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The Maserati Levante Trofeo steps up for a duel with the mighty Porsche Cayenne Turbo. Below, these European heavyweights battle for the throne.

Porsche and Maserati are two iconic luxury car companies, famous for their unmistakable athletic genes. The Cayenne is the best-selling product for Porsche, and there are numerous reasons behind its success. While Porsche sells the Cayenne in a wide variety of trims, the Cayenne Turbo is Porsche's fastest SUV, and it serves great luxury and practicality for buyers looking for one.

On the other hand, for Maserati, the Levante is the most important vehicle. Certainly, the MC20 grabs attention, but the Levante is the bread earner for Maserati. The Trofeo is the top-line trim of the Levante family, and it separates itself from other luxury cars with its Ferrari-sourced engine. The Levante Trofeo offers great performance, impeccable craftsmanship, and a long list of features, making it an appealing option in the segment.

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The Maserati Levante Trofeo is a unique offering in the segment with a Ferrari-sourced 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 engine mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox that powers all four wheels. The Ferrari-sourced engine sounds meaner and produces 580 horses and 538 lb-ft of torque, powering the Trofeo from 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds.

The Porsche Cayenne Turbo is powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 mill allied with an eight-speed automatic transmission and drives all four wheels. The Cayenne Turbo’s engine offers 541 horsepower and 567 lb-ft of torque; 39 hp less and 29 lb-ft more torque than the Levante Trofeo. The Porsche Cayenne Turbo takes only 3.5 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph.

The Levante Trofeo is widely loved for its handling, and it is strictly for those who can trade ride quality for excellent handling. The Trofeo‘s wheels come equipped with Brembo ventilated disc brakes, which offer decent braking performance, and once floored at 60 mph, the Trofeo stops at 114 feet. The Trofeo’s chassis is equipped with an adaptive suspension that emphasizes handling over ride quality.

The Cayenne Turbo’s drivetrain offers anti-slip regulation and an automatic brake differential for extra grip when needed. The Turbo’s chassis has a 4D-chassis control which offers dynamic chassis settings for better handling. The adaptive air suspension provides excellent ride quality without hampering the driving dynamics. The Cayenne Turbo offers one of the best braking performances in the luxury SUV segment, taking only 105 feet to stop from 60 mph.

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Maserati has packed the Levante Trofeo with a sumptuous cabin curated to offer premium comfort. The cabin feels utterly premium with its high-quality materials. Most cabin parts are covered with soft-touch leatherette and decorated with open-pore wood or carbon fiber inserts. The controls are logical and ergonomically placed, making them easier to use and understand.

The Trofeo’s interior is spacious, with 108 ft3 of total interior passenger volume, and it seats five passengers. The front row features a pair of power sports seats with heating and cooling, lumbar support, and memory. The rear offers foldable heated seats, and they offer excellent comfort as well. The Trofeo offers a 20.5 ft3 of cargo truck followed by 57.4 ft3 if the second row folds down.

The Cayenne offers a beautifully crafted interior with hand-chosen materials and a modern design language that looks remarkable and offers a premium feel. The dashboard looks phenomenal, with a wide touchscreen between a clock above and a spaceship-like gear console below. However, the controls aren’t the most ergonomic in the segment, as most of them are accessible via touch and are farther from the driver.

The Cayenne Turbo seats four passengers with remarkable comfort on offer. A pair of adaptive sport seats with 18-way power-adjustability and heating come standard inside. The rear seats offer to heat as well. However, ventilated seats aren’t standard and are only offered in packages. Porsche also offers numerous leather seat color options, and, four different trims like leather, aluminum, carbon fiber, and wood are available. The rear offers a 26.3 ft3 cargo trunk and 59.3 ft3 of additional cargo space.

Maserati offers the Levante Trofeo with Pieno Fiore leather seats, power-adjustable front seats with heating, cooling, lumbar support, memory, and rear heated seats. The driver’s side offers a semi-digital instrument cluster and a heated steering wheel. For entertainment, the interior comes with an 8.4-inch touchscreen, a 17-speaker B&O premium audio system, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, Alexa, and navigation with voice control.

The Trofeo includes active driver assist, blindspot monitoring, a front collision avoidance system with emergency braking and rear cross-traffic alert, lane keeping assist and departure warning, and a top view camera system for safety.

Porsche packs the Cayenne Turbo with Turbo-specific leather seats, power-adjustable sport adaptive seats with heating, lumbar support and memory settings, rear heated seats, semi-digital instrument cluster, heated steering wheel, and Sport Chrono Package. Additionally, the interior offers a 12.3-inch full HD touchscreen, a 14-speaker Bose premium surround audio system, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and 3D navigation with voice assist.

Standard safety features include front and rear parking sensors; warning and brake assist; collision mitigation; and front and rearview cameras. Premium driver assistance features like lane keep assisting, departure warning with traffic sign recognition, adaptive cruise control, and others are optional.

The Porsche Cayenne Turbo comes with a base price of $135,900, whereas the Levante Trofeo costs a staggering $161,400. Despite being cheaper than the latter, the Cayenne manages to offer more. The Cayenne is faster with a bigger engine, offers a newer interior, and offers plenty of optional features. Here's a tip: with the remaining money, buy the Cayenne Turbo and customize it according to your preferences.

Sourav hails from Siliguri, a city very close to the Himalayas in the northern part of West Bengal, India. Anything that has to do with wheels fascinates him. He has a soft spot for Lexus and BMW. He rides a Royal Enfield Thunderbird and is often seen with his group of friends in nearby hill stations. He also loves doing photography and making music. After working with CARHP and CAR INDIGO for more than 15 months, he joined HotCars to continue in automotive writing. He's currently crushing upon the Triumph Tiger 1200.