QP VI test drive

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bigbob

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Well I've finally got round to driving a new shape QP, in this case an S petrol, that is the one with the biturbo 410PS V6 petrol engine.

The good bits:
-it looks good, a touch bland but attractive enough;
-the road holding is really impressive, the ride is a bit rough at times but the car can be hussled along pretty well for it's size, width being the only real issue like many modern top end cars;
-the sports button and sport dampers are now on two different buttons unlike the GT/GC/QPV;
-nice noise in sport. No deep rumble like the old n/a V8 but interesting enough to like;
-plenty of go. I cannot see why you would need the V8, performance wise; and
'-fast gear changes in sport, will hold onto the revs in manual sport without changing up.

A few issues:
-I've read about the over sensitive gearlever and it's terrible. Getting P and D is fine but trying to find R (or N) in the middle is really hard. I tried a couple of three point turns and really struggled to the point of getting worried about approaching traffic;
-the gear lever and paddles feel and sound loud and cheap in use;
-when you select manual mode (in sport or normal), the car will still kickdown in 7th & 8th. It won't in 1st through 6th so it is not as bad as the 4.2 GT/QPV but why have this feature as the 4.7 GT/GC/QPV does not have it? This really winds me up!
-the mirrors only fold in at low speed and then fold out again automatically. Again the older cars will fold in at any speed and stay there which is useful if a lorry is coming the other way;
-I could not work out how to get miles and celsius in the displays as miiles go with F and KM with C; and
-it is clearly a turbo engine and needs a reasonable amount of revs to move having the non linear rev build up typical with a forced induction engine.

The good news is all bar one of the issues above would be pretty easy to fix should Maserati wish to and - who knows? - they maybe changing on the new MY.

Overall, it's a good effort and worth a look if you are in this market. For me I have a large 4x4 for family/holiday etc duties so I am happy with my GranTurismo but there some good pointers here for the future.
 
Rwc13

Rwc13

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Interesting review bigbob. Understand the very latest cars have got a revised gear shift that resolves most of the issues you mention. From experience I can also say, "you do get used to it". There is also a software update available that allows gallons and celsius to be displayed together. I understand Maserati are (rather more quickly than in the past) fixing these and a few other owner identified issues.
 
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bigbob

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I must check the build date of the car I drove as I have a feeling it is not brand new even though it is just registered - I always look at tyre dates first on a car.
 
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bigbob

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Indeed!!! About 30cm longer than my GranTurismo which itself is the same length as my Discovery....
 
Andyk

Andyk

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Bob, you say its a good effort......but should it not be a stunning effort as doesn't it cost 90/100k.......It really should be as good if not better than the competition surely........Is it as good as the same Merc or BMW for instance......But then I suppose this car is aimed more at the Aston Masrtin Rapide than the BMW 6 series GT.......
 
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bigbob

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The funny thing about Maserati is try and see how much one costs! The website gives the OTR of the basic car but there are no price lists showing options anywhere - tap into google for UK price lists and see what you get! Bizarre.
 
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Elliott653

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I remember talking to the chaps on the Maserati stand at the Classic Car show. They told me that the QP6 was aimed at the Far East "and Brazil", rather than the UK. Maybe, they're not too bothered over here and would rather push the Ghibli?
 
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Chrisbassett

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We don't have the need for ostentatious displays of wealth that they do in the emerging middle classes in those countries; nor the money to spend. We are a comparative back-water now, even when you look at the whole of Europe.
 
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bigbob

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Elliott said:
I remember talking to the chaps on the Maserati stand at the Classic Car show. They told me that the QP6 was aimed at the Far East "and Brazil", rather than the UK. Maybe, they're not too bothered over here and would rather push the Ghibli?
Click to expand...

Try getting a Ghibli price list.
 
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bigbob

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Update:

-get it in sport manual, sports suspension and use the paddles and it's is surprisingly able for something 5.25m long;
-turbo lag is disappointing below 2750 revs. 3200GT owners will love it but I prefer the linear throttle response my car has;
-the pedal box is surprisingly small due to a wide transmission tunnel. I know there are only two pedals but my left leg is pushed over more than I want;
-the noises are all a bit convoluted. Give me back my V8! And
-it is too big. As a number of us have said, the Ghibli replaced the QPV. This is something much bigger. Still think it looks better than the Ghibli though!
 
Tilum

Tilum

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bigbob said:
The funny thing about Maserati is try and see how much one costs! The website gives the OTR of the basic car but there are no price lists showing options anywhere - tap into google for UK price lists and see what you get! Bizarre.
Click to expand...

bigbob said:
Try getting a Ghibli price list.
Click to expand...
Hi Bob,

Not sure if the comments about the price lists were sarcastic or not, but if you want a copy of all the Ghibli and QP VI prices (inc. option costs), let me know and I'll upload them on here.

T
 
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bigbob

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Thanks mate. It was more about the fact that you cannot get a price list without speaking to a dealer whereas other brands allow you to download them. I have a Ghibli price list but not a QPVI so yes please.
 
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bigbob

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Thanks.

Footnote - I find that my GranTurismo hardly every trips the MSP light. I put that down to a well balanced chassis with a long wheelbase. I now know that a lot of it is due to the linear power delivery of the n/a engine as you could get the light flashing away on the QP when the torque came in. I guess that is the inevitable downside of non linear power delivery that turbo cars have but worth a thought.
 
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bigbob

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Well having driven the QP S for a good few days I got the chance to drive the Ghibli S today.

Unsuprisingly it is very similar - big, heavy car, same gearbox/engine, practically same driver's seat environment. I would recommend it to anyone in this price point. The main caveat is that rear seat foot space is tight for a car of it's size but if it that is not too much of an issue then take a look.

PS The only thought is that the QP is selling a lot fewer units but has skyhook and bigger wheels as standard so I do wonder if the £17k initial price difference will reduce to less than half that at transaction prices spec for spec?
 
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bigbob

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Having asked about 4WD yesterday on my driving day (nothing to see really), I took a peek at Maserati North America's website. They only sell the S as 4WD with the same 410PS as here but the base petrol Ghibli is RWD but strangely has 20 more PS - 350 vs 330 - than here.

PS I'm presuming it was a way of getting the base UK car into the lower VED bracket?
 
outrun

outrun

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It's a marketing position mistake IMHO. If you notice the amount of boggo BMWs with the wee X-Drive badge on there, they really would have accessed a different market with 4WD. All of a sudden it becomes a usable daily in all weathers, even if winter tyres actually make 4WD a little redundant.

I think we'll see the 4WD version here in the next couple of years.
 
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