Hey, I dont live at home anymore, but my dad was asking me a few questions, and I figured I would try to get some feedback here as well. He currently drives a 03 745li, previous to that he had a 750IL, and then before that he had another (his first) 750IL. He told me he loves the look of the quattroporte, and he went out to Maserati STL, and loved the drive/look/feel of the car. He also liked that he can order it in any color combo he wants. Being a retired man who was never really into performance cars, (his 03 745 has 18k miles on it, and I think both 750s had like 23k miles on them when he traded them) do you think the new quattroporte automatic is a good option for him? Any real problems he should know about, should he stay away completely?
THe car is fantastic and easy to handle with the standart ZF-auto. I drove one example about 7 weeks ago and can only say that it goes very fast in sport-modus and is very comftable. So, no reason not to buy one! Ciao! Walter
It's fantastic. The ZF trans is superb and should be as dependable as his BMW. It is more more fun. Feels lighter. I am a M3 freak and getting a QP or Granturismo. I loved it and it kept me entertained, and I own two f-cars. Downside? Service not included.
Absoulutely!!! My opinion may be bias, but the car stands on it's own merit. It is the most beautiful , unique looking "luxury" sedan out there. It is a lot more fun to drive than anything the Germans, English and Japanese can come up with.
I got mind 2 weeks ago. Every time I open up the throttle, it just put a smile on my face and feels completely satisfied.
I have a 745LI and have driven the QP (duoselect). The biggest difference for your dad will be space. The LI feels like your sitting in your living room and driving whereas the QP feels much more intimate. Its not at all uncomfortable (I'm 6'4" 200lbs approx), he just wont have all the EXTRA room. Its more like a 5series with extra space. Also the entire demeanor of the car is more urgent and visceral, the sound of the engine/exhaust, the response of the steering wheel, etc etc. The biggest limiting factor would be the DuoSelect, but with the advent of the Auto, I think he'll be fine. Just be ready for a more sporting lux sedan!
Good thing the steering wheel is in the front seat. kidding. The auto QP is a great car. smooth and easy to drive a long distance in, but if you need to be reminded that you have 400hp, push the little thing on the right down by your feet and it will let you know whats up.
my wife had a QP, the service in Adelaide was lousy, the tranny (sequential) mode very second hand, electrical glitches too many to name, depreciation was just like a Jaguar or rock falling from the sky, look factor was great, overall stick to german, it works!
I heard rumors about a QP automatic. The question is, when they say automatic do they mean torque converter automatic or another version of CC ?
FYI, the QP has a smaller interior than a BMW 5 series...I drove a QP several times early last year trying to decide between it and an e60 M5 to replace my 117k mile e39 M5. As a Ferrari owner I really wanted to go with the QP as long as it would suit my need for a 5 passenger sedan. However, the back seat in the QP was just too small as compared to the M5 back seat, especially the middle ...so, I went ahead and bought an e60 M5 and have driven it for over 24k miles so far with no problems... my 9, 11 and 13 year old fit in the M5 back seat fine whereas they hated the back seat of the QP on our several test drives...
the back of a 5series is a tight fit, especially with the middle tunnel, i found it to be less comfortable than the QP i sat in.
That's odd to me as I test drove a QP several times with my wife and three children aboard and they all agreed that the M5 back seat had much more room...the center back seat in the QP is raised up higher that the two outside seats which gives a tight fit and lack of headroom in that middle seat. You can also just read the leg/hip/shoulder/headroom specs and see the 5 series has more room in inches...the QP does sound better though...
The DuoSelect isn't bad once you get used to it, in fact it's my preferred transmission, but it's definitely not a fan of stop and go traffic. The best thing you can do for these cars is to drive them hard. It's a sports car in a suit. (Don't listen to Clarkson and his flappy-paddle rants. Most writers don't spend enough time with a car to learn its nuances and the right way to use the transmission. It would be like if they'd only driven automatics their whole life, and then jump in a manual, only to call it rubbish because they can't shift it smoothly.) The automatic has some of the best software of any I've driven, and Maserati really worked out the few little things that came up in the earlier model year cars. (Things like the rear brakes would squeak if the car wasn't driven hard, or the original hardware in the dash would loosen and squeak, repaired by a hardware change kit) They've put a lot of time and money into their quality control, and we now rarely see cars in for service beyond regular maintenance. - More than one of my customers that has traded out of an A8, 7-series, or Mercedes has commented that their QP is more reliable.
I own a QP auto, and I agree that it's a really fun car, but your father will have to be prepared for some compromises. For one, even the Auto is not a great stop and go car - it tends to want to surge forward in first gear, which can get a little annoying. I've taken to driving it in "Ice Mode" around the short streets of San Francisco, because it starts in second, which provides for a smoother, more deliberate acceleration. That said, the Auto is light years ahead of CC in stop and go traffic, and you can get it with paddles (a $1500 option), which provide crisp but smooth shifts at your fingertips. I'll also add that the view out the front is quite good - the windshield is positioned so low that you feel like you're looking directly down onto the pavement in front of you.
I bought my wife one as a Valentines day present this year, she loves it. She came out of a 745 which she liked as well. The gas pedal is more touchy then most cars I've driven, but iIm sure he would get used to it. I think it is a great looking car. It is smaller than the BMW but my wife has a big SUV to drive as well and that was not an issue for us.
