Maserati Quattroporte 2017 Review

Maserati Quttroporte V6 and V8

More safety, more technology and more style – that’s the key premise behind the latest update to Maserati’s flagship limousine, the Quattroporte. Chief among the changes for 2017 are two new model variants, the GranLusso and GranSport, along with modern safety equipment including autonomous emergency braking as standard.

Maserati is back in the Australian motoring headlines in 2016, but it’s not because of the Italian car-maker’s traditional sports cars or limousines.

It’s because of an SUV.

Yes, even the folk at Modena in Italy have succumbed to the high-riding crossover craze with the Levante, Maserati's first SUV, which has begun rolling into Australian showrooms.

With the Levante tipped to make up 60 per cent of Maserati’s Australian sales in the short-term, you’d figure relatively low-volume vehicles like the Quattroporte (with a forecast share of just six per cent) would simply be an arm-rolling exercise in terms of a facelift.

That’s hardly the case.

Maserati has injected significant new equipment, safety tech and some worthwhile but not earth-shattering dynamic revisions to its flagship limousine.

Even in the face of renewed competition from the new Porsche Panamera, BMW 7 Series and evergreen Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the Italian marque didn’t hesitate in jacking up the price of the Quattroporte, which now costs up to $20,000 more than before.

Maserati Australia says there are many hidden weight-saving features and innovations that haven’t made the showroom brochures, but in reality the extent of tangible changes cover the car’s exterior design, interior, technology and safety.

What’s clear is that this facelift is no ground-up engineering exercise like the Levante.

The mid-range 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol Quattroporte has been boosted 15kW to 257kW overall, reducing its 0-100km/h acceleration time by 0.1sec to 5.5 seconds. Those updates combine with range-wide tweaks to gearbox calibration, plus revisions to the hydraulic steering and Skyhook suspension – all aimed at making it sharper on the road.

As before, the nine-tier Maserati range starts with the V6 diesel, priced at $210,000 (plus on-road costs). It then moves through a range of variants, including the 257kW V6 petrol model driven here, before topping out at the flagship V8-powered GTS (up to $349,990 plus ORCs), which we spend most time in. Full specification details can be found here.

In a nutshell, styling tweaks include revised front grille with vertical slats which incorporate an air shutter system that purportedly reduces aerodynamic drag by 10 per cent.

All Quattroporte models now score Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability, a Harman Kardon stereo and round-view camera, teaming with carry-over climate control, Bluetooth phone and audio streaming, front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera, along with excellent safety credentials.

The manufacturer has even done away with the CD player, instead integrating a tidy tray slot for your smartphone in the same space.

The updated Quattroporte introduces Maserati’s new safety and technology suite, dubbed Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) package. It includes Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop & Go, Blind Spot Alert, Lane Departure Warning, Forward Collision Warning with Advanced Brake Assist and Automated Emergency Braking.

Maserati has also improved the “aero-acoustic” comfort of all sedan models, doing so by adopting new technologies that reduce cabin noise through improved sound insulation. In addition, to enhance the quality of passenger comfort Maserati has specified an Air Quality Sensor as standard across the sedan range.

The changes present well in the skin, particularly the revisions made to the Quattroporte interior. The dashboard centre fascia bristles with a new 8.4-inch touch-screen that can now be operated via a centre rotary dial; there are also new materials and trims available in the new GranLusso and GranSport grades.

What the changes cannot hide is the Quattroporte’s inherent ties with Chrysler and Jeep, Maserati's US sister brands under the same Fiat ownership.

As such, elements of the cabin are partly undone by cheap switchgear, an all-too-familiar Jeep Cherokee-looking infotainment interface and clunky controls; hardly ideal when you’re spending hundreds of thousands of dollars. There was also an annoying rattle in one of our three test cars.

What’s more, the cabin misses out on modern luxury inclusions such as soft-closing doors or separate climate controls for the rear seat. But the overall interior proportions are quite generous, as we go onto detail further on.

Not surprisingly, it is the flagship GTS that we nab first at this week’s Australian launch.

