Written by Luke Wilkinson Updated: 12 March 2025

Overview

There’s nothing quite like a Maserati. The brand doesn’t sell very many cars in the UK – even fewer than Ferrari, in fact – and that makes them quite exclusive. But does it make sense for those who want some substance to go with its lashings of style?

Maserati’s reputation precedes it. Since the 1970s, the company has changed owners more times than a badly modified Vauxhall Corsa, all the while battling countless build quality dramas. Historically, that uncertainty has dulled the shine of its cars’ attractive styling and sonorous engines. But the brand insists it’s now cleaned up its act with this – the all-new, second-generation GranTurismo.

As the name suggests, it’s a grand tourer – and grand tourers have been Maserati’s signature dish since it launched the utterly gorgeous 3500 GT in the 1960s. On paper, at least, this car looks like a fine continuation of the breed, as it’s fast in a straight line, neat enough in the corners, achingly pretty and comfortable enough to spend all day tearing down the autostrada on your way to your summer retreat in Portofino.

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But Maserati has a problem. It still hasn’t shaken off the worst bits of its history and, with prices ranging between £125,000 and £200,000 depending on spec, the GranTurismo occupies the same market as the Aston Martin Vantage, Bentley Continental GT and Ferrari Roma.

So, does Maserati’s latest grand tourer trade on more than just its looks and it’s performance? Or would those with the means to buy a GranTurismo be better off opting for one of the more obvious GT car culprits? Scroll down to find out.

What’s it like inside?

Maserati’s already off on the wrong foot because the GranTurismo’s cabin is an odd (and disappointingly obvious) mix of Fiat and Alfa Romeo components. I reckon its switchgear would look out of place on a £60,000 car, let alone one worth twice that amount.

I’ll elaborate. The GranTurismo’s door release buttons and automatic gear selector have been ‘borrowed’ from the Fiat 500 Electric – and they simply don’t match the car’s asking price. The buttons are thin and flimsy, and they all wobble around on their mounts. If Porsche can get the 911’s build quality spot on for the same money, why can’t Maserati?

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Thankfully, some of Maserati’s penny-pinching has paid off. The GranTurismo shares its metal paddle shifters with the Giulia, and they’re nothing short of perfection. They’re heavy, mechanical and immensely satisfying to use. They’re so good, in fact, I found myself using them to click through gears manually when creeping around town.

I’m not stuck on the GranTurismo’s infotainment setup, though. You get a 12.3-inch screen for your media and nav in the middle of the dashboard, beneath which sits an 8.8-inch screen for the climate controls. They look good enough when you first step into the car, but they quickly cheapen once you’ve covered half the dashboard in fingerprint smudges. I’d have much preferred it if Maserati had simply used the Giulia’s dials and buttons.

Comfort

I like the GranTurismo’s seats. They’re wider and more accommodating than the Porsche 911’s standard seats, which is important for a car whose entire purpose is to cover big miles quickly and comfortably. They have loads of adjustment, including a tilt function for the base that provides greater under thigh support for taller drivers.

There’s a surprising amount of space in the rear, too. You can get a six-foot adult on the rear bench, although I’m not sure they’d want to spend all day there. The sloping roofline eats a load of headroom while the bulky front seats restrict your view out of the front. To be fair, though, the GranTurismo isn’t supposed to be a rival for a four-door saloon.

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It’s even quite refined. There isn’t much wind noise whipping around the A-pillars, while road noise is well contained. However, on the sort of battered roads you’ll find in rural Britain, you will hear the suspension working under you as it struggles to prop up the heaving weight of the car. As I’ll explain below.

Safety

Euro NCAP hasn’t yet crash tested the Maserati GranTurismo, but it should perform well in accident. It’s based on the same underpinnings as the Alfa Romeo Giulia – and that scored five stars when it was last tested in 2016.

Granted, that rating is now old enough to have expired, but Euro NCAP’s testers were impressed with how well the Alfa protected its adult and child occupants in both front and side impact tests. In theory, because the Maserati shares the same basic structure, it should have similar crash rigidity. But we’ll never know for certain until one gets smacked around Euro NCAP’s test facility.

