Ghibli diesel test drive in Autocar last week
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Chrisbassett
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It does sound odd when you're stood next to the car and you hear both sounds. I think the augmented sound is very much an attempt to say "we're a performance car company...not run-of-the-mill" but fails. I think a natural sound would have been better...the best they could get from the exhaust without a box of tricks would have been better. Heard an Alpina D3 the other day and it sounded powerful, and yet was obviously still a diesel.
Rwc13
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Well, we'll have to agree to differ on the sound point. But then that's what forums are all about.
But I understand that more than 80% of UK Ghiblis sold so far are diesel, so Maserati does need the diesel version of the Ghibli to succeed if it is to have the funds to invest in the Alfieri and the like. So whether we love the product or not, as owners wishing to see Maserati survive and, indeed, thrive as a brand, we should be supportive of it.
Continuing to be ever so slightly provocative, as the owner these days of an older Maserati, I guess I am doing very little financially to support the brand. When something breaks, it may not even be a genuine Maserati part that replaces whats broken. So I guess I am contributing very little to secure Maserati's future.
Whereas those that go out and by the new products, GT, QP or Ghibli, whether long term owners or new conversions, are directly contributing to the funding of projects like Alfieri. So we should encourage them to buy shouldn't we?
But I understand that more than 80% of UK Ghiblis sold so far are diesel, so Maserati does need the diesel version of the Ghibli to succeed if it is to have the funds to invest in the Alfieri and the like. So whether we love the product or not, as owners wishing to see Maserati survive and, indeed, thrive as a brand, we should be supportive of it.
Continuing to be ever so slightly provocative, as the owner these days of an older Maserati, I guess I am doing very little financially to support the brand. When something breaks, it may not even be a genuine Maserati part that replaces whats broken. So I guess I am contributing very little to secure Maserati's future.
Whereas those that go out and by the new products, GT, QP or Ghibli, whether long term owners or new conversions, are directly contributing to the funding of projects like Alfieri. So we should encourage them to buy shouldn't we?
Chrisbassett
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Driving and enthusing about these older cars does enhance the image of Maserati, I believe...and any car maker is half image and reputation in the end...
Rwc13
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More provocation........
I said very little, not nothing....... And I agree that us driving and enthusing about the traditional cars MAY contribute to the sale of the new products, Maserati's future lifeblood. But denigrating the new products is surely unhelpful? And from Maserati's point of view, there will be no substitute for cash in the bank with is what the new products will deliver.
I said very little, not nothing....... And I agree that us driving and enthusing about the traditional cars MAY contribute to the sale of the new products, Maserati's future lifeblood. But denigrating the new products is surely unhelpful? And from Maserati's point of view, there will be no substitute for cash in the bank with is what the new products will deliver.
BJL
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I might be in a minority here and have no wish to upset fellow forum members who feel duty bound to talk up anything Maserati do but if we don't say it as we see it then I personally would consider myself a hypocrite.
Maserati have taken 35,000 orders worldwide of the QP and Ghibli so someone must like them but crucially the vast majority of those orders are in China, Russia and the USA. Europe represent a small percentage proving the both the QP and Ghibli are possibly not what Europe want from Maserati. German sales are very low.
In Europe where we like to think we are more decerning and less impressed with hype and bling the QP is too big for most buyers and the Ghibli is too ordinary to wear the Trident. The front I now quite like, the side profile is growing on me but the back will never be anymore than a poor copy of any Euro box with more than a sniff of Hyundi..Lexus..Toyota plus when a Maserati goes past someone you know they are saying 'wow, look a Maserati' which will now change to 'did that say Maserati?'
I very much regret to say that in my worthless opinion the poor quality feel of the door, boot and bonnet closures in comparison to what we expect plus the diesel engine being no more than a low revving truck engine which has had the compression ratio raised along with boost pressure to give some semblance of power added to a totally phoney exhaust note exasperates me like wearing a fake Rolex would (ref. another thread re 'Oiks').
Having said that the V6 top of the range petrol goes like stink, and yes I have driven it, and feels a proper Maserati when you are behind the wheel but the gearbox is too fussy going up and down faster than a fidlers elbow plus it is too expensive considering the cheap feel of the doors, bonnet and boot etc. plus for well over 80k specced up some of the interior fittings and finish don't match the opposition.
My fear is that the early flush of youth sales will slow to a modest level within a year and depreciation will be a factor that once recognised will further harm sales which is sad because both the QP V and the GT had pundits applauding the high residual value of the cars compared to only a few years ago plus we have read reports from the press which have in the main been not overly enthusiastic that have compared the Ghibli to what BMW, Merc, Audi and Lexus are selling now, models that have been on sale for 2 or 3 years or more. they all have new models coming out very soon with more power, better economy and more and more aggressive styling so unless Maserati very quickly bring out the Class Leading versions that make a statement which shouts Maserati are BETTER....DIFFERENT...EXOTIC....EXCLUSIVE I fear the Chrysler influence will turn Maserati into the Lexus of Toyota
Maserati have taken 35,000 orders worldwide of the QP and Ghibli so someone must like them but crucially the vast majority of those orders are in China, Russia and the USA. Europe represent a small percentage proving the both the QP and Ghibli are possibly not what Europe want from Maserati. German sales are very low.
