Tim Oldland drives the new Maserati GT and wonders if it is too big for its boots...
Maserati Granturismo. It's an evocative name that on one hand conjours up the romance and thrill of intercontinental travel and on the other makes me think of a computer game made by a Japanese electronics giant. I was hoping that Maserati's engineers had been thinking of the former when they created this car and not simply spending too much time on the PlayStation. When the press shots first surfaced of the GT (much easier to type) I was blown away by how beautiful it was - an orgy of swooping lines and intricate Italian detailing. But I’d driven the Maserati 4200, and let’s just say I didn’t come away itching to own one. It looked good, sounded great and went well enough, but it didn’t really stir my soul as it should have.
So it was with great trepidation that I went to pick the car up on a frosty Thursday morning from supercar club écurie25. Would the new GT live up to its (on paper) looks? Well I really shouldn’t have worried about it not looking as good in the metal. This car is stunning. Stop where you are, catch your breath, rub your eyes stunning. The example I drove is probably as close to launch spec as you can get, in Grigio Touring silver, with gorgeous Bordeaux red leather, and the 20” ‘Birdcage’ alloys. Yes, you read that right – 20” wheels. Now take a look at the pictures of the car again. This very quickly brings me to the only major issue I have with the GT - it is huge. And I don’t use that word lightly – I parked next to a BMW 7-Series in the petrol station, and it looked to me as if there was less than an inch between them in length. This is a massive car, but I’ll come back to that later.
Back to the styling of this behemoth – I will admit that there are some angles which are less flattering than others, but as a whole I adore the looks. From the big gaping grille, over the seductively peaked front wings, to the ridged rear arches and the pert tail, it’s a truly beautiful piece of Italian art. The designers have disguised the size of the car extremely well, with a little tuck here, an extra curve there to distract the eye from the overall bulk. It seems that only Pininfarina can design a car of such size but make it so beautiful. I will admit that I spent a good 10 minutes just looking at it before I even opened the door, which may have been a mistake because when you do you are taken aback once again by how gorgeous the interior is.
Coated liberally in deep red leather, you’re amazed by the style of the dash with its silver accents and analogue clock. When you sit in the well sculpted seats you take in the beautiful looks and really admire the design. Well, that’s what you think at first. Then you notice that there are buttons everywhere – literally everywhere. And my eye was drawn to one very disappointing feature – the stereo/satnav controls – as it looks like the same unit as in my mum’s Fiat Ulysse. Not really what you expect in an £85k sportscar. I’ll get two more bad points out of the way now as well. Firstly, the satnav system is shocking. Very slow to update and very easily confused, plus it doesn’t accept a postcode entry as a destination. And secondly, the A-pillars are thicker than Geoff Capes’ legs, making maneuvering this very large car somewhat difficult.
So in goes the key, turn to start (no starter buttons here) and that wonderful Italian V8 bursts into life with a blast of revs. Slip the gearlever into D (again, no fancy trickery here, just a proper torque converter auto) and away you go. The first thing I noticed was how quiet the GT is when driving normally, you really can only just hear the soft warbling exhaust note behind you. Only when you press the loud pedal (and drop the windows) do you get a full appreciation of the fantastic centerpiece to this car. The deep bassy rumble turning harder edged as you pass 4000rpm, finishing in a high pitched Ferrari-esque V8 wail as it nears the redline.
The thing is, as with Aston’s V8 Vantage, there doesn’t seem to be as much go as the vocals would suggest. Sure it’s a quick car, but definitely not 400bhp sportscar fast. That comes down partly to the auto box, but mostly to its near-1900kg curb weight. That really is a lot of metal to lug around, and explains some of the handling characteristics as well. The Aston would leave the GT behind in a minute, its 237bhp/tonne playing the GT’s 212. But that simply points out the problem with the GT – what is it? It’s priced against the V8 Vantage, Audi R8, Porsche 911 and BMW M6, yet it's nothing like any of these cars. I’d say its more like a much cheaper rival for the Conti GT, DB9 and even the 612 Scaglietti.
If you assumed, despite the name, that this is a sportscar, the first set of twisty lanes you get to will dispel that thought straight away. You can really feel the weight of the car sometimes becoming a little too much for the damping. Out on one of my favourite routes I hit the bump stops a few times which really surprised me. Over undulating surfaces it glides, but add a corner into the equation and the front and rear seem to lose communication with each other, making it feel slightly nervous. There is a Sport button on the dash but I advise you steer well clear, as all it does is make the ride firmer, which on 20” wheels is not something you want, being rather harsh at the best of times. When pushing on you’re also acutely aware of the size of the GT, making small lanes feel even smaller and gaps that little bit too small.
No, what you want to do in the GT is turn the dial back to 8, relax, and treat the car as it should be treated – like a grand tourer of the highest order. Relax into the comfy seats, leave the Sport button alone, and waft. You could easily drive this car to the south of France and get out feeling like you’d popped to the shops. I would add one caveat to that though – go for the 19” wheels as I’ve been informed they give a much more comfortable ride. They don’t fill the arches as well, but I think it’s a worthwhile tradeoff. There is more than enough room for four people, the rear seats are genuinely useable and those in the back shouldn't feel too claustrophobic on shorter journeys. However the boot is surprisingly small for a car with such four-up aspirations, in fact I’d say it was the right size for a couple going away for a week. Personally I would have cut back the rear room slightly and given it a huge boot, much like the Conti GT.
So onto the important question – would I buy one? It’s a fantastic GT car – and I’m sure it will find many homes. But for me, it’s just too big. And it has one perfectly sized, and (in my eyes) even more beautiful rival that would get my money every time – the Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
