The Maserati Levante Trofeo has a big old Ferrari V8 under the hood and sounds brilliant. But is that enough?

It's a very attractive SUV, with muscular fenders, a sharply creased hood and the corporate grille that looks better here than on either of Maserati's sedans. This SUV looks especially menacing in my tester's Rosso Magma paint (a $17,000 option!), which plays the aggression note well, alongside blackedout trim and 22inch anthracitefinished alloy wheels. Hints of carbon fiber peek through on the lower bumper but the car is generally devoid of the stuff. The rear end keeps things interesting with a sloping roofline that gives this ute a hatchbackish look, and you'll never hear me complain about a big set of tailpipes.

This twinturbocharged 3.8liter V8 puts out 580 horsepower and 538 poundfeet of torque, enough to shoot this ute to 60 mph in just 3.8 seconds. It is also a work of art (see 01:38). The sounds coming from the tailpipes are simply excellent, whether it's in the standard Strada or the new ballstothewall Corsa mode. Even when I'm not being kind to it, the V8 is smooth and free of any unwanted harshness. The eightspeed automatic transmission swaps gears with the same degree of silkiness, to the point where I never feel the need to take matters into my own hands via those fixedposition paddles.

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