In Europe where we like to think we are more decerning and less impressed with hype and bling the QP is too big for most buyers and the Ghibli is too ordinary to wear the Trident. The front I now quite like, the side profile is growing on me but the back will never be anymore than a poor copy of any Euro box with more than a sniff of Hyundi..Lexus..Toyota plus when a Maserati goes past someone you know they are saying 'wow, look a Maserati' which will now change to 'did that say Maserati?'
I very much regret to say that in my worthless opinion the poor quality feel of the door, boot and bonnet closures in comparison to what we expect plus the diesel engine being no more than a low revving truck engine which has had the compression ratio raised along with boost pressure to give some semblance of power added to a totally phoney exhaust note exasperates me like wearing a fake Rolex would (ref. another thread re 'Oiks').
Having said that the V6 top of the range petrol goes like stink, and yes I have driven it, and feels a proper Maserati when you are behind the wheel but the gearbox is too fussy going up and down faster than a fidlers elbow plus it is too expensive considering the cheap feel of the doors, bonnet and boot etc. plus for well over 80k specced up some of the interior fittings and finish don't match the opposition.
My fear is that the early flush of youth sales will slow to a modest level within a year and depreciation will be a factor that once recognised will further harm sales which is sad because both the QP V and the GT had pundits applauding the high residual value of the cars compared to only a few years ago plus we have read reports from the press which have in the main been not overly enthusiastic that have compared the Ghibli to what BMW, Merc, Audi and Lexus are selling now, models that have been on sale for 2 or 3 years or more. they all have new models coming out very soon with more power, better economy and more and more aggressive styling so unless Maserati very quickly bring out the Class Leading versions that make a statement which shouts Maserati are BETTER....DIFFERENT...EXOTIC....EXCLUSIVE I fear the Chrysler influence will turn Maserati into the Lexus of Toyota
I think it is important that everyone expresses their views as they are. Personally the QP and Ghibli are not floating my boat but then I am not normally a saloon car buyer but I am still interested in the development of the brand.
Neither car has interesting design to my eye which is a departure from anything Maserati have made in the last 15 years. That would be my main reason for passing on either.
In more detail, the QP is just simply too big but it does look better than the Ghibli front and back whereas the Ghibli has a more interesting profile. The front of the Ghibli was a nice place to sit but access to the back was too compromised for a car of it's size. As for diesel, well they have to offer it to sell any units really in Europe. I might have tried to talk myself into the Ghibli if they had made the four wheel drive petrol S in RHD but that has not happened so I will watch from the sidelines, enjoy my GranTurismo and look at it's replacement when it arrives as long as it is a 4 seater and not a 2+2. If it is the latter then my GranTurismo can happily sit in my garage for occassional use over a 10-15 year life.
Neither car has interesting design to my eye which is a departure from anything Maserati have made in the last 15 years. That would be my main reason for passing on either.
In more detail, the QP is just simply too big but it does look better than the Ghibli front and back whereas the Ghibli has a more interesting profile. The front of the Ghibli was a nice place to sit but access to the back was too compromised for a car of it's size. As for diesel, well they have to offer it to sell any units really in Europe. I might have tried to talk myself into the Ghibli if they had made the four wheel drive petrol S in RHD but that has not happened so I will watch from the sidelines, enjoy my GranTurismo and look at it's replacement when it arrives as long as it is a 4 seater and not a 2+2. If it is the latter then my GranTurismo can happily sit in my garage for occassional use over a 10-15 year life.
CristianMD
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Excepting members of the forum of course, I think the new strategy targets developing countries where people want to brag about owning a Maserati, while on a very tight budget to put it gently... Most of you being located in the UK, might not experience this, but where I live, it's quite common... People spend to the very last cent on a car, then don't have money for gas... but if you get in a room with them, there's not enough room for them and their ego...
CristianMD
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Russia didn't not get by chance in the top countries which bought the new versions (diesel version )
)
BennyD
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BJ, I read your assessment and I think you make some valid points however, that doesnt mean I agree with your summary. I didn't feel it was cheaply built and the 'low revving truck engine' is, in my worthless opinion, on a par with my old BM 330D. Bearing in mind that Autocar once described the 330D as the best all round car you could buy that is, IMO, a good first attempt. Perhaps you aren't used to driving such everyday soot pumps on a daily basis but I am and I thought it was on a par with the Germans. We are all entitled to our own opinion, but at least you have taken the time to look at it and drive it which means I respect yours. I guess a diesel Ghibli won't be for everybody, but no car is. Time will tell.
BennyD
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Different, I reckon. Most of us look at the 3200, 4200, GS, GT, GC and QP as fantastic cars, and they are, but since the turn of the century they have merely been ticking the company over. As a commercial success I would say they have been disappointing. Something needed to be done and the company are doing it. Sales are up 7 fold and that has to be a good thing, and when the new GS and Alfieri hit the streets the company may well go from strength to strength and I, for one, hope it does. When that day comes we may well look back at the Ghibli, like we do with the 3200, and regard it as the car that saved the company and then made it prosper. Remember, Jaguar were going down the crapper until they launched the diesel X-type; it was average at best but it saved the company and look at the cars they turn out today.