Life is full of decisions. In this instance: should I be a good son, or should I safeguard my (eventual) inheritance? My father has always had a penchant for Italian things. Usually Italian furniture or Italian clothing. But probably an Italian luxury sedan as well. A moot point as long as no such vehicle was offered in this country. But last fall Maserati introduced latest Quattroporte (sounds fancy, but just Italian for "four door"). And I had a dealer just up the street. The base price of roughly $100,000 was more than he usually spent on a car, but well within his reach. If he liked the car, he could well buy it. Hence my dilemma.

Well, I decided to be a good son.

Styling

Not long ago I thought the Quattroporte perhaps the sportiest looking sedan on the market. Then the Mercedes CLS appeared, and in comparison the Maserati looks a bit upright and dated.

Or maybe it's just classic? The big Italian sedan's designers clearly ignored all of the latest trends. You'll find no edges and bizarrely intersecting surfaces, no busily designed headlamps extending halfway up the fender. Instead, just a smoothly flowing organic shape led by a classic oval grille. Much like a Maserati coupe extended to include a second pair of doors. But with far better proportions than the coupe.

The Quattroporte is about the same size as an S-Class or A8, yet doesn't look so large. Partly this is because curvaceous cars tend to appear smaller than they are. But the rearward placement and relatively small size of the car's relatively small cabin also play a role.

The longer I looked at the sedan at the dealer, the more I came to appreciate its styling once again. It nicely balances elegance and sportiness, presence and dynamism. It should age gracefully. The gunmetal blue suits the body's curves especially well. Lighter shades, not so well.

Either of the available wheels looks good on the car, though the optional 19s, with fewer spokes, look better.

The interior styling also has a classic rather than trendy character. Its very Italian in both materials and design. The seat pattern would not look out of place in a vintage Ferrari. Little details like leather pull straps that rotate downward than pulled lend a custom coachwork quality. I especially like the "floating" upholstered panel atop the instruments.

Taken as a whole, the Quattroporte's interior is a much warmer and sportier place to be than the cabin of a German luxury sedan. Even compared to the Mercedes CLS, a German car that tries so hard for an Italian flavor. I drove an Audi A8 and Jaguar XJR later the same day. Neither could approach the Maserati's interior for warmth, sportiness, and simply feeling special.

The quality of materials is generally first rate. the leather on the seats and doors looks and feels especially rich. (The orangish-tan shade in the car I drove helps, but this interior looks good even in the lighter tans and grays.) The interior colors can be highly customized. Want a contrasting color for the instrument panel top, piping, or stitching? If you have the cash, you can have whatever colors you want.

The only partial exception: the black plastic around the minor controls can be seen as either too cheap for the car or classic Italian. I choose to see it as classic Italian. This dealer has a garage full of used Ferraris. They tend to be full of similar plastic.

Accommodations

Italian cars have traditionally been cursed with odd driving positions, and this one does not disappoint. The steering column is mounted a good inch or two higher than I'd like it. I could just raise the seat to compensate, but then it would be an inch or two higher than I'd like it. My father chose to raise the seat. I chose to live with an oddly-positioned wheel. I could have tilted it down, but then the wheel itself would have been at an odd angle.

Looking back, my father's solution was better. After all, the instruments are also mounted high. For a clear view over them, you'll want to raise the seat.

About the steering wheel itself: the car in question had the optional wood rim. Unlike most such wheels, the entire rim is wood. This way you don't have to deal with a variable texture, but I'd still much prefer the standard leather-wrapped wheel. The wood might be pretty, but (like all recent wood steering wheels, highly coated for safety and durability) it feels like hard plastic. A car company couldn't make people buy a car with a hard plastic wheel (unless it looks like tortoise shell.) There's a reason for that. Leather feels nicer.

The driver's seat is comfortable--as they all are in this class of car. Though the seat is well-bolstered for aggressive driving, the bolsters are spaced a bit far apart for my average frame. So I slid a bit before making contact with each aggressive transition. Larger men will find the fit more to their liking. The seat's large assembly of controls (this car had the optional heat/cool/massage seats) are located around its base, where they're not easy to see and operate.

