Has anyone here owned or driven a Gran Turismo? Coupe or Vert? Just curious on your impressions and compared to XK.

 

I cross shopped the MC before buying my second XKR. IMO, they are less reliable, cost more to maintain, are not as sport oriented, are under powered and too expensive. However, the MC sounds hot and the quality of the interior is good, that's it. I have always said, the XKR is the best GT on the road for the price.

 

When I was shopping cars, my wife and I took one for a test drive. Like DGL, pointed out, the interior was magnificent, the throttle sound was intoxicating and I thought the exterior was beautiful. I had my mind made up that this was the one, but I had made an appointment to take the Jag for a drive , so I felt compelled to show up. Thank God I did. A few minutes behind the wheel and I completely forgot about the Grand T. Saved a barrel load of money, too. I have my wife to thank because she guilted me into showing up for that test drive.

 

I sat in a couple but never drove. I thought it was just a little too ostentatious for a daily driver. Lately I was wondering if I might have liked it... Thanks Syd for clearing that up! I can go back to enjoying my beauty without regret!

 

I saw one for the first time and followed it on the highway in Naples while on vacation. I thought it was absolutely stunning looking in its dark blue color, and the sound was spectacular. I couldn't get to the local dealer quick enough, but quickly got scared off by all the things mentioned above that are common to all exotics and bought the XKR instead.

The XK will always be the better choice for most buyers, but not to the buyer looking for something more exotic. High costs to purchase and service are a given, and accepted. A big part of the car's appeal is its Ferrari engine, and while most of us would shudder at the cost of servicing it, buyers of it don't. I think most would find that all exotics have a number of "issues", like too expensive, loud, flashy, hard to get in and out of, can't park just anywhere, draw too much attention, very limited dealer network, can't put on the miles without killing its value, ect, ect, but the appeal of an exotic is undeniable...and some of those issues would appeal to some buyers. I'm sure there's a few happy Maserati owners. Maybe check out their owners forum to see what issues they have.

Bruce

 

What about size? Isn't the Maserati enormous??

 

I use to own a Biturbo in the early 90's and frequent a Maserati forum. Just wanted to see what people think that are not on that forum, but obviously have good taste whilst owning an XK.

For me, the Gran Turimso does not offer much value. Construction is not innovative, much of the interior is not leather, and the performance is not near best of class. That being said, it is a stunning looking car with a real back seat. My friend leased an '07 Qporte Automatico and car ran flawless. I drove it and wasn't overly impressed. It felt like an Acura RL with cool exhaust note. Not as raw as I thought it would be... Up till then, the newest Italian car I had been in was a F355, so expectations were high.

The Gran Turismo sypder interests me for the back seat and a little more storage space, but will it be as engaging to drive and as well built? I want to see Maserati succeed as much as the next guy. Will just have to go to the dealer and drive one and see.

No immediate plans on changing cars. First choice is to stick with British marques.

 

I mostly agree... the steering was a lot tighter to me and the car felt a lot lighter to drive.

As far as the sound goes... It's an Italian car with a ferrari engine and sounds like it. The high revving engine is more refined than the 5.0 brute but not as strong.

I have some friends with these (2) and either of them could buy a Jag in no time with the 10-15K a year they have put into maintaining them.

 

I looked at a 06 some special edition Nero Skyhook F1...driving it cured me.

 

Doesn't sound too promising. Is there nothing else with a back seat and a drop top that appeals to you? I think the upcoming XK has their sights set on your preferences.

 

A new XK would be out of my price range. XK has enough of a back seat for me, but the vert is really tight in the trunk. Haven't seen the Maser vert trunk... Just day dreaming a little... I am sticking with what I got unless fortune changes for better or worse. I could be very happy with a later model Alfa Spyder for days I really want the top down and just leave it at that.

 

 

Very nice indeed.

 

I had a '07 QP Sport GT with the automatic transmission (not the duoclutch) and while a real head-turner it did not perform up to my expectations (sounded great though like others have said). The biggest problem with owning any Maserati is that you have to work with the Ferrari dealers and they have absolutely no sense of urgency. Most of their customers consider their cars weekend toys and don't much care how long it takes to service or repair them. Mine had a camshaft issue that had it in the shop for over a month--glad it was in warranty. No telling how much that cost--I would never own one out of warranty. My QP was a daily driver and in the 2 years that I owned it I put on about 24,000 miles and got absolutely killed on resale because it is considered an exotic and the market is flooded with really low mileage examples from weekend only drivers.

 

Coming out of the Ferrari community along with attending a lot of the Ferrari challenge races I don't thing there is a more distinctive sound as the howl of the V8 at 8K rpm's. Unlike the XKR which I hear as a growl there is a distinct difference. I love them both.

 

We will all concede that Jag has some great sounding exhausts but there is no comparison with Ferrari.

The 5.0 does make more usable power though

 

The Gran Tourisimo is an extraordinary vehicle to look at and listen to, both inside and out. Interior is just beautifully crafted. The new Ghibli, on the other hand looks much like a Camry. But, as long as Ferrari controls the purse strings, the Maserati line will not be permitted to out perform any of its sister company's offerings. It is the second tier Ferrari.

Therefore, the XKR which does not have these artificial restrictions has more horsepower and greater performance parameters.

As for the Quattroporte, it has lots of service issues, and talk about depreciation, it's terrible.

 

I guess everyone has a different opinion, but me, I think the Maserati looks kind of...weird. I owned a 422 biturbo when I lived in Italy back in the late '90's and it was a blast to drive. A very solid performer at the time. Because of that I briefly considered a Maserati, (very briefly). I asked both my daughters and my sons for their opinion and not one child, (some are adults now but their still my kids), picked the Maserati over the XKR. In fact, all of them unanimously agreed, (a first let me tell you) that the Jag was far more beautiful. I never made it to the dealer to test drive one. I had already seen too many youtube videos of the XKR pulverizing Maseratis, Aston Martins, 'Vettes, etc, etc ,etc.

 

I too shopped for an MC and had several to chose from in the DC area. At first it seemed more desirable and rarer. But now that the current XK is being discontinued my XKR-S maybe rarer than most of the Gallardos and Italias and certainly Maseratis I encounter on car meets.
But before I knew that I also contemplated the cost of ownership and the distance to the dealership compared to the Jag with 5 year of service included and the dealership down the road.
And as answer to the above Maserati video, here is my favorite XKR-S video

 

Just a thought. Don't know what your situation is but one thing that you may want to think about ti the resale of these. I am not positive but I have heard from some sources that the re sale is HORRIBLE. Much worse than other comparable cars