $5300. Thankfully, the silly self-opening front doors in the Model X's pack aren't in this little lot.

Grand total? $297,792. On the road in, say, NSW... $313,013. Youch.

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 P100D ships with two electric motors fed by a huge battery pack which triples as the bulk of the chassis and a super-strong crash structure. It's also shared with the Model X SUV.

Combined power output is 568kW with more of it out the back rather than up front. Torque is quoted at 1000Nm, but it's likely more than that. Claimed 0-100km/h time is a mildly unbelievable 2.7 seconds, with a further two-tenths to be shaved off when you press and hold Ludicrous Mode and accept a warning that you'll wear the car out faster if you use it.

With 'Ludicrous Mode' comes not just software but a higher capacity fuse that allows more power to be drawn from the batteries for longer to provide the searing acceleration.

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.

Zippo. Obviously with the new rules for Tesla Superchargers, it's not as cheap to own and run a Tesla as it was before (from January 2017, all new orders don't get free juice after the first 400kWh), but if you charge it at home (and can get away with it), it'll probably be cheaper than using Tesla's chargers. If you look, there's a company offering $1 per day charging for electric cars.

If I'd charged the car to 100 percent rather than the 80 percent recommended by Tesla for most charges (past that mark, the charge rate drops and the software has to slow to a trickle, doling out the electrons to the different cells), I would have managed just over 400km on the charge.

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.

The first time I drove a Model S, I enjoyed the acceleration and the silence of the electric motor (this was back in the Dark Ages when even the P90 only had one motor). And that has remained, with the air suspension providing a firm but comfortable ride despite the P100D's 21-inch rims and very low profile tyres. Electric motoring in any electric car is addictive.

Much progress has been made (yes, I'm getting to the acceleration, stay with me) in the way it drives. The earlier cars felt too computer gamey, with little feel through the wheel or the seat of your pants. The steering is better, especially in Sport mode, but not a lot gets through the air suspension, so it takes a while to build confidence in the chassis.

One passenger became quite emotional, almost crying. And not just because they were stuck in a car with me.

On the freeway (look, you can read ahead if you must) it's amazingly quiet, with just a bit of a rustling around the mirrors. Well, of course it's quiet, it's electric. For chassis and NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) squashers, not having the marvellous engine noise means much harder work to dull the other noises you just don't hear when there's an internal combustion engine.

And there's the acceleration. As the driver, you obviously know it's quick. Mash the throttle and the response is instant, the horizon closing in on you like you're attached by a very stretched and immensely strong bungee strap that's just been released. The way cars disappear in your rear vision mirror is hilarious.

It's more fun as a passenger, though. The Model X elicited whooping and laughing, but the P100D's extra 0.6s-worth of acceleration over the P90D, delivered with a truckload more G-force, equals silence. One woman said she was glad I'd caught her before dinner rather than after, before bursting forth with a range of expletives. One passenger became quite emotional, almost crying. And not just because they were stuck in a car with me.

The Model S comes with six airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, three ISOFIX points, rollover sensors, emergency power disconnect. Additionally, when the software arrives, you'll have full AEB (ours was limited), self-driving and an ultra-clever active cruise that'll change lanes and overtake if the car you're following falls below your set speed.

The Model S scored five ANCAP stars, the maximum available, in April 2015 via the sharing arrangement with EuroNCAP.

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.

Tesla offers a four-year/80,000km warranty with a parallel eight year/unlimited kilometre warranty for the battery and drive units. Roadside assist applies for the four year warranty period.

Tesla offers two maintenance plans, three and four years in length. The three year plan costs $2100 and the four year $3175. Paying for the services individually over the same period will cost $2300 and $3425 respectively. That includes a wheel alignment (if needed), but it isn't particularly cheap when compared with 'normal' luxury cars.

Your first 400kW/h of recharging is free using Tesla's supercharger network, so that would be four full charges from empty (which you wouldn't do, obviously), or about 1600km worth. After that, it's 35c per kWh or $35 for a full charge.