jprescott

I stopped by my MB dealer today to inquire about the expected arrival of an S demo (we dunno!) and they had two quattroporte models, both 2wd one GTS one S. Drove one on the lot just to feel the interior. You know you ain't in Kansas any more in the Maserati. Felt unfamiliar which I liked. Beautiful and sexy inside with a good luxury feel. Quiet but did not get a full feel for the ride. It was 95 degrees so most of the noise was from the fans. The Ghibli which looks like a baby brother and a CLS, Grancoup contender will be in for viewing next week. The 4WD sound very interesting

I'm in fear of the depreciation of the Maserati at 130-140k but it is cool and unique. Will probably still lean towards the S but based on the depreciation of the last model I could see picking up a low mile Quattroporte in a few years when I'm done with the new S.

K-A

You mean the new body Quattroporte?

IMO it not only looks pretty bad (and with a world-class generic "everycar" rear) but it is too obvious a beefed up Charger with an Italian engine. That interior alone (and even worse- the Ghibli's) with all the Chrysler parts, design and hard points (due to being on the Charger/300 platform) is too perplexing coming from a "Maserati".

jprescott

Well, I guess you have to see it to feel it. Like you, I have a BMW. 7 series for me. The new body style Quattroporte feels more luxurious to the touch (parts) and to the senses than our cars and subjectively I think this will draw more head turns. I can tell you the interior is certainly nicer and richer than my 7.

K-A

I don't doubt that as it's swathed up in Italian leather, so material quality I don't question much (aside from certain Chrysler switches carried over here and there), and of course as always should dazzle more than Germanic interiors. I just can't get past how starkly akin to its 300/Charger stablemates it is in layout and overall design. I'd also assume/be apprehensive against the tactile quality due to that. Looks wise it's certainly got a uniquely exotic flair. I'm sure it'll be a head turner with its appropriate exotic appeal, though I'm not crazy about the styling personally, quite awkward and certainly not as timeless as a more understated teutonic design, such as a good BMW or Merc design.

IMO the Ghibli looks more aesthetically enticing and I'll be definitely looking into that, though have similar reservations about it.

Regardless, with BMW, Audi and Mercedes W222 being very classically themed designs, seemingly attempted to age well and harken bold yet elegant modern interpretations of heritage (my personal favorite design formula when done right), it'll be good/fun/diverse for the Luxury Sedan markets to have different cultures of design mixed in. I.e more flamboyant cars like the Masers.

-NeObLaZtEr-

This is the exact problem with the quattroporte. They run over to the Chrysler parts bin for all the switchgear. Also, the s-class is almost a flying car in comparison, techwise. The only thing the Maserati has in its favor is the fact that it is a Maserati, which will diminish pretty soon once this car depreciates like rock. Maserati is at such a disadvantage. This is the beginning of their downward spiral. I think this car will appeal to the type of customer that would buy Rolls-Royce cufflinks.

cookstar

7 Series and Rolls Royce Phantom have allot of the same components, one costs 120K the other 450k, same goes with Mercedes and Maybach, VW and Bentley etc etc etc. its nothing new.

K-A

Yeah but that kind of aids the point. I'd rather have BMW or Mercedes parts bin than Chrysler. Apparently the Ghibli and Quattro have parts like switchgear and switches, knobs from $18K or lower generic Chryslers. I myself am VERY picky when it comes to tactile quality, weight and substance of switches, gears, etc. When you feel Chrysler parts VS Mercedes or BMW parts, even if both are swathed in the same leather, you can *feel* an underlying difference in substance.

Also the fact that the dash of these Masers look literally identical to a 300 is just terrible, the screen setup more than anything. Yes, they'll coddle you in as much leather and soft touch as they can to get you to forget where you're inherently sitting, but when you get down to it, you're inherently sitting in a Chrysler 300/Dodge Charger with lots of lipstick. That's how I see it (until I actually sit in and feel around one).

Driving dynamics wise apparently is where these care actually are bonafide Italian, which is of course worth mentioning.

cookstar

I see what you are saying and I agree, I dont want 15K car parts in my 120K car but what can you do!

-NeObLaZtEr-

Now that Fiat owns Maserati, I really don't understand why they aren't investing in Maserati. Fitting Chrysler parts in Maseratis will only destroy the brand. Before the acquisition, I could understand why Masers didn't have the tech to compete with the Germans, they simply didn't have the kind of money that Merc, BMW had to invest in R&D etc, but now...why? Just poor management and use of resources by Fiat IMO, they are straight up destroying the brand.

