Maserati has been a big name in the luxury car market for as long as most of us can remember. And now they’ve brought out their newest monster, the Quattroporte. The car itself is very much is the tradition of Maserati’s from the past. In fact, the Quattroporte is a car that has been around in various guises for over fifty years. But as technology has marched ahead, has the car been able to keep up?
Right now the luxury car market is starting to look rather crowded, especially the $80,000-plus range. And that means that the Maserati is facing some stiff competition. Historically, this has come from the likes of the BMW 7 Series and Jaguar XJR. But recently, Tesla has added its take on luxury cars to the mix. And it’s turned the industry upside down.
Let’s start with the bad news. The bad news is that the Maserati doesn’t come cheap. Just for an entry-level version, you’re looking at paying more than what you’d have to fork out for a Tesla. And that’s not the only cost. The Quattroporte is frighteningly expensive to run too. Fuel economy is embarrassingly low for a car on sale in 2016. You’ll be lucky to get 23 miles to the gallon. And emissions, as you might expect, are sky-high. The 4.7-liter V8 version of the car churns out about 274g/km. That’s about three times the amount given off by a Ford Fiesta.
Then, of course, comes the most damaging fact. The Quattroporte simply doesn’t have the same quality of comfort as the other cars in its category. Most luxury car drivers can forgive the expense of a luxury car. After all, they are what they are. But there are just some things that they should get right, and comfort is one of them. Unfortunately, the car lacks that extra level of comfort that Mercedes and others have in their high-end models. And that lets it down.
But it’s not all bad news. There’s still plenty of good things about this car that will make you want to find out more on a driver’s license and learn to drive one yourself. For starters, the car is fast. Really fast. The Quattroporte is certainly a luxury car that suits its aggressive looks. The Quattroporte is a saloon car that weighs over two tons. Yet it can out-accelerate a basic Porsche 911 from 0-62 mph. The petrol version of the car, the gas-guzzling V8, can reach 62mph in 4.7 seconds. The other models are only slightly slower.
Then there’s the fact that the handling has also been significantly improved over earlier models. In this sense, Maserati actually has managed to keep pace with improvements in technology. Now the Quattroporte has steering that feels light and airy. And it has an ultra low center of gravity for stability in the corners.
The bottom line is that the Maserati is basically a car for people who love driving, and little else. It was never meant to be for the true executive class, despite doing an excellent job in this guise all the same.
