RE: Maserati GranSport: PH Carpool

RE: Maserati GranSport: PH Carpool

Monday 31st July 2017

Maserati GranSport: PH Carpool

If you need four seats in your sports car then 911 isn't the only way...



Name: Muzo Kayacan
Car: 2006 Maserati GranSport
Owned since: February 2016

How could you not turn back for a look?
How could you not turn back for a look?
Why I bought it:
"I'd reached a time in my life when I could finally justify laying out the cash for something more exotic than my SEAT Leon Cupra. But I'd also reached a time in my life where I had two small children. So I needed something that had back seats, and a boot that could swallow a stroller. 911s, GT-Rs and XKRs were all obvious contenders. I'd read about the Maserati 4200 back in the day, but remembered the criticisms regarding the handling and clunky Cambiocorsa gearbox. Then I revisited the period road tests for the GranSport, which suggested that the lower ride height and larger wheels transformed the handling (and the standard 4200 actually benefitted from a number of tweaks in the 2003 and 2005 model years). It seemed like a good compromise between the softer Jag and the smaller Porsche. So I joined a well known specialist forum, started browsing the classifieds and bought the car you see in the pictures. I'd never even seen one in the metal, but I trusted the photos, the mag reviews and the guy I sent to do an inspection on it."

What I wish I'd known:
"The GS is a very capable GT. But with that high-revving naturally aspirated engine, it can also be a very frustrating one, because I want to give it the beans at all times. So, although it can accommodate three passengers with ease, I often take it out alone so that I can enjoy a spirited drive without cries of 'slow down' from the person to my left, or worrying that I might wipe out the next generation of my family if I forget that I don't have six-piston calipers up front."

Things I love:
"Well, the engine, obviously. It is a 4.2-litre V8 with input from Maranello and sounds spectacular with an angry roar at the top end. The car is pretty handy on a B-road and devastating on a smooth A-road. And I always thought the driving experience was everything, but just look at it. I get to see that every day when I leave for work and return in the evening. Oh, and the Cambiocorsa 'box is also something that owners often grow to love. Maybe it's a bit clunky in town, but then I don't use it for trundling around Knightsbridge. Taking the engine to the redline in second, third and fourth (on a private road of course), snapping thorough the gears, is certainly addictive. And the paddleshift helps you keep the revvy engine on the boil and make very rapid progress."

And it's not even been too expensive to run...
And it's not even been too expensive to run...
Things I hate:
"It's not the car's fault that it's kept outside and I feel that, as the custodian of a beautiful machine, I have to clean it a lot. Er, what else? The rubbery coating on the back of the front seats is easily scratched and scuffed by little feet and these cars suffer from the 'sticky buttons' problem that afflicts other Italian exotica from the same period. And the brakes aren't eye-poppingly strong, but a set of stainless steel hoses and Ferodo DS2500 pads has made a big improvement. I also sometimes forget to put the car in sport mode when I start it up, then spend a few minutes wondering why the handling has lost its edge and the gear changes are so sloppy..."

Costs:
"I melted the tyres at Brands. A new set of four Goodyear F1s can be had for not much more than £500 if you shop around and they're better than the standard fit Pirellis. I just had it serviced and a couple of well known issues cropped up - leaky cam covers and some worn suspension components (it's quite a heavy car). But I budgeted £2-3K a year for running costs so it's been in line with expectations. And that's what I pay each year to lease a Mazda 6 estate... Maserati parts are notoriously expensive, but there are pattern components available and the forums have discovered numerous ways to save money. Ferrari 550M discs fit (and are actually cheaper) and the £900 F1 gearbox pump is exactly the same as a £300 Alfa Selespeed pump."

Where I've been:
"As well as a track evening at Brands Hatch, I treated myself to a mid-week road trip last October. After putting the kids to bed, I drove up to Wrexham and spent the next day taking in the Evo triangle, the A44 from Aberystwyth to Llangurig and the B4520 from Builth Wells to Brecon. The GS is a great road trip car - fast and exciting on these roads, but the excellent seats meant 10 hours in the seat caused no aches and pains."

