Simply Abu Dhabi XXIV

2 4 2 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I The Levanté was tested on five continents and in temperatures ranging from minus 38 degrees in the Arctic Circle to 50+ degrees in the UAE deserts. Being based on the Ghibli, it uses the same Q4 torque vectoring AWD system, but it’s predominantly an on-road performance-based car with the ability to venture off-road occasionally. Our time with the Levanté was split between the UAE where we took it onto hard sand only which it managed with absolute ease. We the visited Italy to take part in the Master Maserati driving course that now includes the Levanté off- road course in Palma, north of Milan. For € 3550, new and prospective owners can take part in the one-and-a-half day course which includes on- and off-road activities as well as the chance for a blast in Maserati’s other models like the Quattroporte, Ghibli and GranTurismo coupés. As a way of finding the limits of the Levanté for first-time owners, this is an excellent introduction to the world of Maserati off-roading. Driving with the guidance and skill of a professional driver, the course is tailored to give the opportunity to try out the full performance range of the Levanté from mild to wild, on road and off, but in complete safety and on private property, away from other motorists and police radar. In one session we discovered the car’s handling dynamics through a slalom course on the racetrack as well as its wet weather grip, stability and braking performance during emergency lane changes. A fewminutes later it was hot laps with an instructor alongside tips on how to extract the maximum from it at speed; everything is filmed on GoPros and telemetry data is logged, which we reviewed later on the laptop over an espresso.