I drove the Maserati Quattroporte a few weeks ago. And boy, do I have good things to say about it.

My first and current car is a Honda Odyssey minivan, and I love it. I’ve loved cars for years, and I thought that, with my passion for automotive journalism, it’s about time I started writing my own material.

For the longest time I didn’t know what to write about. This changed when my friend’s dad handed me the keys to this trident-bearing steed and told me, “Have fun with it.”

Today, looking back on the experience, I feel like I’m one of the luckiest teenage gear-heads in the world. The experience was incredible, and is one I’ll constantly look back on with a smile on my face.

Meeting the Maserati: Exterior and Interior

It all started when I arrived at the house and had the rather heavy keys handed to me by my friend’s hero of a dad.

“You’ll have to teach me to use the paddle shifters sometime. I don’t use them often myself,” he explained. I told him I’d be more than happy to help with that.

   First things first, the exterior. I’ll admit, while I think this car is far more attractive than 75 percent of all other cars on the road, I prefer the styling of the previous generation. It was not as lengthy, and I’m a bigger fan of the vertical taillights. The rear lights on this generation remind me of those off a certain Kia, and that does irk me a bit. But this generation of Quattroporte is still very handsome from the outside. I have also always loved that each Maserati has a trident on the grill. I felt like I was taking Poseidon’s chariot out for a spin.

Disclaimer: The owner of this car is not Poseidon. No hippocampi were attached to the vehicle. Optional extra, I’d imagine.

If the exterior is handsome, then the interior is the love child of George Clooney, Ryan Gosling and Aphrodite. The steering wheel is thick and very soft, and the leather just felt right, as I imagined it would feel. The center stack was attractive and easy to use, and the gear shifter had a very sturdy, expensive feel. While there were bits of plastic here and there, I understand it’s no Phantom or S600. However, I would have liked the shifter paddles to be metal. No matter, as they’re still ridiculously long for the full-size sedan it is, and for that I won’t take points off. As if I were using points at all. You get the point.

Overall, the car looks great, and while I did find some details I was not too fond of, I’m still a huge fan. It looks, feels and, yes, smells like what you would want a Maserati Quattroporte to look, feel and smell like.

Side note: It smelled like very smooth and expensive leather.

The Drive

Oh yes, it goes indeed. The sound is pretty muffled, but if you listen closely, it’s definitely there. For now, I want to address that engine. It’s a twin turbocharged 3.0 V6 that makes 404 bhp and 406 lb-ft of torque, and does the 0-62 sprint in 4.9 seconds. I’m happy to report that I was pleasantly surprised by the V6. It made plenty of power, pulled quite nicely, and, when coupled with the Q4 four-wheel (yes, not all-wheel) drive system, it felt like I had more than adequate traction. I’m probably the least qualified to judge turbo lag, but from what I could tell, there was not a discernible amount.

Interestingly, I found it difficult to stay at the speed limit, but not only because I wanted to drive fast. This car picks up speed very quickly, and while going 45 mph. in one car may feel fast, 45 feels like 20 in the Quattroporte. This car does not feel like it’s going really fast until you’re going a speed that’s likely to get you in serious trouble.

I was very impressed with the car’s powertrain; however the throttle response has a very slight, yet noticeable lag between throttle input, appropriate downshifts and acceleration when I really gave it some juice. This is no serious concern though, since waiting for the car to find the right gear and then hitting Warp Factor 5 is an enjoyable game on its own.

The Quattroporte’s handling was the most pleasant surprise of the entire experience. This is a big car – longer than the current long wheelbase S-Class. So you would not expect it to do the cliche “shrinking” that some large cars like the Ferrari FF do when you introduce it to a set of corners. And while I’m not an individual with very much to compare this car to, I can report that, when taken through some curvy Mulholland roads, this car does pretty well. I would not go so far as to say that it truly shrinks around the driver, but when placed into a bend, it felt like a much smaller, sportier and lighter sedan –a very impressive feat for a car I’d never thought to call a legitimate, capable sport sedan.

I drove the Maserati Quattroporte a few weeks ago. And boy, do I have good things to say about it.

My first and current car is a Honda Odyssey minivan, and I love it. I’ve loved cars for years, and I thought that, with my passion for automotive journalism, it’s about time I started writing my own material.

For the longest time I didn’t know what to write about. This changed when my friend’s dad handed me the keys to this trident-bearing steed and told me, “Have fun with it.”

Today, looking back on the experience, I feel like I’m one of the luckiest teenage gear-heads in the world. The experience was incredible, and is one I’ll constantly look back on with a smile on my face.

Final Remarks

This really is a fantastic car in every aspect. If you want a luxurious, sporty, comfortable, and capable full size sedan, it’d be a crime for you to overlook the Quattroporte. While it is not the greatest car in all of those categories, it strikes a very impressive balance, while also providing a characteristic that’s rare in most cars on sale today – character.

The only other car that I’ve driven that comes close to the Maserati is a 991 Carrera S Cabrio, and while I do like that car more because of its noise, speed and looks (among many other factors), the Quattroporte was a pleasant surprise. If I had to drive either the Porsche or the Maserati for the rest of my life, I’d choose the trident.

My Ratings:

Exterior: 8/10

Interior: 9/10

Acceleration: 8/10

Braking: 7/10

Ride: 9/10

Handling: 7/10 Gearbox: 9/10

Toys: 8/10

Audio: 9/10

Value: 9/10

Overall: 82/100

This really is a fantastic car in every aspect. If you want a luxurious, sporty, comfortable, and capable full size sedan, it’d be a crime for you to overlook the Quattroporte. While it is not the greatest car in all of those categories, it strikes a very impressive balance, while also providing a characteristic that’s rare in most cars on sale today – character.

The only other car that I’ve driven that comes close to the Maserati is a 991 Carrera S Cabrio, and while I do like that car more because of its noise, speed and looks (among many other factors), the Quattroporte was a pleasant surprise. If I had to drive either the Porsche or the Maserati for the rest of my life, I’d choose the trident. 

Check out the full review, with videos and more photos, on OppositeLock.