This is the Maserati Ghibli feo and it's a little bit like watching a box set of The Sopranos because it might seem a bit dated but it should still be pretty exciting in this article I'm going to find out if it is and you're reading AKMotoblog.com
Engine
Let's start off this article by talking about the main reason why you would buy this car and it's that engine now it looks very red and there's a reason for that it's because this is based on the engine that you get in the Ferrari Portofino and the Roma it has been designed by Maserati and they've made some changes to it for instance instead of a flat plane crank, it has a cross-plane crank which means that this engine doesn't quite rest so high as it does in the Ferraris also the capacity of the Ferrari engines are 3.9 liters here it's 3.8 liters but it still has twin turbos and, of course, it's a glorious V8 Now power this thing puts out 580 horsepower and 730-newton meters of torque and it drives the rear wheels around 8-speed automatic gearbox however unlike in the Ferraris where they use dual-clutch automatic gearboxes this is a torque converter gearbox so what does that do to the performance, I think it's time to launch this thing this car is supposed to do not 60 in 4.3 seconds.
0-60mph & 1/4-mile
which incidentally is a whole second slower than a BMW M5 competition does in only that car is actually quicker than BMW claims will this one be quicker than the Maserati claims I bet it's not anywhere. Let's launch it into drive pull on the left pedal launch control put on the left pedal again say yes I do want it to get a full brake pedal there we go more break there we are drawing the brake floor the throttle. but it will spin what are we gonna do we've got a speed warning that exceeded there we go north 60. 4.38 quarter mile 12.51 0.38 with a little bit of Tire spin, they're not lying about the numbers.
I might give it one more go just because was that better yay we did it it's quicker than Maserati's claim not a 60 4.29 and quarter mile 12.41 do the numbers can't complain just not as quick as the BMW M5 competition Audi RS6 Mercedes e63s or Porsche Panamera Turbo S shut up there is one thing I want to try is that launch control procedure completely pointless.
Let's find out so here we go one last time but I'm not gonna go through launch control I'm just gonna floor the brake and give it some throttle that's not going to be as good sorry Maserati for doubting you and your launch control it does manage the traction did a 4.6 to 60 and a 12.67 stunning quarter mile there was me being all doubting being all know-it-all that launch control does a job and it's all about managing the traction which it actually does really really well and for all of you Americans watching just so you know the times that I run were with no foot rollout so if you're saying.
Well, an American Title did a slightly quicker time that might be why to cope with all the extra performance Maserati has fitted the drafty version of the Ghibli with some upgraded brakes here at the front you have 380-millimeter discs gripped by six-piston calipers at the rear you have 345-millimeter desk gripped by four-piston calipers let's put them to the test now I'm going to do a brake test from 100 miles an hour but I'm also going to measure it from 60 miles an hour so I'll get both distances.
let's see how long it takes this big thing to stop let's get up to the hundred here we go ball braking so it took 94 meters to stop from 134 meters to stop from 60. and at 34 from 60 is actually pretty blooming good you know for a big car like this the traffic has some key exterior visual.
Design
Upgrades over the standard Maserati Ghibli, for instance, you get some vents in the Bonnet there are also carbon fiber elements here and the front splitter is made from carbon fiber moving down the side you have alloy wheels that start at 20 inches and you can upgrade to these optional 21s plus you get painted brake calipers you also get red in these air vents on the side and the Trofeo logo moving to the rear there are not many changes here the main one is this you have a carbon fiber rear diffuser really.
This is a bit of a Q Car with some minor visual changes that most people who don't know what they're looking at won't spot and is that what you want from a car that costs 121 000 pounds will be for some people but for others not so much anyway if you're thinking about buying a new car you probably need to sell your current car and you can do it through the car.
Interior
Inside the design is a little bit dated but the infotainment system does seem more modern and it's quite quick and the graphics are sharp there are loads of leather absolutely everywhere you can get it repaired with the carbon fiber pack for 1650 pounds and you get carbon fiber on the center console on the door trims for the paddle shifters and on the Sills traffic also gets these sport seats with travail embossed into the headrest not so sure about the pattern on the seat sort of reminds me of garden furniture, there's a massive array though of interior trim options one of my favorite things though the aluminum pedals have just seen premium and sporty what's less sporty is this rather phallic gear selector that's enough.
Back Seats
In the back seats, the feeling of luxury continues once again with the leather leather leather it feels expensive we've also got the common fiber inlays here as well what's not so good though is this knee room is pretty tight especially compared to the knee room you get in the Mercedes E63 AMG.
Boot
Giblets are Fire has the exact same boot capacity as every other geebly so that's 500 liters of luggage space which is all right though it is slightly less than that of its key German competitors.
5 Annoying Things
That brings you to five or nine things about the Maserati Ghibli trophy because the steering wheel is offset to the left quite badly it means that depending on where you have your driving position this part of the steering wheel's Rim can actually block the rev counter from 4000 revs all the way to the red line.