Horsepower is the unequivocal highlight at the wheel of the GTS. Built by Ferrari’s engineers in Maranello, the 3.9-litre V8 features two turbochargers developing a maximum of 390kW and 650Nm, which is plenty to motivate a 5.3-metre luxe barge.

The corresponding 4.7-second 0-100km/h time is perhaps not reflective of the ease with which the GTS builds speed. In any gear at just about any speed, the 90-degree bent-eight simply heaps on pace while emitting a muscular but slightly subdued soundtrack – even in sports mode.

The matching eight-speed automatic transmission — while bringing a welcome spread of ratios — isn’t as adept in its gear changes, encouraging the driver to make use of steering column-mounted paddle shifters instead.

Of greater frustration though is the precision required to select forward or reverse from a standstill; go too far and you’ve reached Park or go to short and you’re stuck on Neutral. Either way, it ends with the driver sitting there revving the car but going nowhere.

As expected fuel use isn’t a highlight in the V8; the claimed average is 10.7L/100km on the European cycle, but expect to use double that if you drive the thing as intended.

It was then time to test the base petrol V6, which offers up a beefy 257kW/500Nm. Comparatively, the V6 lacks the outright punch and visceral feel of the eight, instead piling on speed more progressively. In saying that there is a reasonable amount of shove from low speed and the six emits a pleasing but again subdued note.

Maserati has lent heavily on the famous Targa Florio road race in Italy in the marketing of its latest product. The spectacularly beautiful but predictably B-grade roads around Bathurst in NSW provide a contrasting local theme, and also serve to highlight some unwanted dynamic characteristics.

While the Maserati presumably feels at home on billiard-table road surfaces, the pockmarked and potholed network near Bathurst quickly unearths prominent steering rack rattle and skipping through mid-corner bumps.

It’s not that the Maserati is dreadful through a twisting, winding road – on opening-radius corners with no mid-corner bumps, it is quite enjoyable - but the big Italian simply struggles to harness its circa two-tonne kerb weight the same way contemporaries from Porsche, BMW and Mercedes-Benz do.

The hydraulic steering, in particular, takes some getting used to. It feels slow and inert against more contemporary electrically-assisted units while conveying excessive feedback from the road – even while driving straight ahead.

What does become apparent is that the Quattroporte relaxes more with speed. It breathes through corners a lot more effortlessly and tends to build more of a flow when pushed, especially on Bathurst backroads.

Unseating the car’s significant levels of lateral grip is a challenge on regular roads. Instead, it is the nose-heavy front-end that is first to give in, pushing wide through tighter corners as the tyres ply for grip. In short, drive around it and the big Maser will respond willingly.

Maserati says it has made significant noise and vibration improvements to the latest Quattroporte. While the changes are noted, the cabin still cannot match the silky smooth progress of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

Instead, the ride is fidgety and at times brittle on the twisting Bathurst backroads, chopping over harsher imperfections in the case of the GTS, which was on 21-inch wheels, and even floating over extended washouts. Smooth roads aren’t such an issue, though the Maser has clear sporting pretensions.

Conversely, the Maserati remains a competitive option in terms of interior packaging against modern rivals. There is ample space throughout the five-seat cabin; rear-seaters are afforded decent leg and head room (with the exception of a raised middle seat) and the seats are comfortable and supportive for long journeys.

Closer inspection reveals separate USB ports both front and rear, along with full 12-volt outlet coverage, including from the 530-litre boot, which houses an inflation kit as standard and can be accessed via split/folding rear seats.

There are some other afterthoughts in regards to storage. The car’s door pockets are not bottle-friendly and the front cup-holders are positioned directly in front of the centre fascia, making access to the infotainment system and USB points a little fidgety.

In the scheme of things, those foibles will likely matter little to Maser fans. The Quattroporte is, as always, about the design and the engine – although the latter is reflected in the flagship V8 but not as much so in its underlings.

Now, more than ever, the Quattroporte provides a refreshing alternative to the established German set. And, of course, to the SUV.