MASERATI GHIBLI Q4 CONQUERS
AWD sedan gets real winter creds
We came for the weather. We got a fantastic sports sedan.
The idea — part of Maserati’s push toward practicality — was to come to the winter wonderland that is supposed to be Aspen, Colo., drive the company’s new all- wheel- drive version of the Ghibli and attest to its winter bona fides.
All- year- round everyday motoring is a new message for the storied Italian brand, more renowned for primped and pampered sports coupes than slush- fighting, four- door winter warriors.
Blame the capriciousness of greenhouse gases. While we nor’easterners were under assault from a polar ice cap determined to prove that global warming is a farce, the entire northwest — and Aspen particularly — was enjoying an inordinately warm early spring.
So, we had to make do with flogging the Ghibli S Q4 over one of the twistiest mountain roads this side of the Swiss Alps — the McClure Pass — through some of the most scenic countryside this side of those same Swiss Alps.
What we learned is that, despite said pretence to practicality, the Ghibli’s DNA is still very much Italian sports sedan. The twice- turbocharged V6 — block cast in America, machined and assembled by Ferrari in Maranello, but designed by Maserati — is all puff and pomp.
There’s 404 horsepower ( in the $ 91,950 S Q4 version, a 345- hp, rear- wheel- drive base model retails for $ 82,600) to be had from just three litres, an even stouter 406 pound- feet of torque and a slick shifting eight- speed transmission. So 100 kilometres an hour appears on the big blue speedo just 4.8 seconds after you floor the loud handle.
Considering the Ghibli’s 1,871- kilogram curb weight, that’s excellent, especially since there are only three litres underhood.
Making all this speed even more impressive is that I averaged 8.4 L/ 100 km booting my way up to Aspen from Denver International Airport. That was achieved at an average 130 km/ h, driving mostly uphill and ending up at Aspen’s 2,400- metre elevation.
There is a penalty for this economy, however. Said eightspeed ZF transmission, in its normal mode, is a conservative affair. Short shifting is simply not in keeping with Maserati’s Italian DNA. Thank the Lord, then, for the sport mode, all rip- roaring instant throttle response and shifts so quick they make eye blinks seem interminable.
Toggled into Sport, the ZF downshifts aggressively for corners, holds its gear well past the apex and revs the quick- spinning V6 all the way to its 6,500 redline at anything above three- quarter throttle.
Maserati’s all- wheel- drive system is likewise slanted to the sporty side of safety. Essentially a rear- driver, Maserati grafts an electronically controlled clutch to the rear of the aforementioned ZF gearbox, routes a propshaft through the engine’s sump to the front wheels and then, when the road gets slipperiest, transfers a maximum of 50 per cent of those 406 torques to the front wheels.
The Q4 system is computercontrolled, has myriad sensors that detect even the slightest untoward chassis behaviour and some algorithms that Maserati claims are masterful at preventing wheel spin. At lower speeds, and especially on slipperier ground, the electromagnetic centre clutch is varying torque distribution so quickly that the dashboard’s AWD readout is constantly varying between 0/ 100 and 50/ 50. In most circumstances, though, most of the V6’ s power is transferred rearwards, the Ghibli typically defaulting to a 20/ 80 front- to- rear torque bias and, above 125 km/ h, directing all of the engine’s power rearward unless you’re doing your Sebastian Vettel impression.
Cynics are always decrying the Chrysler influence on the storied marque, but with Auburn Hills’ Uconnect infotainment system being one of the best in the biz, Maserati is well advised to base its Touch Control system on the American product.
The rest of the interior is ( thankfully) very much Italian. Glove soft leather covers almost every surface not covered in real wood — that includes some pretty exotic species like Rovere Chiaro and Ebano. Of course, the Maserati wouldn’t be Italian if it didn’t have some idiosyncrasies. The gauges are on an odd angle, best viewed if you’re 6- foot- 3 or enjoy driving with the seat jacked up to its maximum height. As well, Maserati, obviously worried that small- fisted drivers might have trouble accessing the transmission’s manual mode, made the steering column mounted paddle- shifters as big as elephant ears.
The new Ghibli S Q4 is a wonderful Italian sports sedan. It’s also a very good car.