MUST TRY HARDER
PHOTOGRAPHY JOHN WYCHERLEY
DS 7 E-TENSE 4x4 360
1. A huge 995lb ft means way more torque than grip
FACELIFT TIME FOR THE DS 7, THE FRENCH
Maserati. The definitive grand touring marque. No other brand lends itself better to the idea of driving a long way, fast, and looking cool while doing so. And now it’s gone electric. Famously not good for going a long way at high speed. But who uses a GT to do that any more? (If you do, don’t panic, Maserati is here to help. Keep reading.)
marque’s inaugural SUV launched back in 2017. What’s new? Sharper looks, improved tech, upgraded cabin materials and a shortened name, now going about its business minus the Crossback badge. All pretty standard stuff. And then there’s the introduction of a 355bhp PHEV.
This is the new GranTurismo Folgore. When it arrives next year, finally replacing the last gen coupe that died three years ago, it’ll be the marque’s first pure EV. Folgore (it roughly translates as lightning or thunderbolt) versions of the MC20 supercar and Grecale SUV will follow soon after. All Maseratis will have an electric version by 2025. By 2030 there will be no more petrols.
This new range-topping variant gets a 15mm lowered chassis, a wider track (24mm at the front, 10mm at the rear), bigger brakes (380mm in diameter) with four-piston calipers, and new 21-inch alloy wheels. In the past, DS has stuck to its guns and ignored the traditional sporty approach to SUVs, instead firmly focusing on comfort. No longer.
But there is one now. Maserati’s strategy forgoes hybrids for the bookends. As well as this tri-motor electric, the new GranTurismo will be offered with the MC20 supercar’s twin-turbo V6 Nettuno motor – 483bhp in the entry level Modena version, 542bhp for the Trofeo. Chicken feed. The electric one develops 750bhp.
Yes, the body control is improved over the standard DS 7 and it feels more stable when thrown around a corner, but who’s going to buy one of these to do that? The payoff is the additional weight and firmer ride, despite the manufacturer’s much talked about Active Scan Suspension system. It all just feels slightly muddled.
You might have heard different, that it develops 1,200bhp. Well, the motors can do it (each 33kg permanent magnet motor, one for the front axle, two for the rear, is rated at 400bhp) but the battery can’t. It can only send out enough electricity to deliver 750bhp. Think of it like an air restrictor on a petrol engine.
And then there’s the price. Your cheapest entry point into DS 7 life is now £36,760 for the diesel engine, or, as most buyers will likely plump for, £44,190 for the base 222bhp plug-in petrol. An additional £11k on top for this, a car that’s marginally better to drive, but suffers in its primary purpose? Tough sell.
But what that does mean is that all 750bhp can go to any of the motors. The rear pair for max acceleration, or divvied up for complex torque vectoring stuff through corners.
Peter Rawlins