Ghibli S road test in EVO

[Andyk]

This months EVO se's the pertrol S Ghibli driven......Not that complimentary to be honest...

For - Styling stands out from the crowd and sounds good.
Against - Steering and chassis lacks finesse, engine lacks range.

They say the styling looks good but has a whiff of Infiniti about it....and the interior is a bit shiny and try to hard......

They end by saying they doubt that there's greater kudos in telling people you drive a Maserati rather than a BMW or Benz and this certainly accounts for the booming global sales, but the inconvenient truth is a similarly priced M5 or E64 knocks the Ghibli S well into next week for entertainment and all round polish.....

They do say that it appears that Maserati now has it's house in order but the biggest challenge will not be tempting people into the new models but retaining them....

 

[Wattie]

Sounds similar to other reviews then......
Cheers Wattie

 

[Andyk]

Yep, although didn't the standard petrol and diesel come out better than that...They give the S 3.5 out of 5.

 

[Ewan]

Let's face it, the new Ghibli is nothing but a not-quite-as-good 5 series, but with a better image and badge. Which simply isn't good enough or interesting enough for current Maser owners who are used to owning something unique, individual, etc. So the new Ghibli only appeals to non-Maser people. Maybe that's okay for the current management. But it's not okay for me. If I was about to spend £60-£70k on a Maser, a current Ghibli would be way down the list.

 

[Andyk]

I agree Ewan...I know we have said its a different sort of Maserati and one to appeal to a different sort of buyer and a place where Maserati hasn't been before but it still needs to feel, drive and make you feel very speacial like any Maserati....I lilke the look of the car but on some of those points it feels like it falls short.

When Maserati started selling the old Ghibli it was meant as a 3 series rival and that feel short but it had great reviews and was a car that had character and passion in its heart and this is not the case going forward...

 

[BennyD]

Why not drive one and speak from experience rather than rehash others peoples opinions.

 

[dem maser]

I dont see me in one but the market they want is not me
A 40/50 year old, exec type who spends a lot of time on motorways......a man who was going to buy a BMW but will consider this

We cant compare this car to abything else they have done, its not a GS or anything like that

While i dont like the idea of Maserati making a diesel but if it means a new GS or a new GT then excellent!! Thats when ill be buying one....without the Ghibli they wont make it

Porsche almost went under and the boxster saved them.....

 

[Andyk]

Why not drive one and speak from experience rather than rehash others peoples opinions.

Because it's interesting hear what others think Ben....No other reason....Admittedly EVO are interested in one thing.......If every reviews says the same then there must be something in it to a point...but they are not my views and my views would only ever get posted once I have first hand experience.......but I believe even yourself said its not a Maserati as we know it Ben and its more of an everyday car for company car buyers which is a different avenue for Maserati but all I am concerned about is that they do not dilute that magic Maserati experience.....I really like the Ghibli and would love to own one but the point of the forum is to share all views no motter if its press or our own...Makes for interesting debate....

 

[BJL]

China and America will be where the bulk are sold because image over substance is everything. Here in Europe the image is built on substance and I fear for the image. Even the cr4ppy bi-turbos out performed most other cars of their time.

 

[Rwc13]

Who on this thread, Ben aside, has actually driven one? Since when did Maserati owners care what car magazines say. Which Maseratis over the last 30 years have been a match for their BMW or other rivals in absolute performance terms.

And I disagree, I'm a "current Masser owner" that the Ghibli does appeal to. I've spent a lot of time driving my Ghibli Diesel, and have had a very good drive in a Ghibli S too. So I speak from genuine experience, and I think it's a huge shame that people express such opinions without having properly experienced the car.

And as for the Ghibli being for a different market, that may be true of the Diesel, but I don't think it's true of the S.

I'm going to be controversial now, but I am going to state this as my opinion, rather than fact. IMO, if anything, the S is aimed at the market that used to buy QP5. It has similar dimensions and performance. If you drive it for any decent period of time on good roads, it has the similar chassis balance, steering and composure, making it a quick and exciting car to drive enthusiastically. I have owned a QP5, so I am speaking from experience.

It's a shame people aren't giving this car a proper chance before making such negative comments.

 

[BJL]

I have, all variants including the 4x4 for more than just a cruise around the block. Your opinion is as valued as mine and all others. Opinions are personal and some have more impact than others but the truth remains that Maserati have failed to create a class leader and are relying on brand kudos which has a precarious future if it cannot cut it with the more established first choice brands.

They should have put the V8 up front....blown the socks off the opposition then introduced the lesser variants. Just my opinion.