K-A

The irony of all this is how Maserati's will probably be as reliable or durable as any "normal" car now that they're basically gussied up Chryslers (save for the powerplants which are straight Italian). With that comes a more generic nature behind it along with "$15K everyman interior parts" (save again for the powerplants).

jprescott

My point is : sit in and feel. My Cop father- in law has a 300 and that is a silly comparison. Not saying I choose Maserati over an S but it is cool, unique, and a nice alternative to think about. I have a 740Li , 2011 and it is not comperable to my last 2007s550. The quality of a 7 series compared to an S is ridiculous and I have had time (2yrs) to absorbe. So agree that S is probably superior but this stuff is subjective to some degree

-NeObLaZtEr-

but the other cars in its "class" are even more reliable, the Taurus, Hyundai Genesis, etc...

My new name for the Maserati Quattroporte is the Chrysler 300 Italian Edition

jprescott

K-A

So interesting how there's such broadly different impressions between the W221 and F01 from people who have owned both, that I've observed online. To me, the biggest issue with the F01 7 interior is that although it has some more leather and soft touch surfaces, it's essentially not only identical to the F10's, but a stylistic downgrade as it looks neither as fluid, elegant or sporty. The F10 5's interior IMO basically looks like the F01 7's just with a 2 year leg up in terms of further refining and mastering that particular design language. The F01 does have some richer and/or more substantial materials in some areas but even there it's very slight.

But regardless, indeed so much of this is subjective. Obviously I can't comment on the Masers interior until I've seen and felt 'em myself, but even if no one ever told me where it derives from, I'm certain I'd say "It looks like a fancy Charger inside". Having a Chrysler switchgear is such a slap in the face though, c'mon Fiat, cost cutting such an important and "connective" element of a car like that? One of my favorite aspects of getting the Sport Auto Transmission option on the F10 was the much nicer and higher quality switchgear. It's a very important element of a car. IMO in fact every switch speaks volumes about a car, it's like telling you what kind of quality is *inside* the car, not just on the surface.

It's almost not too far fetched. Thank goodness the engines are apparently far more Ferrari than anything Chrysler. That could be enough for many people right there.

The previous Quattroporte had a distinctive Italian interior, BUT at the same time it's a total POS. It falls apart almost immediately, has practically no long-term durability virtues, and all the buttons get gummy/sticky and/or peel, which is a classic Ferrari "trait" as well.

Wolfman

Funny to read the musings of the Chrysler switchgear here.

I wish that some of the commenters here on the board would have actual experience with specific cars, wether it's a BMW 7 series or a Maserati before deriding these cars.

I try to shape my opinion based on actual experience driving these cars.

I have driven the old Quattroporte on a high-speed test drive and have a couple friends with one.
That said, both the old and the new one were nice cars to look at even though the new one looks like an Audi from the back. Nice interior as well.

The old one didn't impress with the underpowered engine and jerky SMG but it was by no means a bad driving experience. Keep in mind that the target customer it a BMW/Mercedes/Audi driver looking for something more unique and rare to see on the streets.

Re. Fiat, I don't know why anyone would think that quality would improve with Fiat's involvement. It's a low end company with no reputation for quality, ever.

Re. Switchgear. Such a joke; every small volume manufacturer has done or is doing that.
I can see you guys have never been in an Aston Martin or older Rolls Royce or Bentley. This is the norm and only the competition between VW (Bentley) and BMW (Rolls Royce) to revive these brands have taken the interior quality to the standard they are today.

To K-A: I know you love your BMW 535. It's a great car and a well balanced package, but it's a mid-level car and there is better. No need to talk down everything else

-NeObLaZtEr-

Well, I may be completely wrong, but I arrived at this conclusion as a result of observing Jags, I think you can relate this to them, as Maserati is in a similar situation as Jag before their acquisition. Tata, which is much worse than Fiat, pretty much brought back the Jag brand. Jag, before Tata's acquisition had some of the worst cars, the XJ had been the same one for about 10 years and it was almost equivalent to a Crown Vic technologically (although I adored the design). The S-type was also a gopping car. Tata invested in Jag heavily and you could even say that they brought the XF and XJ to levels where they could actually compete in their segments without being laughed at. I was hoping Fiat would do something similar with Maserati.

I have actually been in a couple of Astons, Bentleys (never owned anything though). While they did share some gear with entry level brands, it was a lot more seamless and less obvious, and parts that were shared were chosen wisely. I don't think this is the case with Maserati, or at least that is what I can derive from the pictures. Maybe I am being too critical too early on.