Published reviews had led me to expect little of the Quattroporte's rear seat. So I was surprised to find it a very comfortable place to be. I had only four or five inches between my knees and the front seatback, rather than the eight or so inches I have in the back of a large Benz, Audi, or BMW, but a couple inches is plenty as far as I'm concerned. Far more important is the fit and position of the seat. And the Maserati's rear seats are bucketed more than those of other luxury sedans. They coset you. Power adjustments for tilt and recline help; there's plenty of thigh support to be found. Put it all together and I found the rear seats even more comfortable than those up front.

The car in question had the heated/cooled/massage option in back as well. The massage function seemed odd to me, with a cycled inflation and deflation of bladders in the lumber and under-thigh regions. The salesman claimed that rollers performed the massaging, but I know inflation when I hear and feel it. The Audi's massaging seats used rollers. Much better. I'd get just the heating function and save $4,300.

On the subject of silly options, the car also had the optional entertainment system. Not only is the $7,400 price obscene, but the screen was rigidly mounted at nearly headrest height between the front seats. Those up front kept bumping it with their elbows. And I shouldn't use "rigidly" too strongly. While it could not be folded out of the way, it didn't feel like it would sustain much of a bump.

More of a necessity is the $635 CD changer. The standard navigation system uses CDs, so you cannot use both it and play a CD at the same time with the standard CD player. An oddity: the optional changer mounts beneath the steering column. I suppose the driver can easily access the changer there, but still an odd place to put it.

Now we come to the weakest part of the big Maser's interior: its small trunk. Supposedly there are over 15 cubic feet to be filled back there, a respectable number. But my eyes saw only about ten cubic feet, not so good. A storage compartment is located under the trunk floor, but its only good for a couple more cubes and I don't believe the stats usually include such compartments.

On the Road

Though my father and I were the only customers in the showroom, many cars were being moved about the dealership, among them an Enzo and an F430. Italian engines simply sound different, more highly tuned and raw. This is the case with the Quattroporte as well. Though its V8 has been refined for luxury sedan duty, you'll never mistake it for the eight in a German or British sedan. They burble and rumble, it moans and shreiks. The power peak might be at 7,000 RPM--no other way to 400 horsepower out of 4.2 liters without forced induction--but the engine rushes to this peak with gusto. Often a higher power peak must be obtained by sacrificing the low end, but this engine responds instantly to the throttle and just plain pulls. Even the torquier supercharged Jag didn't grab me in the gut with such force.

The transmission, a six-speed manual with an automated clutch, contributes heavily to the character of the powertrain. As with any manual, the mechanical linkage between the engine and wheels makes the engine feel especially powerful and its reponses especially quick. With an automatic there's a torque converter, a fluid linkage, to soften the engine's inputs. The manual can be shifted using steering-column-mounted paddles (that don't turn with the wheel) or by leaving it in automatic mode. Quick, smooth shifts in either mode require more practice than is possible during a test drive. Neither my father nor I felt we did a very good job of it. However, the salesman assured us that he could make it shift very smoothly through proper modulation of the throttle. Much like with a conventional manual. With the Maserati, however, you're not personally in control of the clutch, so you must learn to work with the computer that is. Most luxury sedan buyers won't want to put so much effort into driving the car; nothing limits the breadth of the Quattroporte's appeal so much as this transmission.

As with a conventional manual, you want to set the brake when parking this car. Turn the engine off with the transmission in gear and it will hold the car in place. But stop in neutral (or in gear with the engine running) and the big sedan will roll.

Even if the V8's bottom end were soft you'd be hard pressed to tell, as the transmission's gears are very tightly spaced. At full throttle the engine remains at the top of its powerband. Even in sixth the engine spins 4,000 RPM at 90, about 50 percent faster than the typical luxury sedan engine. As a result, on the highway you'll have to downshift a gear at most. Generally all the power you'll need is there in top gear.

