Mike K Reviews Something Italian
- Thread starter Mike K
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Thats kinda where I'm getting tired of him. I know he's built his career on being the quirks and features guy, but lately with any of his videos, he spends 18 minutes talking about the car while its stationary, 2 minutes "driving" it, and then another 5 minutes giving it a "doug score"
May as well just throw a dart at a wall with different scores on it.
In terms of new Italian SUVs I think the Levante is probably one of the best looking and the Stelvio one of the worst.
The problem for me is I tend to compare things that maybe others wouldn't and then I can't get by the difference. So for me, after sitting a Stelvio and driving one, it's almost every bit as nice inside, drives amazing, gets better gas mileage, has better tech, etc. So at that point I'm paying solely for looks in this arbitrary comparison my mind drew up.
And I get stuck there. Maybe in 2 years when the Levante is worth $15,000 and a couple of gum wrappers I'll consider it.
The problem for me is I tend to compare things that maybe others wouldn't and then I can't get by the difference. So for me, after sitting a Stelvio and driving one, it's almost every bit as nice inside, drives amazing, gets better gas mileage, has better tech, etc. So at that point I'm paying solely for looks in this arbitrary comparison my mind drew up.
And I get stuck there. Maybe in 2 years when the Levante is worth $15,000 and a couple of gum wrappers I'll consider it.
So I like the Levante but still don't see the case for owning one. It's not the fastest, it's not laden with tech and it's not the most luxurious but I would give it points for being the best looking. It is gorgeous.
Beyond that, it's an interesting contrast to my Ghibli. People on the Ghibli forums swear up and down that the newer cars are nicer inside than the originals. I don't see it and it's a pretty apples to apples comparison since the Levante's interior is basically identical to the Ghibli, right down to the steering wheel that looks like it was pulled from a 2007 Dodge Ram. The Levante loaner I have has the extended leather option which adds leather to the dashboard and the door panels. It brings the car uplevel for sure, but is no different than the same feature you could get on the 2014 Ghibli.
But all of this isn't bad thing. The interior in these cars is quite nice, Doug Demuro be damned. Sure some of the switchgear feels cheap. The attention to the detail just isn't there when you compare it to even mid-level competition like the Q5 where every single piece of switchgear is a tactile delight to engage. But again, that's ok because the interior is still a nice place to spend time. It's certainly more desirable (to me at least) than my Model S.
My loaner has the skyhook suspension with air ride and it's quite nice. It handles better all around than my Ghibli does. It's more composed for sure.
The exhaust is ludicrous. It's like they took the Ghibli and turned it up an extra notch. You know that thud sound that supercars make when they upshift? The Ghibli does that. It's loud. It's hilarious. The Levante doesn't have a thud. The Levante has a small explosion between shifts. It's loud enough that it's jarring to the drivers around me and it pissed someone off. I kind of don't blame them either. This is the SUV that people buy when they want to get looked at and the lime green Porsche Cayenne just isn't getting the job done.
$80,000 though? No. And here's why. There's a stable-mate in the FCA lineup that's pretty much better in every way but look at me factor: the Alfa Romeo Stelvio. The Stelvio Ti is faster than the base Levante. It's got an interior that's just as nice. It's got more tech. It gets better gas mileage and it's half the price. It's really hard to make a compelling case for the Levante, as much as I like it.
Beyond that, it's an interesting contrast to my Ghibli. People on the Ghibli forums swear up and down that the newer cars are nicer inside than the originals. I don't see it and it's a pretty apples to apples comparison since the Levante's interior is basically identical to the Ghibli, right down to the steering wheel that looks like it was pulled from a 2007 Dodge Ram. The Levante loaner I have has the extended leather option which adds leather to the dashboard and the door panels. It brings the car uplevel for sure, but is no different than the same feature you could get on the 2014 Ghibli.
But all of this isn't bad thing. The interior in these cars is quite nice, Doug Demuro be damned. Sure some of the switchgear feels cheap. The attention to the detail just isn't there when you compare it to even mid-level competition like the Q5 where every single piece of switchgear is a tactile delight to engage. But again, that's ok because the interior is still a nice place to spend time. It's certainly more desirable (to me at least) than my Model S.
My loaner has the skyhook suspension with air ride and it's quite nice. It handles better all around than my Ghibli does. It's more composed for sure.
The exhaust is ludicrous. It's like they took the Ghibli and turned it up an extra notch. You know that thud sound that supercars make when they upshift? The Ghibli does that. It's loud. It's hilarious. The Levante doesn't have a thud. The Levante has a small explosion between shifts. It's loud enough that it's jarring to the drivers around me and it pissed someone off. I kind of don't blame them either. This is the SUV that people buy when they want to get looked at and the lime green Porsche Cayenne just isn't getting the job done.
$80,000 though? No. And here's why. There's a stable-mate in the FCA lineup that's pretty much better in every way but look at me factor: the Alfa Romeo Stelvio. The Stelvio Ti is faster than the base Levante. It's got an interior that's just as nice. It's got more tech. It gets better gas mileage and it's half the price. It's really hard to make a compelling case for the Levante, as much as I like it.
Fuel economy is dismal. Per the trip computer it was averaging 12 MPG in relaxed in-town driving. After a 200 mile highway run at 75-80 mph it shot up to 16.
I don't think many buying this thing are concerned about MPG. It's gotta be an image thing. It's pretty, has an expensive nameplate/badge on it, and finishes the part by having a "hey look at me" exhaust note, even when not in sport mode. Once you've spent almost 1k miles in one it all comes apart aside from that.
