a friend has the AM, not sure the year. I played with it for a while, two lasting impressions:
- the exhaust sounded average, and he had stuck the valves open
- inside the engine bay looked like it came from the 70's - ugly looking, engine and all
The car itself was beautiful, but I would chose a GTS over it any day.
Rear seats in the DB9 are there for decoration! Probably worse than in a 911!That reaffirms My impression is that although people say the AM sounds amazing - it's because they haven't heard a GTs.
Will be interested to hear from those who have owned both.
I just don't like how the DB9 looks even though The +2 would be nice
I went from a 4200 and to a Vantage, a 4.3.
The biggest difference between Maserati and AM of the same era is build quality. The AM is in my opinion a much more refined and better engineered machine - the exterior, the chassis, the engine, the interior.
From my knowledge AM DB9s and Vantages (4.3 and 4.7) are very reliable. The major issue being very few DB9s with a ticking noise that is very bad news. Pretty sure there was a similar variator issue on Masser GTs?
The gearshift on the early manuals is a tad stiff, but my wife like it and wonders what all the fuss is about - so that should answer exactly how difficult it actually is.
One place where it does excel in stiffness is the chassis which you can feel when driving in the twisty stuff,it feels so much more planted. I am pretty sure saying it's chassis is as stiff as a Gallardo.
All of that said, if I ever need four seats I will be back in a Masser and a GT. The DB9 rear seats are not seats.
I thought that the interior and build quality of the Vantages I have driven or been in was pretty impressive and felt solid. Certainly more so than Maserati.