The cost of such short gearing: poor fuel economy. The Quattroporte is rated at 12 city 16 highway, good for a $3,700 gas guzzler tax. Never has a seventh and even an eighth gear seemed so necessary.

The Quattoporte's powertrain is designed for sporty handling. The dry sump (i.e. no low-hanging oil pan) engine is mounted low in the chassis just behind the front wheel centerline. The tranmission is located at the rear of the car, and is thus technically a transaxle. This yields a slightly rear-heavy weight distribution--rare in a front-engined car, much less a luxury sedan--and a low polar moment of inertia. So the car turns readily (at least for one with a lengthy 120-inch wheelbase) and feels very balanced when doing so. The A8, in comparison, feels ponderous and nose-heavy. While the Maserati easily follows the intended line, the big Audi wants to head for the curb, outside front tire squealing all the way.

All is not glorious with the Maserati's handling, however. The steering could be quicker and provide more feedback. As it is, it has a dated feel to it, with low effort, not much gain as it's turned, and a moderately numb character. I recall a similar feel in older Mercedes. The Audi and the Jaguar were also fitted with low-effort steering systems, but the British car's in particularly felt more directly connected to the front wheels.

Ride quality fits the Quattroporte's sporting nature. Meaning it's firm and can approach busy on bad surfaces (though it never becomes downright harsh). My father, who's usually very sensitive in this area, did not mind the ride. But I think that's because he was having such an unexpectedly good time driving the car. It's much more likely to be an issue for passengers than for the driver.

Noise levels are a bit higher than the very low luxury sedan norm. Most of the additional noise emanates from the engine compartment courtesy of that short gearing. But since the engine sounds so wonderful you won't mind. Just listen and enjoy.

Pricing

The reason I encouraged my father to look at the Quattroporte in the first place was its reasonable base price. Though a price increase (thanks to the declining dollar) and that big gas guzzler tax push this price to $106,850, this is still less than you'll pay for a comparable Mercedes, BMW, or Audi. Sure, its an eight, but it performs like the twelves in the German sedans. So it isn't quite fair to compare the Maserati to the German V8s. With the partial exception of the 2006 BMW, they're not nearly as powerful nor nearly as quick. And even if they did match the Italian horse for horse, they would not feel a sporty or as special. The Quattroporte looks and feels like an exotic car. The German cars, even with V12s, look and feel relatively pedestrian. In sum, the Maserati is essentially an exotic car at a regular (super-premium) car price.

Now that I've defended the reasonableness of the base price, I can take a few jabs at the options. Some are reasonably priced. Wood trim at $425 to $595 and rear park sensors at $675 are not bad values. But $1655 for the sunroof, $2,645 for the 19" wheels, and $775 for each pair of heated seats are getting a bit steep. And five large for each pair of heated/cooled/massage seats is outrageous. Ultimately, while a decently equipped car can be had for about $115,000, it's not too hard to option the Quattroporte up to, and beyond, $130,000. Personally, I'd try to go easy on the options.

Last Words

It wasn't easy to get my father to drive this car. He wasn't initially attracted to its styling, and simply couldn't see himself owning an Italian car. But driving the car spoiled everything else for him. Afterwards, the A8 and XJR were just ho-hum. And an Acura RL? Totally boring.

I wasn't affected quite as much, but I understand what he's going through. I've noted the Quattroporte's faults, but in the context of the whole package they don't much matter. The Quattroporte's elegant yet sporty styling, lusty engine, stylish interior, and generally exotic character make any other large sedan, even a top-performing sedan like a BMW 7-Series, seem boringly ordinary.

The poor man might well be hooked. A good chunk of my future inheritance might end up in Italy. And I'll have only myself to blame.

My reviews of related vehicles:
BMW 7-Series
Mercedes S-Class
Amount Paid (US$): 130,000
Model and Options: Most options, including comfort seats and $7,400 entertainment system