Wolfman

Tatar is making huge investments and will make have to make more to succeed with their acquisitions in the long term. So far there is lots to like

Fiat is not backed by a billionaire like Tata and will not have money to invest like them, so I wouldn't hold my breath.

Re. The switchgear use in these cars are quite similar. Perhaps it is that you recognize the Chrysler parts in the Maserati but not the Ford/Volvo parts in the Aston. The point I am making is that it really doesn't diminish the brand in my opinion. An Aston is still a great car even with some cheap switchgear inside.
Nobody would think of calling them a Volvo, English edition

K-A

I actually have driven and considered a 7 and I think the F01's biggest ailment is that the 5 Series is a better packaged/balanced almost carbon copy of it. It's why I also feel the 5 is leagues above its own competitors (practically unfair advantage). It has nothing to do with my criticality, especially if you've followed my posts before.

I'm sorry but the QP is a $120+K car and if you can't see the issue with it not only blatantly looking like a gussied up Charger, but sharing a $15,000 Chrysler cars switchgear then I don't know what to tell you (maybe "more power to you"). The tactile quality of materials especially important things like switch gears cost manufacturers like Mercedes or BMW tons in R&D alone as many customers expect a quality that should psychologically define how the rest of the car is made. If I was driving my old Chevy Malibu I'd say the same thing, I.e what I drive currently doesn't morph my opinion of that.

Wolfman

This is why I used the Aston Martin example. Not the best made car by any measure but a highly desirable one to be sure, even with crappy switchgear at $200k+, yet few people seem to take issue with that like you.

I suggest to go take a Maserati for a test drive and let us know your thoughts afterwards.

K-A

I'll definitely be checking out the Maser, but it'll probably be the Ghibli as I'm planning to cross shop that with when my Lease is up. Aston is an incredibly sexy and unique car so I think it's easier to look past something like that (the QP after all is more or less a makeover of a 300/Charger), not to mention the whole interior is a unique design for the most part, but even then it would bug me a bit to have a generic switch gear. To be honest, an Aston was always one of my top dream cars but if I was seriously in the market for one I'd probably choose a 911 over one due to some of those quirks of having "lackluster" parts and engineering methods over more inherently premium based manufacturers.

IMO it's bad enough for the QP/Ghibli to have such a staunchly similar interior setup to the 300/Charger, but I understand that a huge changeup would have cost tons of money. However something as simply yet noticeable as a gear shifter being the same as entry level Chryslers is such a cheap-out penny-pinching move by Fiat. As much as window switches bug me if they're using Chrysler ones, I can at least get past that if the rest of the car is that good. However a gear shifter is such a focal point and connective element to the car.

K-A

You know what, I have to admit something: Most of my comments in this thread have been confusing the Quttroporte interior with the GHIBLI interior. I just looked up the QP interior and although I don't think it looks all that special for a car of its price, it's definitely not what I was using as a reference during my many comments against it in this thread.

The GHIBLI is the car I kept picturing when I was speaking here, for whatever reason. That is the car with the horrendously almost carbon copy 300/Charger interior. I'm not particularly enamored by the QP's based on design but it is definitely a step up from the Ghibli's and less blatantly "Chrysler", i.e more Italian-esque. But still, the whole lower half (under the upper half which is a starker variation from its Chrysler roots) is quite cheap looking on the QP, sharing seemingly an identical structure and design as the 300, same cheap/nasty light switch and all.

Germancar1

The Mercedes-Maybach comment makes no sense whatsoever since one is dead and they're Mercedes' anyway, not some cheap mass market brand.

M

cookstar

sure it does, many MB components are on the Maybach, and by many I mean most.

The Sting

Hey jprescott

(I haven't read the whole topic but I will still give my opinion).

For having just recently tested the new Quattroporte 4S (2014 model), I must say the car is quite tempting as such, but it quite different from an S-Class.
The S-Class is the pinnacle of sedans when it comes to options and finishes. Sure depending on where you're living, there are S-Class at every street corner.
Obviously, the Quattroporte is surely much more "exclusive" and seems to be geared up to hit the track once in a while, but there is still no radar guided cruise control (for example) available, which I find is a big drawback for a luxury sedan.

In my opinion, the 550 4MATIC will surely give a better service in the long run, but the Maserati might give more pleasure to drive (and prestige too!)

K-A

One thing is for sure, the cars although technically comparable are of totally different characters. The QP should be a lively, exciting, sharp and sporty drive. The S will be the opposite, smooth, wafty and meant to lower your heart rate instead of getting your blood pumping.