Category: Large Executive 
Price Range: No data available
Most engaging to drive of all the uber-saloons, great engine, sumptuous cabin, full of character.
Frightening fuel consumption.
Perfect for the company director who still loves driving.
This is the fifth car in Maserati's turbulent history to wear the Quattroporte ('four-door') badge. But, unlike previous efforts which were highly characterful and deeply flawed in equal measure, this one deserves to be taken very seriously.
It features a 396bhp version of the sonorous and scorching 4.2-litre V8 familiar from other Maseratis, and has the same basic chassis layout with double-wishbone suspension. The Skyhook adaptive damping system appears too, except on the Sport GT S.
The Quattroporte has had some revisions since its launch in 2004. In early 2007 buyers were presented with a choice of two six-speed transmissions. The original version with a sequential-shift, paddle-activated gearbox - an automated manual - is now labelled DuoSelect. It's joined by the Automatic, with a conventional torque converter. The two transmissions are priced identically, and the vast majority of buyers are going for the Automatic.
Whereas the DuoSelect has a transaxle, with the gearbox mounted at the rear, the Automatic has its gearbox in front of the driver. The Automatic also has a wet sump, rather than the noisier, more sporting dry sump of the DuoSelect, and it gets blue cam covers rather than the red ones of the DuoSelect.
The other major change was the arrival of the Sport GT S version in late 2007. It has conventional single-rate damping, stiffer springs, a lower ride height, wider rear tyres, bigger front brakes and less chrome. It's available only with the full automatic gearbox.
