Maserati Quattroporte

[Howitzer]

I'm not in the market to buy one but ever since a run in with one a few years ago they've been a car I need to experience.

I have hired one for a couple of days and already know of the early cars unloved gearbox, but any other thoughts on the car in general are appreciated.

Dave!

[sjn2004]

Howitzer said:

I'm not in the market to buy one but ever since a run in with one a few years ago they've been a car I need to experience.

I have hired one for a couple of days and already know of the early cars unloved gearbox, but any other thoughts on the car in general are appreciated.

Dave!

What did you want to know exactly?

[baguaman]

i love mine... at the moment its getting a scratch touched up and the replacement is a brand new cls 500

the suspension on the cls is better..the cls is faster and the transmission is better...BUT....the handling ..the engine and the sheer passion of the quattroporte kicks the cls into touch.

[jason srt-10]

i have the new 4.7S and love it!!!!!!!!

[sjn2004]

baguaman said:

i love mine... at the moment its getting a scratch touched up and the replacement is a brand new cls 500

the suspension on the cls is better..the cls is faster and the transmission is better...BUT....the handling ..the engine and the sheer passion of the quattroporte kicks the cls into touch.

Test drove a CLS500 before getting the QP, isn't the CLS500 slower both in acceleration/top speed? You know you can get a very low miles/08 CLS500(5.5) for about 35k saving over 20k on list?

[Howitzer]

sjn2004 said:

Howitzer said:

I'm not in the market to buy one but ever since a run in with one a few years ago they've been a car I need to experience.

I have hired one for a couple of days and already know of the early cars unloved gearbox, but any other thoughts on the car in general are appreciated.

Dave!

What did you want to know exactly?

Any feelings, experiences etc with the car. My first run in was through the hatfield tunnel very early in the morning while next to a purple 993 Carrera. I was playing with a 993 Carrera S and then the Maserati entered the tunnel and made the noise of our pathetic toys sound rubbish in conparison

I'm a Merc fanboy so will be in place of my 500E for the trip.

Dave!

[baguaman]

the qp you drove was it a 4.7

because this hire cls 500 is definately quicker than my qp .

[sjn2004]

baguaman said:

the qp you drove was it a 4.7

because this hire cls 500 is definately quicker than my qp .

My qp is a 4.2 same as yours. The Qp is actually quite high for a saloon, maybe the sensation of speed is less? Test figures have the Qp at 0-60 of 5.2 same as the CLS500(5.5 07 onwards). The CLS500 I test drove was the earlier model (300ish bhp) and was a league slower than the QP I ended up test driving and buying a week later.


If you still have both cars available you could do some acceleration tests against the stop watch eg 0-70 cough (motorway slip road) etc.

Edited by sjn2004 on Friday 23 January 01:15

[sjn2004]

Howitzer said:

sjn2004 said:

Howitzer said:

I'm not in the market to buy one but ever since a run in with one a few years ago they've been a car I need to experience.

I have hired one for a couple of days and already know of the early cars unloved gearbox, but any other thoughts on the car in general are appreciated.

Dave!

What did you want to know exactly?

Any feelings, experiences etc with the car. My first run in was through the hatfield tunnel very early in the morning while next to a purple 993 Carrera. I was playing with a 993 Carrera S and then the Maserati entered the tunnel and made the noise of our pathetic toys sound rubbish in conparison

I'm a Merc fanboy so will be in place of my 500E for the trip.

Dave!

The main thing is the feel, sound, smell and rarity of the car. The car is beautiful to look at and despite its size is very nibble especially around hairpins where it just seems to rotate around on a fulcrum due to the balance. This catches a lot of "racers" out who think they can drop you easily because you are driving a car the size of a bus. Had a guy in a debadged 6 series try and drop me on some country roads a while back. On leaving the motorway you had to cross a big heavy cattle grid, this guy took it at about 30 mph to get a head start and then booted it, I tiptoed over at a few mph not wanting 50p shaped alloys! Even though by then he had a few hundred yrd lead and obviously knew the road from the way he was attacking the corners by the time we got to the second bend I was right behind him keeping up with no problem or sweat as he went wide of the lines and had a big wiggle at one point. Funny stuff.

[AJSG]

Howitzer said:

I have hired one for a couple of days and already know of the early cars unloved gearbox, but any other thoughts on the car in general are appreciated.

I had a 3200 for 3 years and now in the 3rd year of the QP, personally I like it very much...sure the M5 is a better car, and so is the Merc...however the Maserati makes you feel good about it even standing still, whilst the BMW and Merc interiors are common to the whole range...from the 1.6 diesels up to the top...there is nothing special.

I drove mine from London to Ferrara (near Bologna) and back over two weeks, it is just so right...don't know how else to describe it...simply not ordinary...and most importantly...not obvious.

A friend let me park his car in his grandfathers old bicycle shop, Ferrara is very famous for its bicycle makers, and you should see the images of this beautiful beast amongs all the half finished handbuilt racing frames...even my wife found it "just right"...

[Howitzer]

Cheers guys, i'll do a write-up on my thoughts on the car after the event.

Dave!

[rubystone]

I shall buy one of these - but don't want to dip a toe until the prices have finished their "correction". Ultimately they are probably not as good as the opposition in many ways, but personally feel that they make up for any deficiences in the way they look, sound and "feel".