Wales trup a particular ownership highlight
Wales trup a particular ownership highlight
What's next?
"A lot of GranSport and GranTurismo owners complain that there's nothing at a similar price that looks, sounds and drives as well as these cars while being a genuine four-seater. If I had the garage space and cash, I'd need two cars to replace this, perhaps a Quattroporte GTS and something mid-engined. But for now its all-round abilities and feel-good factor mean it's a keeper. It could do with a respray, as well as sports cats and a remap to free up a few extra horses and decibels (I've already swapped the standard centre section for an H pipe, as many owners do). There'll be some more UK road trips this year and hopefully some longer ones across the Channel at some point. And a lot more gazing at the body and taking it to the redline whenever I get the chance!"


Want to share your car with PHers on Carpool? Email us at carpool@pistonheads.com!

 

Author
Discussion

sidesauce

Original Poster:

2,456 posts

217 months

Monday 31st July 2017
quotequote all
Always liked these.

I'd have thought the GranTurismo would be a fine replacement as it still has that NA engine and I'd argue looks even better than the GranSport?

K2iss

110 posts

234 months

Monday 31st July 2017
quotequote all
I'd like a Welsh "trup" too, sounds like an interesting vegetable. hehe

Resolutionary

1,253 posts

170 months

Monday 31st July 2017
quotequote all
These have aged very well indeed. When I was at school a friend's dad had a 3200 and I thought it was the most exotic thing in the world, especially with the boomerang tail lights. The 4200 dropped that feature which I was totally against at the time, but I think the N/A lump plus the more modernised styling (facelift if you will) really brings these into line with the sort of carsbeing produced elsewhere for the price point at the time.

Seems you're getting on a treat - tell the kiddies not to kick the seat backs anymore though!

hashluck

1,611 posts

274 months

Monday 31st July 2017
quotequote all
I absolutely love mine and it will be put to work as a daily driver once I have it Waxoyled.

I do not have a lot to add to the article other than buy well (get an inspection and don't be scared of miles as long as it has been serviced every year or more in line with requirements and do budget the £2-£3K a year mentioned. A well serviced high miler may be a more reliable proposition than a garage queen that has missed services).

There is very little to compete with the Gransport in terms of packaging. 4 proper seats with easy entry and decent boot. I looked at DB7/9 and XK and they do not compete in this area. A logical upgrade to the Gransport might be the Granturismo but that somehow manages to be (slightly) smaller on the inside and (much) larger on the outside. A Granturismo will not fit in my garage and the Gransport offers a slightly more raw driving experience (you will need the MC-Shift version of the Granturismo to emulate that).

Edited by hashluck on Monday 31st July 10:39

BRR

1,845 posts

171 months

Monday 31st July 2017
quotequote all
I absolutely love mine, I've had it for over 4 years now and still have no thoughts about replacing it. I very rarely need the 4 seats but even to buy something with only 2 I can't think of anything I'd rather have that's within a similar price range. I tried a 4.7 Granturismo but it felt far too heavy.

My running costs have been pretty good and with doing an average of 4500 miles a year it has cost roughly £2k p/a

Fuel economy is usually mid-teens but can easily be single figures when driving it properly, it will do just over 20mpg on a run at under 80

The only things I don't really like are that you can't split the sport mode functions i.e. the gear change is beyond crap when not in sport but the suspension can be a little hard when in sport mode, It would be great to be able to set each independently. Also I have the light coloured 'Tech Cloth' and it looks a mess within a few days of cleaning it


Scottie - NW

1,284 posts

232 months

Monday 31st July 2017
quotequote all
Great to see it getting driven and well enjoyed.

Quite interesting in that both this and the Mazda 6 Sport Estate are similar in that they are both great cars to drive and yet neither are obvious choices in their respective fields, you need to be an enthusiast to spot both which offer good solutions/value in different ways.

