Photo: I got bogged at Redhead Beach / Facebook
While not quite as embarrassing as crashing your Mustang on camera as soon as you leave a car meet, getting your SUV stuck on a beach has to rank a close second, especially if it’s an expensive model that people usually just use on tarmac.
Such was the case recently on a beach in Australia, where a group of people decided to take their luxury off-roaders for a spin up and over the sandy dunes. Granted, Stockton Beach in New South Wales (NSW) is a beautiful place, and authorities will only let you drive there if your car is equipped with four-wheel drive.
Yet, there have been several instances where people have gotten their vehicles stuck, as the depth of the sand can easily sneak up on you and leave you in your tracks. So, unless you’re driving a very capable machine, such as a Toyota Land Cruiser or a Land Rover Defender, hitting those dunes in something without generous ground clearance and a capable AWD system might end poorly.
Ironically, this Levante is the third Maserati to get beached in Australia in just the past few months, preceded by a first-generation Quattroporte and a Ghibli.
The Maserati Levante’s all-wheel drive system does feature a limited-slip differential, but you cannot lock it. You also can’t engage low/high range for the AWD system/gearbox. In fact, most of the car’s settings are meant to help you drive faster, as opposed to tackling sand dunes. So other than pushing a button on the center console that pretentiously says ‘Off-Road’, there’s not much else you can do.
By the way, all that button does is raise the car, which we’re not even sure the driver did.
As for the Range Rover trailing the Italian SUV, we don’t know if it too got stuck, but generally speaking, its chances of making it through were much greater than those of the Levante.
Yet, there have been several instances where people have gotten their vehicles stuck, as the depth of the sand can easily sneak up on you and leave you in your tracks. So, unless you’re driving a very capable machine, such as a Toyota Land Cruiser or a Land Rover Defender, hitting those dunes in something without generous ground clearance and a capable AWD system might end poorly.
Ironically, this Levante is the third Maserati to get beached in Australia in just the past few months, preceded by a first-generation Quattroporte and a Ghibli.
The Maserati Levante’s all-wheel drive system does feature a limited-slip differential, but you cannot lock it. You also can’t engage low/high range for the AWD system/gearbox. In fact, most of the car’s settings are meant to help you drive faster, as opposed to tackling sand dunes. So other than pushing a button on the center console that pretentiously says ‘Off-Road’, there’s not much else you can do.
By the way, all that button does is raise the car, which we’re not even sure the driver did.
As for the Range Rover trailing the Italian SUV, we don’t know if it too got stuck, but generally speaking, its chances of making it through were much greater than those of the Levante.
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