About this car in Florence

Tuscan towns punish big cars. In Lucca, Siena and San Gimignano you park outside the walls, often in tight multi-storey car parks, and the Maserati Grecale GT is sized for exactly that: a compact SUV with the Trident on the grille, easy to place on narrow approach roads and in spaces where a larger SUV would need a three-point turn.

A typical week might start with the motorway to Lucca for its Renaissance walls, then a day in Siena with Piazza del Campo and the Duomo, and an afternoon in San Gimignano among the Vernaccia vineyards. The 300 hp mild-hybrid turbo and automatic gearbox are lively enough for the hills, all-wheel drive handles the short gravel lane to a farmhouse, and the boot takes three medium suitcases and a small one.

The same compactness helps in Florence, though the centre inside the viali remains a camera-controlled ZTL: drive in only if your hotel registers the plate for its garage. Otherwise we hand the Grecale over at Firenze Peretola, Santa Maria Novella or Pisa Galileo Galilei, as arranged at booking. Winter tyres are fitted in the cold season, and assistance is available 24/7.

• Compact SUV for Lucca, Siena and San Gimignano car parks
• 300 hp mild-hybrid, all-wheel drive, five seats
• Three medium suitcases and a small one; winter tyres fitted