It shows how the de tomasso era destroyed the brands reputation which is what... 30 years ago
He gets in the car and is overwhelmed or perhaps surprised at how good it is... As he said the car is a turning point in Maserati history so it is supposed to do that.
I was not quite expecting that result as he seemed a bit of a porsche fan boy when he was driving the 996 but it does suggest he is impartial.
The Porsche will lack the sense of occasion but will be more precise while if the jaguar was involved in the review it would be more of a cruiser and I imagine the maserati is best of both worlds plus more grunt than its competitors