As an actual daily driver, for a family of four, here is why it sucks so far:
It's long, yet up front you feel smushed against the a-pillars/windshield/dash, the back seat legroom is tight, and the trunk area even smaller. Blame the long hood design I guess. Surprise, the 4th suitcase that would've fit in the back of the Q7/X5/XC90 you're supposed to have is now in the back seat on your teenage kid's lap. But she doesn't care, because it's a Maserati.
Once inside you realize you're in an $80k-ish vehicle with no moonroof, no ventilated seats, and no adaptive cruise. There's not even a sunglass holder in the headliner bin for the wife, but she doesn't care because it's a Maserati.
Look closer, and the steering wheel, window/headlight switches, and infotainment are straight out of the pile of crap Dodge Caravan rental you had last week, just rebadged.
Look behind you, and you realize the thick c-pillars and massive headrests completely block your over the shoulder view.
Try to shift into reverse and you end up in neutral. Try it again and you end up in drive. You think you're just tired and you didn't just fuck up shifting an automatic transmission in a modern car but after a few days you just call it the single most stupid thing you've seen in a new car.
Drive around a bit, and the following issues come up, in no particular order:
The park distance control beeps and warnings are deafening even at the lowest setting. They go off all the time. Only way to silence it is to turn the system completely off. You can have sound only but not visual only.
The seat back lower bolstering is not ideal if you have any sort of lats. The wife says they're super comfy however.
Auto start/stop can be disabled, but must be done at every start up.
The stereo sound quality is horrendous. Absolutely no bass, with hollow mids and harsh highs. It literally is the worst sounding stereo in any newer car I have been in. It's the base stereo, I get it, but for the money it should at least sound better than the last half dozen newer cars I've been in recently, which are all half the price.
The dead pedal is way too far away in comparison to the brake/gas pedal.
The air-ride tries to lower the car when shifted into park, but it's slow to do so and cancels out when a door is opened so you are constantly getting out of the car at different heights, which surprisingly throws everyone off. It's also slow to raise once started, so you need to wait a bit before backing off that curb you're now parked on. Not an issue, as you won't likely get it into reverse on the first or second try.
About that ride. It's somehow floaty and wallowing yet super harsh on impacts at the same time. Sport suspension mode helps here, but to get to it you have to also engage the boy-racer sport drivetrain mode. Once on the highway the car lowers, which increases the air spring stiffness which wouldn't be a problem but then the dampers soften. Add in the drecreased travel and you now have a sort of pogo-stick ride quality over expansion strips, dips, and transitions on the highway.
The exhaust at idle booms, no matter what mode you're in. It also does this once up to speed on the highway. Even in normal mode, you'll be shutting the car off at any drive-thrus. The car is very quiet otherwise.
The brakes squeal like crazy, and dust the wheels something fierce yet they don't grab well at any speed, even when hot. They also take a while to slow the last few mph while applying steady pedal pressure. You're always squeezing a bit more at the very end.
There is no steering feel or feedback at any speed, no matter what mode you select.
At idle the Ferrari derived twin-turbo six lopes/surges, and at low speeds the engine is not happy and the trans tends to clunk around between 1st and 2nd. When this happens there's some major driveline slack in the rear end of this thing so it's constantly thwacking and thunking in parking lots and low speeds around town in traffic.
The base HID headlights are terrible. I literally checked to see if they were still halogens they're so bad.
The windshield washer pump sounds like it's in the driver's side air vent. Toggle the back one and it's the same deal, as it uses the same pump as the front. I haven't heard one like this since being in my cousin's '86 Civic.
These are all things almost every other vehicle does well, at even half the price. This one had just 600 miles on it when I got it so too soon to tell what FCA quality issues it will have.
I kind of feel like we got different cars. My suspension is great, throttle response versus the Ghibli is much improved, the stereo isn't bad, it handles amazingly well for what it is, it's comfortable and the exhaust is much quieter than the Ghibli in standard mode which makes the car more livable. I don't know how people drive the Ghibli as their only car because even in quiet mode the exhaust is silly loud.
I do have the same complaints about the cheap switchgear, lack of a moonroof, radar cruise, etc. I don't think it's a bad SUV. I don't see the cost proposition working out though.
I do have the same complaints about the cheap switchgear, lack of a moonroof, radar cruise, etc. I don't think it's a bad SUV. I don't see the cost proposition working out though.
The Levante S seems to be a different type of SUV.
It's smaller than the Trackhawk, has several hundred horsepower less, and is roughly the same price.
Hell, the Ghibli is essentially a Dodge Dart on the inside, with minor upgrades.
I have a strong feeling, that comparing a Mustang/M4 is not the same as Trackhawk/Levante. The trackhawk appears to be superior in just about every way, with maybe a small exception to the luxury side of things. At that price point, I'd take the slightly less luxurious SUV for the WAYYYYYY faster/better performing SUV.
It's smaller than the Trackhawk, has several hundred horsepower less, and is roughly the same price.
Hell, the Ghibli is essentially a Dodge Dart on the inside, with minor upgrades.
I have a strong feeling, that comparing a Mustang/M4 is not the same as Trackhawk/Levante. The trackhawk appears to be superior in just about every way, with maybe a small exception to the luxury side of things. At that price point, I'd take the slightly less luxurious SUV for the WAYYYYYY faster/better performing SUV.
For the same reason I wouldn't buy a Mustang over an M4. Just different cars.
Though I'll admit that with as much as FCA shares between platforms a Trackhawk probably is 90% Levante.
That was kinda my point. It's already got the crappy fuel economy and loud exhaust, just way more power & a proven powerplant.
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