Grecale Trofeo

Sardinia's east coast lives on quick contrasts: the sand at Budoni, the natural pools of Cala Brandinchi, and half an hour later the walls of the Supramonte, with the Gulf of Orosei opening like a stage curtain above Cala Gonone. The Grecale Trofeo is the right key to read it all — dimensions that never struggle in village lanes or the gravel car parks behind the beaches, all-wheel drive for the final white-dust tracks, and 530 hp for when the Orientale Sarda empties out. With delivery in San Teodoro you are at the exact centre of this world.

For anyone travelling with family or friends, the advantage is tangible: five seats, a boot that swallows cases and beach bags, rear seats that stay comfortable even after a full day on the sand. On how to balance space and prestige without giving anything up, we have written a dedicated guide to luxury SUVs on the island — and the Grecale Trofeo is among its most convincing answers.

The kick off the line does not lie: the Nettuno sings higher here than any SUV has a right to, with a taut note that cleans up as the revs climb and a 0–100 km/h sprint of 3.8 seconds that, with launch control, pins everyone to their seats. In Corsa mode the air suspension drops, the exhaust opens, and the Grecale tightens its lines through the Supramonte with the composure of a sports saloon — quick steering, brakes that never wilt.

The rest of the time it is a gentle car. The eight-speed automatic works on tiptoe, the suspension digests the patched surfaces of the provincial roads, the steering lightens for manoeuvres, and parking outside the harbourfront restaurant is never an issue. That dual character is what makes it special: ferocious when you ask for it, discreet when all you want is to arrive.

The Grecale Trofeo's three-litre twin-turbo is born of the MC20's Nettuno V6, with the same race-derived pre-chamber combustion and a 530 hp calibration tuned for everyday use. That is not a spec-sheet footnote: it is the reason this SUV answers the throttle with a sports car's immediacy, and why its voice has no imitators in the class.

Within the LSM fleet, the Grecale Trofeo — in its Grigio Lava — is the choice for those who want the Trident in daily-driver format; for greater presence there is its big brother, the Levante, and for the Nettuno's other face there is the MC20 itself. All the Maseratis available to rent are requested the same way: dates and location to the WhatsApp concierge, quotation via the enquiry form.