2019 Maserati Quattroporte Review: A Reminder of the Good Times
Cars these days need to be updated constantly to stay relevant. Technology moves at a frightening pace and so does people’s idea of what’s good and what’s not. This rapid shift between opinions often means that things outgrow relevance quickly. This applies to the automotive industry as well. Each year cars are updated to match the demands of the buyers and meet the standards set by the industry.
In the luxury car segment, the competition is cutthroat and one wrong step from a manufacturer can bring the value of their brand crashing down. The Maserati brand has carefully treaded this line. Their first venture into the luxury car segment was back in 2014 and since then they have managed to carve out a niche for themselves. The 2019 Maserati Quattroporte is an update that is meant to test the terrain and see if there is a demand for the Italian carmaker’s blue-eyed boy.
The five trims
Maserati offers the 2019 Maserati Quattroporte in five trims, namely the S, S GranSport, S Q4, S GranLusso, S Q4 GranLusso. The Q4 models give the option of an all-wheel-drive and the cars all come with a V6 engine as standard. To get a more brutish version of the car, you will have to purchase the GTS version, which comes with a 3.8-liter V8 engine.
What is new?
Cosmetically, the new 2019 Maserati Quattroporte gets an updated wheel design, a range of paint jobs, and a few interior options. For the latter, you get a fresh gear lever, the biggest indication that this is indeed the 2019 model and “Pieno Fiore” leather as part of the refresh. You will also get an adaptive LED system with all models. The GTS model gets a brand new grille and side skirts
Engine and performance
All five trims come standard with the V6 but the GTS line gets the second engine option.
GTS
The top of the line 2019 Maserati Quattroporte’s GTS line, which includes both a GranLusso and a GranSport package comes with a rambunctious V8 engine. The 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged engine delivers a respectable 523 brake horsepower of torque
The 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 engine makes a substantial 523 brake horsepower and produces nearly 524 lb-ft of torque. It does zero to sixty in 4.7 seconds and can reach a top speed of around 190mph. These numbers are good, but not enough to beat the best. However, Maserati is not aiming for that. It is aiming to be exclusive in providing a Ferrari-based V8 engine experience in a sedan, which it manages to do so. Naturally, driving this car is simply gratifying, but more on that later.
The rest
With the rest of the cars, you get a 3-liter twin-turbo V6 engine as standard. The vehicle gives you approximately 424 brake horsepower and 428 lb-ft of torque. You get the same ZF eight-speed transmission setup as standard meaning the shifts in gears across all cars feel the same. While this engine is not as powerful as the one in the GTS variants, it still provides ample performance. You get the same cacophonous exhaust system and it feels amazing to let it rip on an open road.
Design
As time progresses and the more you work on something, the better it becomes. Ultimately it reaches a level where it is almost perfect. With the 2019 Maserati Quattroporte, it feels like a culmination of an electrifying design language that wows viewers from the first glance. Italian cars are poster-worthy machines and chances are you’ve had one up on your wall when you were a kid. The latest iteration from Maserati achieves everything an Italian car ever wanted to be, at least from the perspective of looks.
The car’s sharklike appearance looks even more menacing than its predecessors. The scowling grille with its vertical vanes have somehow become more prominent and the trident emblem in the middle is a warning sign that by being around this car you are already breathing rare air. The large LED headlights and the three fenders act like the eyes and the gills of the shark, giving it a deadly look and feel.
The car looks low and widens as you head to the rear, where the quad exhaust setup is there to remind you that under the hood lies a sleeping beast. The standard 19-inch wheels add to the appeal, but if you opt for the 20 or 21-inch wheels, that appeal becomes broader.
The 2019 Maserati Quattroporte is a stunning machine and in a segment dominated by German sedans, it is easy to see why this car is so special.
Interior and features
One of the ways you can tell if a car is distinctly Italian is by the smell of the leather. The moment you step inside the 2019 Maserati Quattroporte you can smell the plushness of the hand-stitched leather. There are options for leather as well as wooden trims that go well with the leather. You will find a touchscreen-based infotainment system that has been lifted from Fiat-Chrysler’s many road cars and in a rather peculiar manner, it adds to the Maserati instead of feeling out of place. While the rest of the switchgear looks a little out of place, the infotainment system does not. It comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
You can feel the supple leather the moment you sit down on the driver’s cabin and hold the thick steering wheel. Adjustable headrests come as standard and the rear seats have an executive option to make it feel a lot more luxurious.
The GranLusso and GranSport
With the GranLusso, you can opt for the Executive sating option that gives you two separate seats at the back with armrests and storage. You also get dedicated climate control, Ermenegildo Zegna silk accents, and a wooden trim for the dash. The front seats get more ventilation and heating there is also a chrome exterior trim along with 20-inch wheels.
The Gransport edition gives you slightly more aggressive styling elements, 12-way adjustable sporty seats, 21-inch wheels, and bright red brake calipers. There is also a carbon fiber dash trim instead of a wooden one. You will also find that there are bits of carbon fiber everywhere on the car. The steering wheel is also sportier and you can find blue-dialed gauges and a blue-dial watch in the car. The latter does terrific justice to the nature of the GranSport and the dash of color feels more in character than it does out-of-character.
Safety
Once again, the Maserati Quattroporte has not been crash-tested in 2019 by both the IIHS or the NHTSA but neither are a lot of other luxury cars in the segment. We reckon it will pass any test with flying colors as there are a plethora of safety features in this car.
You get adaptive LED headlights, rearview cameras, blind-spot monitoring, lane assist, forward-collision warning, emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, pedestrian detection, and stop-go-traffic sign recognition. These are standard and it is good to see that Maserati has kept up with its competitors. Airbags can be found in almost every crevice of the Maserati and this time, they have even included knee airbags.
On-road review
Ultimately it all boils down to how good is the 2019 Maserati Quattroporte on the road? In one word, astonishing. The car is seriously agile and no matter what you throw at it, it has a lightning-quick response. The feedback from the steering and brake pedal is immediate. Turn on the sport mode and the throttle response is sharper. The engine also opens up and as you put your foot down the grunt turns into a growl. The suspension is finely tuned and ensures that the passengers do not feel the sways and the punch from the engine.
It is almost perfect for a road trip and encapsulates the experience of driving around in the Italian countryside. You will have a lot of fun and with an engine that lets you know it’s alive the fun factor will only kick up a notch as you accelerate.
Take the Good with the Not So Good
If you look at all the 2019 models, one thing becomes apparent, the competition has become better, far better. The engine despite being a Ferrari offering feels outdated and lacks the power that some other models offer. The switchgear feels out of place in a luxury car of this standard. While it looks like the reliability issues of the previous models have been fixed, there are certainly no guarantees the 2019 Quattroporte will be without its flaws.
Final verdict
Despite all the nitpicking and the caveats, one thing is for certain, the Maserati Quattroporte is an exclusive car. The competition might be slightly ahead, but one thing that this car offers is its rarity. It is a special car. The Maserati Quattroporte is reminiscent of the idea of an Italian car. It just manages to bring it to life in the 21st century.
It is elegantly beautiful, no matter which angle you look at it. The plush interiors are inviting and oddly comfortable, despite the shape and structure. The ferocious engine is a subtle reminder that this car does indeed have Italian roots.
While it may be outmuscled and outperformed by other competitors in the category, one drive in the open roads will remind you why the Quattroporte exists and who is it catered to. When you take a seat in the 2019 Maserati Quattroporte, it induces a special feeling as it launches through the road and lets out a bellow, tingling every sense in your body. It takes you on a journey that excites and delights and leaving you wondering why you ever doubted the worth of this car.