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It’s also worth noting how Maserati has scrimped on safety tech. The standard kit list is rather sparse, stretching as far as an automatic emergency braking system, active cruise control, a passive speed limiter, six airbags and some seatbelt reminders.

If you want tech like lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring and a driver drowsiness sensor, you’ll need to fork out £3,600 for Maserati’s advanced driver assistance pack 1. If you’re not bothered about those but want traffic sign recognition and cross-traffic collision assist, that’ll be £3,600 for pack 2. If you want it all, Maserati offers a complete driver assistance pack for £5,160. To be honest, though, I didn’t miss it.

What’s it like to drive?

Like a bigger, heavier, two-door Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, which is by no means a bad thing. I’ll start with the engine. Because it shares so much in common with the Giulia, it has the same intoxicating wave of torque in the mid-range – and it sends the same hilarious parp down the exhaust when you keep your foot welded into the floorboards on upshifts.

The GranTurismo also corners very keenly, which is surprising considering it tips the scales at almost 1,900kg. But Maserati’s improved suspension system does an admirable job of controlling that bulk, especially once you switch the chassis into Sport mode. That firms up the damping and stops the car from rolling around as you string corners together.

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In fact, I reckon the GranTurismo could give a BMW M3 a run for its money on the right road. I say ‘on the right road’ because the Maserati really can’t cope with the sort of broken, badly cambered B-roads you’ll find in rural Britain. The dampers simply can’t handle the weight of almost two tonnes of steel crashing down on top of them, which forced me to spend most of the day crawling around at 30mph to avoid tearing off the undertray.

But – and pay attention at the back, because this is important – when you find a properly maintained road with good sightlines, the GranTurismo is utterly glorious. The steering is fantastically communicative and, when the suspension isn’t being shocked by a sudden crater, it does a fantastic job of explaining what the road surface is doing under your backside. It’s even more impressive when you consider that isn’t the car’s natural habitat.

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The GranTurismo is at its absolute best on motorways, dual carriageways and sweeping A-roads. In other words, places where you can use the engine’s immense power without worrying about the road surface deteriorating to the quality of a farm track as you round the next corner. It’s a devilishly effective tool for covering ground.

What models and trims are available?

There are three versions of the GranTurismo to choose from, the most basic of which is priced from around £125,000. For that, you get a 490hp 3.0-litre V6 engine, staggered alloy wheels (20 inches up front, 21 inches at the rear), air suspension, LED headlights, heated front seats, a wireless smartphone charger and wireless smartphone connectivity.

The Trofeo model gets a 550hp version of the same engine, along with a unique set of staggered alloys, a model-specific body kit that’s been peppered with carbon fibre, a heated steering wheel, Alcantara headlining. an electronic limited-slip differential and an additional Corsa drive mode that backs off the traction control.

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The electric Maserati GranTurismo Folgore sits at the top of the range with a starting price of almost £180,000. Upgrades over the Trofeo include Matrix LED headlights, some copper trim accents and illuminated side air inlets. Maserati also chucks in a home wallbox as part of the package, and you get a three years of public charging access.

Oh yeah, the Folgore also has a lot more horsepower. 761 of them to be exact – but you’ll need to read our review of the car to find out what it’s like to drive.

What else should I know?

Be very, very cautious of the depreciation. If you think you can buy a GranTurismo as an investment, think again because Maserati’s extreme exclusivity doesn’t translate into good residual values. In fact, we found the GranTurismo to be one of the worst depreciating new cars on sale in the UK right now.

After just one year on the road, a GranTurismo will lose more than 40% of its value. That means, if you’re planning on spending more than £200,000 on an optioned-up Trofeo model, you should consider the fact that almost £90,000 of the car’s worth will evaporate by the time its first service rolls around.

You can thank Maserati’s historically poor reputation for that. On the flipside, if you’re shopping used, you’ll get one hell of a bargain. Click through to the next page to read my final verdict on the GranTurismo.