15 Jan 07
You can see why Maserati did it. Did what? Fitted the Quattroporte saloon, that most soulful and most dashing of all high-end plutocrats' wheels, with a sequential paddle-shift manual-based transmission instead of a proper torque-converter automatic. A simple manual transmission would have been wrong for such a car, but with its strongly sporting, driver-pleasing aura a Maserati should nevertheless engage its pilot as well as cosseting him/her.
Hence the 'robotised manual', Maserati's version of the Ferrari F1-Shift. Fitted to a Maserati GT or Spyder it's called Cambiocorsa ('race-change') and acts manually unless asked to shift automatically, which it then gamely but rather surgingly tries to do. Fitted to the QP it's renamed DuoSelect and it defaults to automatic mode on start-up because, perhaps, that's what you expect in a very grand saloon, however sporting.
That would be fine if the automatic mode was smooth enough not to infuriate its driver and nauseate the passengers. Sadly, it isn't, unless you second-guess the automatic shift points and ease the accelerator accordingly. And that's harder than controlling the shifts yourself.
Nevertheless, Maserati has staunchly defended the DuoSelect. It's part of the car's sporting character, its race-bred technology; it's what sets the QP apart from its peers.
That last one is certainly true enough. But what every pundit has been saying ever since the Quattroporte's launch two years ago is: 'Please give this car a proper automatic gearbox.'