 

[Elliott653]

Maserati need to sell 50,000 cars a year. So, the Ghibli must necessarily err on the side of caution. I've not driven one. I have no intention of doing so. For me, the aesthetics of a Maserati are vitally important and having recently parked behind a new Ghibli and not noticed it, I feel that they've been far too conservative with the styling.

I believe that the Maserati management have missed a trick. They could have been much more adventurous. However, I can't really blame them. The Ghibli really is make or break for Maserati.

 

[BennyD]

They were adventurous with GT and they haven't sold that many. Safe sells and that's what they need to do to provide the money to develop new 'adventurous' models. Whether they have been too conservative will become apparent if they don't sell the numbers they want to and if they do, they haven't. Simple.

 

[Ewan]

But by playing safe, the brand image becomes diluted. If Maser merely apes BMW, if and when they do build something interesting, maybe I and others won't actually want it. You don't need to sell 50,000 cars a year to be profitable. For me, the brand dilution is not the way to go. Years ago owning a Porsche was special, but not any more. Let's not see Maser go the same way.

 

[BennyD]

Facing facts, if Maserati don't sell volume they will go under. Companies like Fiat won't carry dead wood so 'underlings' like Maserati have to be viable. It's all well and good saying that Maserati have to be charismatic but that is a fantasy given the world today. Selling 'Eurobarges' makes money because most car buyers these days don't give a dead rats a55 about your vision of interesting, all they want is a car that is different enough to be different from the main stream to be noticed in the Golf club car park. If selling 'boring' cars like the Ghibli makes enough money to put the Alfieri into production then get behind them. It is what it is, support them now or you may well be talking about Maserati in the past tense and I hope you don't want that.

 

[Rwc13]

I agree Ben.

But actually I don't see it as particularly safe. In terms of shape is it any safer than the QPV was? Don't get me wrong, I think the QP5 is beautiful. But I don't consider it a pioneering shape. It is beautiful to me because it has really great lines and proportions.

And, in my opinion the Ghibli is a lot less safe than its competitors. You can't get safer than a 5 series in design terms, and if you see the two next to each other, they are a gulf apart aesthetically. Personally, on the right wheels and in the right colour, I think the Ghibli can look stunning. But then I like contemporary car design. It certainly gets plenty of admiring looks and comments wherever I drive or park it.

 

[safrane]

I get both peoples view on this...lets just home the Maserati brand does not just become a badge pinned to a car to make it seem special...far too many sporting brands have gone that way...like some kind of 'After Life'

 

[zoros]

Can we get one thing straight here - one doesn't have to test everything before liking/disliking that particular product. Literature, marketing, opinions, hearsay etc; does that for you in REAL life. Just because I am obsessed with a Jaguar 220 doesn't mean to say that I HAVE to test drive it before I actually buy it for example! Just because I would like to fly in Branson's spacecraft thingy, doesn't mean that I must test fly it first.....And so on.

People who are looking for the type of car that IS the Ghibli, don't have to test drive every single equivalent to become overnight masters of Ghibli's! To truly appreciate a car - one has to live with it, day in day out. Buying/liking a product is all about gut feeling and emotion, not cold hard technical/mechanical knowledge. It is about looking at it and its aesthetic, getting +ve vibes about it and articles written on it.

I, for example took an instant dislike to several Maserati's - but during my search for the one I "liked" on paper - I happened to come across these Maserati's I didn't like. I test drove them under pressure from the sales person(s) and voila - I continued to dislike the **** cars! Ghibli's are the same IN MY OPINION (and it is just that..... my insignificant, unadulterated view). They simply don't cut the mustard. However, one has to assume the company (FIAT. IT) know much more than I will ever know in this regard and have done their due diligence and placed it at a level that will allow it to compete with "x", "y" and "z" models from other manufacturers.

The thing with Maserati is that their heritage / name / tradition is much much bigger than their products. Occasionally it may just be that manufacturers forget the former and concentrate on simply making as much money as possible and as fast as possible. This is the problem with having such a marque as Maserati under a goliath that is FIAT (and its young modern accountants)!

The Ghibli is going to have to fight very very hard indeed to compete with its equivalent main stream competitor...especially at this price.

Let's try and keep emotion out of this guys shall we?

 

[Geofflyn]

I agree, absolutely no emotion ....)

 

[Contigo]

I'm not sure I totally agree about making an assessment of something before you've ever seen or driven it. I drove the Ghibli Diesel and liked it. I couldn't live with it as my go to weekend and sportscar choice but as an everyday soot chucker for commuting etc it certainly would fit my needs.