Italian Beauty-Maserati Ghibli luxury Sedan car review

Maserati Ghibli is a 1.5 crore (on road Bangalore) 4 door super luxury sedan. I recently got an opportunity to spend 2 hours in this car, thanks to Royal Brothers and Driven, who have teamed up to offer this car on self drive basis. More about the rental/self drive aspect will be detailed in a separate post. This post focuses fully on the car- Maserati Ghibli and whatever I could find out about it within the 2 hours it was in my custody.

To set the context, Maserati Ghibli comes to India via CBU route (Completely Built Unit, imported as is)- this means higher (almost double) the tax, which is the main reason the car costs close to 1.5 crore. At 1.5 crore, Ghibli needs to be compared with Mercedes S Class, Audi A8 etc. Had it been manufactured or assembled in India, its price would have been comparable to Merc E Class or Audi A6. That apart, Maserati’s uniqueness is mainly in its looks. There are hundreds of Mercedes Benzs, Audis and BMWs in our cities- people are sort of familiar with them and got used to. Another Audi/Merc, even if it is top of the line A8L or S class AMG, it will not grab as much attention as a Maserati, as the later is too few and very hard to find. Thus in terms of uniqueness Maserati scores over its German rivals. It looks fabulous as well, from all angles- front, rear, side and top. The large front grill, air vents on the side are very unique to Maserati.

Front look
Very attention grabbing look with signature Maserati Grille and logo. Headlight assembly is one big halogen lamp and 3 LED units and DRL. Couple of cameras and sensors are positioned in the front and beep if anything comes too close.

Side view

Ghibli is a 4 door sports car, a scaled down version of a bigger Quattroporte. Thus it doesn't have a sharply reclining roof-line like a 2 door sports car. Second row passengers get good headroom because of this. Doors are frameless, second door glass doesn't roll down 100% due to door frame space limitations. 3 air vents add to styling, a bit of chrome on surrounding the windows 

A Maserati logo sits prominently on the c pillar.

Rear 

There is no spoilers on the boot to create down force. (Many race cars come with a horizontal bar above the boot than is designed to create a down force and keep the car planted to the road at high speeds). Boot space is generous. 

Inside the Maserati Ghibli 
The cockpit is not really a WOW compared to its rivals but is impressive enough if you're looking at it without any prejudice. German rivals come with a rotating knob on the central console that can be used to control most of the settings. In Maserati it is old fashioned touch screen.The gear shift lever, buttons on the door etc feels lifted from parts bin of other cars in fiat group. Doesn't feel interior components are made exclusively for Maserati range. Sometimes lever doesn't slot into desired position easily- second try was needed. The manual mode is opposite compared to other cars (pull back for +, push up for -). Steering wheel comes with paddle shifts (fixed position). With turn indicator positioned right behind paddle shift, it takes from extra effort to bypass paddle shift lever and operate turn indicator. If the indicator was lightly longer or had it been positioned bit above or below it would have been easier to operate.

Bit of wood on the central column gives premium feel

Sunroof is nice but has only limited opening. Most rivals have upgraded themselves to a much bigger sunroof that opens across the length of the roof.

Rear review camera is a bit low resolution for Maserati standards, but adequate during day time

Seat belt warning-Ghibli gets individual seatbelt warnings with weight sensor- warning will be shown only if someone is sitting. You will know exactly who is not wearing seat belt. In this example fellow not wearing the seat belt in second row middle seat is my camera bag!

Instrument cluster gets two analogue rings with a digital portion in the centre

Entertainment system was fine- didn't have too much time to explore it.

A signature Maserati clock sits in the centre of dashboard

Second row space is adequate for 2 adults and a kid. Doors feel decent but not ultra luxurious.

The drive:
Maserati Ghibli gets hydraulic steering which feels nice and responsive. Feedback is immediate. Maserati Ghibli gets a V6 3 litre diesel engine under the hood. Power goes to the rear wheels. But due to limited time, couldn't take the Maserati to the highway/NICE road. Also rental cars come with speed limit to comply so can't enjoy its performance to the fullest. I could drive it only around 20 kms in 2 hours. If I had gone longer I would have less time for photos. It was sort of a compromise, but I am happy I could experience the Maserati for at least 2 hours.

Maserati gets proximity sensors on all side. Throughout the drive in the city, at least one of the four sensors kept beeping as one or the other vehicle would come too close for comfort. Thankfully didn't face any incident. Ground clearance is another concern with supercars- didn't face any issue during my short drive.

If you're looking to buy, Maserati Ghibli is offered in only 1 variant in India so you don't have to scramble to decide right model/configuration.

What I liked about Maserati Ghibli

• Exterior design
• Hydraulic steering

What I didn’t like

• Rear view camera quality
• Parts lifted from other cheaper cars

You can also experience the Maserati Ghibli by renting it. It will cost about INR 34K to 60K depending on factors like weekday/weekend, duration etc. Check this earlier post for detailed narration on my rental experience. If yo wish to impress someone, or treat yourself to a luxury drive, Maserati self drive rental from Royal Brothers & Driven is the best option. As far as I know there're no other 1 crore+ car available for self drive rent at affordable rates as of now in Bengaluru.

Similar cars: Audi A5 Bratpack * Merc CLA *