So the bit that you really need to be able to see the car's key is really heavy which in some ways ow it's a good thing because it makes it feel expensive but it's a bad thing when it comes to carrying it around in your pocket because it's just a little bit weighty unlike some other high-performance saloons there is no individual driving mode where you can set up the parameters exactly as you want they'll be that the suspension the traction control and the drivetrain you can get close but if you're in coarser mode and the car decides exactly how things should be this car costs almost 120 000 pounds so you think that you get adaptive cruise control as standard.
But no you don't have to pay extra for the driver assistance package which is 2 900 pounds it's a bit of a shame that this car has a soft limiter so you can't fully enjoy the Arrow Delights from that Ferrari-built V8 it's not the worst soft limiter but it's still there look it holds it at 5000 RPM so you think it's going to be good you think it's gonna be really good and then you try to pick up the red line and this happens there it's not all negative though.
5 Good Things
Here are five good things about this car the Maserati Ghibli Trofeo has a limited-slip differential which makes it easier to just mess around like that oh hello this car is faster than all its key competitors because it can break through the 200-mile-an-hour barrier in fact it tops out at 203 miles an hour and you get that top speed as standard for instance with a BMW M5 competition it can only do 190 miles an hour and that's when you've paid extra to de-restrict it in The Limited top speed of 155 go Italy not only does this car have frameless Windows like some sports coupe it also has soft clothes a stunt according to Maserati this car will return 22.4 miles per gallon it's not especially great but when our delivery driver brought it here for us to film he managed 22.3 miles per gallon.
So pretty accurate however since I've been driving on track and hooning it around and stuff this is what I've got I've got 9.1 miles to the gallon now I blame my heavy right foot on this card maybe all about the performance but they haven't forgotten about luxury, for instance, I'm getting a little bit hot in the sun thankfully I have this a rear Sun blind shade okay let's see how this thing.
Driving
Drives start off in the coarser mode which means the maximum attack of the dampers is in the firmest setting and we've got reduced stability control hopefully, it's going to be all right the engine I mean doesn't feel quite as Bonkers as in a BMW M5 CS but it delivers a good performance I can feel the front end of this car does just want to run wide so you have to make sure that Your Trail braking really to really get the weight over the nose let's try it here that's better and then it'll start to rotate yeah there we go wait a minute this feels like old school fun.
The car was just oh my god you can really control it on the throttle do you know what I hate though you might have noticed me doing it there I don't think the paddle shifters are quite long enough I was turning reaching for a gear and I was getting nothing because I was just grabbing an air I hate it when they're mounted on the steering column but they're not long enough I am mildly pleased with how this thing handles everything's gone four-wheel drive this is rear-wheel drive and it's the only way you can have it and it is just a little bit loose and playful.
But it seems entirely Progressive and friendly I'm also surprised at the damping even in this firmish setting, I thought it would be a little bit harsh over the cracks but it's not driving this thing on the throttle not gonna lie I'm enjoying it way more then I thought I would almost I'd break myself there I really enjoyed that I can smell the brakes a bit though they are starting to whiff I think this brake pedal might get overly long if you get too carried away but let's just Coast for a bit let the brakes cool down I'm gonna go into sport mode and put the dampers in soft.
So that's like now I've got more traction control so it'll probably be a little less tail happy but let's have a go so instantly I can feel the car is softer actually, it's got a real nice ride quality to it deals with the Buns very well much smoother than something like a BMW M5 combo an Audi RS6 or a Mercedes E63 AMG not gonna lie I am the Maserati Ghibli but this rotate do you know what this sounds a bit odd but I think this car is proof that you know all the stats in the world headline figures performance figures all that kind of stuff don't necessarily add up to more fun this car is definitely good fun.
I'm enjoying the engine as well and it's not Bonkers quick but it's plenty quick enough gear changes as well you know it's a ZF 8-speed torque converter Auto like you get in the BMW M5 and the shifts are fast enough good on the upshift bit slow on the downshift but
absolutely fine definitely worth running it in manual mode when you wanted to play around you just sort of float into the bends and it's definitely set up for quick Road driving in this it might run out of ideas on a track if you get too extreme with it but on the road this is a nice fun car surprised and quite run over by it right let's see what this is like to drive as a daily.
So I've got it in its normal setting so the suspension is in its softest setup also the engine note is a bit muted I'm just cruising around I've got an auto mode for the gearbox all very relaxing the gearbox does a good job of blending the gears together the brakes they're smooth Progressive is not grubby at all the suspension considering this is the performance model is extremely good over bumps only occasionally does it feel a little bit jarring when you hit very sharp bumps but very minor complaint now let's see what it's like when you get up to speed.
So Let's say I'm doing almost 40. here we go 40 miles an hour floor it slight pause for kick down then you're off and look at that effortless all the way to 70 and when you're cruising at 70 hardly any wind noise at all just a bit of noise from those big tires on the road very relaxing Car Plus visibility is great forwards at the mirrors and you've got a big back window it's quite a nice car to just cruise around it.
Verdict
So then what's my final verdict on the Maserati Ghibli Trofeo should you avoid it should you consider it should you shortlist it or should it just go right ahead and buy it well I reckon you should consider it in some ways on paper it's really off the page compared to its competitors. but there's just something a bit unique and lovable about it anyway I hope you'll enjoy the article if you did give it a like let me know what you think of my verdict in the comment below.
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