LayZ

1,619 posts

241 months

Monday 31st July 2017
quotequote all
I have one too and echo most of the sentiments. I wanted something that felt like it had more power than I ever needed with proper handling, and that could be used for family road trips. Nothing else really comes close, 911s are really a 2+2, whereas even with me at 6'7" the kids are ok in the back.

The gearbox can't compare to something modern, and is pretty hopeless at everything but flat out. In traffic I wince, thinking of the clutch wear and the £2k+ clutch job that's coming. As OP says though, bang it through the gears to redline and the shift still feel fast and harsh.

I paid £16.5k for mine needing a bit of bodywork and servicing, had all that sorted and I've probably done ok with the value, probably still worth what I've spent including all the bodywork and running costs. Not many come up under 23k now, even private with high miles.



Moody in the woods on a recent trip to Wales.

m1980k

28 posts

160 months

Monday 31st July 2017
quotequote all
Scottie - NW said:
Quite interesting in that both this and the Mazda 6 Sport Estate are similar in that they are both great cars to drive and yet neither are obvious choices in their respective fields, you need to be an enthusiast to spot both which offer good solutions/value in different ways.
Thanks. I like to think that the hours I spend every week on forums and Autotrader or with my nose in a car mag can be categorised as very important research...

Contigo

3,113 posts

208 months

Monday 31st July 2017
quotequote all
I've owned 3 3200's, a 4200 , a QP and now a Granturismo Sport MC Shift. The only one I've missed is the GS but have driven a few and they are a great car, the best of the Coupe range (although the 3200 looks better) and so it should be as it's the newest and most improved.

Definitely a classic in the making.


Wolands Advocate

2,493 posts

215 months

Monday 31st July 2017
quotequote all
Lovely car.

I came very, very close to getting one of these last year. I test-drove one and was very favourably impressed. I was a bit circumspect, having previously owned an E60 M5 whose SMG gearbox I loathed, but I had read bad things about the manual 'box in these so decided to try the CC version. It somehow works well with the rest of the package. And I agree that the engine is quite sublime - it makes a wonderful noise and just makes you grin dementedly. I also agree that it has very sharp responses - I doubt overall performance is meaningfully different from that dished out by my current 440i, but the delivery is much more instant. For example, I quickly found that if I accelerated onto a roundabout with the vim I would usually apply in the BMW, then I'd find myself damn near taking off and thwacking the back of the car that had gone around the roundabout in front of me.

I did notice however that you need to shop carefully. They don't seem to age well, particularly inside, unless lovingly cared for. And it was interesting, reading through service histories, that even on immaculate examples with scrupulous histories from Meridien or wherever, individual cars often had the same faults (quirks?) cropping up and being fixed year after year after year.

birdcage

2,838 posts

204 months

Monday 31st July 2017
quotequote all
Sold mine to buy a 911 that wrapped itself round a tree the next day on a wet day...with the benefit of hindsight....

Great car and great noise. Haven't risen in price anywhere near anything similar...

PeterGadsby

1,303 posts

162 months

Monday 31st July 2017
quotequote all
I love these... I used to have a Gransport MC Victory .... Great car in Victory blue, I only got rid of it because my wife didn't like driving it. It's in Australia now :-(

- Pete

sidewinder500

1,096 posts

93 months

Monday 31st July 2017
quotequote all


Picked mine up after winning a swiss ebay bid in late march for a ridicoulously low price.
Surly, after enjoying an epic engine failure on the way home it was due for a thourough once-over and after having a complete new engine from autoshields (thanks again, Marios!), new clutch and a rework of all body issues, it runs as it should, and seems to send positive vibes compared to newer stuff.
Having now spent way more than I wanted originally, it still is close to reasonable pricewise compared to... well, what compares, really?
Most interesting cars that could have been bought for that kind of budget a few years ago became gradually ever more expensive (anything Ferrari), are even more flimsy, close to uninsurable or simply not usable for daily use.
And it seems that it ages well, too, a real classic in the making.
Was thinking of 997, may be a bit sportier on a certain road, but for the rest - no contest at all
Best italian bravado and sense of occasion, nothing comes close, and then considering the price
Best pick, but I'm biased, obviously, and really do like it.




