Overview

This is the latest version of the Maserati GranTurismo. As the name suggests, this is a GT car in every sense of the word – it’s a big, powerful, luxury coupe, but one that’s set up for continent-crossing comfort rather than pin-sharp responses on the racetrack.

As such it’s the foil to Maserati’s much more hardcore MC20 supercar, with which the range-topping GranTurismo shares its V6 engine. It’s also the partner to the GranTurismo Folgore, Maserati’s flagship all-electric model – and an interesting experiment in offering both a very forward-looking electric powertrain and a positively old-school combustion engine for sale in the same car.

As a luxury GT blessed with exoticism, head-turning looks and almost unparalleled exclusivity, the GranTurismo’s rivals are some really big hitters. The Ferrari Roma is perhaps the obvious choice – hailing from within the same manufacturing group and indeed the same country. But Germany offers rivals in the shape of the Porsche 911 Turbo or Mercedes SL, both very capable and a fair chunk cheaper. Or, taking a step towards supercars, there’s always McLaren’s GT.

What’s it like inside?

Setting aside for a second the violently red leather of our test model the GranTurismo’s interior is nonetheless something of a mixed bag. Boring practicality first – it’s very spacious. A six-foot passenger can sit relatively comfortably in the back seat, and the boot is long, wide, and accessed through a usefully large hatch.

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The front seats are rather less extreme than some of its rivals in terms of bolstering, and this means they’re very comfortable even for larger drivers – ideally suited to this car’s GT spec. There’s no hoicking yourself over large side bolsters, and instead you can simply slide in through large, wide-opening doors.

The dashboard, though covered head to toe in luxurious leather (proper cow hide as well, no vegan alternatives here) is a trifle busy, though. It’s navigated mainly through a pair of infotainment screens. The upper is 12.3 inches diagonally and controls the stereo, the sat-nav, and other entertainment functions. The lower screen is set aside for ‘Comfort’ – 8.8-inches in size, it controls the climate functions, the seats, the ambient lighting and a few driving controls. There’s also a 12.2-inch digital dashboard display for instrumentation.

The interface on all of these could do with some work, and the feeling of luxury quickly dissipates after you’ve interacted with the screens and covered them in greasy fingerprints. It’s a tale of two halves for the steering wheel, too – gorgeous, aluminium gearshift paddles can’t make up for a selection of glossy, nasty buttons that wobble under the thumb.

Maserati GranTurismo engines

So far we’ve only driven the range-topping Trofeo model. This uses a 3.0-litre ‘Nettuno’ V6 engine, tuned to produce a mighty 550hp and 650Nm of torque. Sure, this is a GT car, but it’ll also do 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds and go on to a top speed of 199mph.

There’s also a (slightly) lesser Modena, which has 490hp and 600Nm for slightly reduced headline figures of 3.9 seconds and 188mph.

You can read our full review of the all-electric Maserati GranTurismo Folgore here.

What’s it like to drive?

That mighty V6 is a little muted at first startup, useful if you’ve checked out of your five-star hotel early and don’t want to wake any of the other oligarchs. Leave the GranTurismo in its most comfortable settings and it’s a very friendly car indeed. The gearbox slushes ratios together smoothly, and the whole car is very refined. We tested a left-hand drive model, but even this didn’t feel too big and ungainly for city centre use – you can quite easily judge where the corners of that thrusting bonnet are, and over-the-shoulder visibility isn’t bad either.

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At a cruise the standout feature is the ride, which is impeccable. It’s not pillowy soft, but it’s perfectly judged to smooth the corners off road imperfections without becoming totally uncommunicative. Combined with the excellent seats, the GranTurismo is a spectacular mile-muncher. It’s even quite economical – we saw 28mpg after a couple of hours of the British motorway system.

Wake the sleeping beast by flipping the GranTurismo into its Sport or even more hardcore Corsa modes, though, and it’s a different story. The exhaust sound is boosted and the gearbox snaps through ratios viciously quickly. It’s surprisingly nimble for what’s quite a large car, too – it’s balanced, yet can be playful if you push it to the edge.

It therefore ploughs the middle ground between more hardcore and focused offerings such as the Ferrari Roma or McLaren GT, and other softer grand tourers such as the Bentley Continental GT.

What else should I know?

You’ll need deep pockets to buy a GranTurismo. The base price for the Trofeo model we’re testing here is £159,630 – and that only goes up if you want things like a premium paint colour or upgraded stereo.

That does mean it undercuts something like a Ferrari Roma, but a Mercedes SL or Porsche 911 with 98% of the ability (and, if we’re honest, better interiors and build quality) will be significantly cheaper.