Edited by sidewinder500 on Monday 31st July 20:19


Edited by sidewinder500 on Monday 31st July 20:22

V6Alfisti

3,305 posts

226 months

Monday 31st July 2017
quotequote all
I used to have a 4200 and alot of what was stated does appear familiar, although the GranSport was supposed to improve on the suspension and gearbox. How much difference there was over the 2003+ car that I had, I could not say.

There was certainly some tricks to getting the best out of the gearbox, such as slightly lifting off the accelerator just before a gear change and whilst not un-noticed, I can't say I remember the gearchanges at speed being that noticeable unlike my average of 11mpg !

What I do remember is the gorgeous interior, the gem of an engine and the under bonnet art. Also one of the most laughably bad sat nav's that I can recall but I didn't care.

As stated in the post, many of the bits can be sourced elsewhere. The F1 pump and brakes are the best known, there are little things like the interior light from an Alfa GTV 916 that are less know. The Shell 5w40 was always good value and less than the 10w60 needed in my current Alfa but there were some things like oil filters that were still Maserati only (or eurospares) and I do remember bulking at £170 for a 5cm bit of rubber tubing on the F1 pump....so my specialist did the right thing and bought the same grade tubing for about £2 elsewhere.

Lovely things.

Aeroresh

1,429 posts

231 months

Monday 31st July 2017
quotequote all
Really miss my old 4200 with tubi and always aspired to the gransport LE as a next purchase but it never quite happened for me.

Theyre starting to go up in value by the looks too so they must still be sought after.

Conrod Straight

39 posts

144 months

Tuesday 1st August 2017
quotequote all
I can't help but think a lot of 35+ people are going to end up with this on their short list, due to the family factor.

I ended up deciding on a GS in much the same way as the OP and others. I probably can't justify going out on a day long thrash more than once every couple of months and to enjoy a real 'drive' I have my 205 for that. Keeping a 360 or Exige or some other out-and-out sportscar for such infrequent trips just seemed ridiculous. So it had to be something the family could go out in, something a bit luxurious and different.

Toyed with an Arnage until the reliability frightened me off, a Conti wasn't special enough, M3 was ho hum and I am too tight to spend AU$100k on something new only for it to be $50k in 5 years.

So I was set on a late 996 until I stumbled onto the GS. Everything I have read says this is the car. And over here, it's less than a late 996. Result.

All that remains is for a property sale in a few weeks and I'm in.

sidewinder500

1,096 posts

93 months

Tuesday 1st August 2017
quotequote all
That ^^^^^^^^^

You would be very pleased with your decision, even if the little quirks and hints of unreliability might frighten sometimes ( are the airbag lights on or off today?...)
But same as any old performance car

Conrod Straight

39 posts

144 months

Tuesday 1st August 2017
quotequote all
out of interest, when you guys say budget 2-3k p.a. for running costs, what sort of things are you including? Is it general service items and a few 'fixes' i.e. fuel, insurance, road tax etc etc are on top of that?

BRR

1,845 posts

171 months

Tuesday 1st August 2017
quotequote all
Conrod Straight said:
out of interest, when you guys say budget 2-3k p.a. for running costs, what sort of things are you including? Is it general service items and a few 'fixes' i.e. fuel, insurance, road tax etc etc are on top of that?
An annual service at a specialist is around £500 and a major about £800, you want decent tyres on it so that's between £500 & £800 but obviously how long they last depends on your mileage. A clutch replacement is about £2-2.5k and typically last between 25,000 & 50,000 miles depending on driving style and conditions then there's the other little bits it may need. so amortised over the years £2-3k seems reasonable. the guy that owned mine before me had all his work done at Meridien Modena, he used it as a daily so was averaging around £8k per year in bills to them

lewisf182

2,084 posts

187 months

Tuesday 1st August 2017
quotequote all
One of my all time favourite cars. It is just achingly beautiful! Never took the plunge as the running costs would just be too rich for me so realistically it was never in the running when looking for my latest car. Would absolutely love one some day though.