[K-A]

Apologies for having to take a JPEG of it, but I couldn't find it posted anywhere online and hopefully it's legible enough. Basically, the reviewer has a lot of criticisms of the car, and about all of them echo exactly what I've observed the naysayers of it have said on this forum, from the throttle, to interior bits, various build feel aspects, Chrysler/Dodge sharing, infotainment/display, etc. He also seemed peeved by the stiff ride, which I haven't read as much about before but have heard noted that it's very "sporty". He had especially harsh things to say about the seats, literally where he may be calling them amongst the worst he's experienced, which is interesting as I read someone here state how comfortable they felt theirs was. This tested car has a nice interior color combo as well as the extended leather stitchings, so I'd hate to hear what he has to say about a Base model with the bare dash and bits (as he even alludes to).

What he/they did seem to praise was how sporty the car can feel when in its power band and when you can get the throttle to work snappily. But overall the review seemed focused around the cars build and surrounding characteristics and how shoppers in a segment of 5 Series' and E Classes might react to it.

Finally, as for styling, he notes their feelings that it doesn't carry the emotionality one expects from Maserati, namely at the rear, which I know many will disagree with here. I feel kind of in between, I do think it's a great looking car, but its inherent nature and the segment it represents forceably renders it a lot more conventional and less emotional than any Maserati before it, especially the rear which I also believe can be mistaken for about any Economy Sedan on the road (as they felt as well, "Distressingly Nissan like"). I guess at this cost what can one expect in the "exotic look" regard, but the Ghibli naturally at least currently does look most exotic in class (class being 5 Series/E Class/A6/etc.), as expected.

 

[essexmaserfan]

Still looks fabulous to me.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - ask my wife!

Ticking off the days before i get mine.

 

[KRY]

Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but in some areas I find the criticisms leveled in this review to be very personal and far from objective. For example the comments about the front seats are ridiculous. To my aching back they are without doubt the most comfortable I have ever driven in. As I noted in another thread this observation is based on 8 plus hours behind the wheel on two consecutive days. And I am sorry but when you start your review poking holes in the name of the car,which even the reviewer has the good grace to admit is nit picking, then what follows is seriously devalued as far as I am concerned. This all comes across as someone who went looking " for a fight" . Is the car perfect ? I am not enough of an expert on some of the technical aspects of the car to comment, but what I have seen, touched, and experienced so far has not given me one moment of regret. I wish some of these reviewers would balance THEIR opinions with some real feedback, both good and bad, from people who have put their money down and own the car!

 

[Etodd31856]

Having driven this car for 1K miles, there are so many issues with this article I will have to take the time later on to address each one specifically. In the meantime all I can say it too bad for those who take the advise of this reviewer (who is he anyway KA?) because the actual is not even close to what is described in this article and the the overall review by the professional reviewers is good in fact excellent.............yes it is all not perfect.......but I will be glad that anyone takes this article and makes a buying decision because I do not want them in the club..........go buy a BMW like everyone else...........sorry have to go just blew the doors of another BMW or was it a MB.......which i have now coined the phrase (You have been Mazzed!!!) Later!

 

[HQ1]

(You have been Mazzed!!!) Later!

Is that pronounced with a long or short "A"? I would think the long "A" sounds best, as in aMAZZing. I like it!

...as long as when you blow the doors off the BMWs & MBs you act with Grace, that is

 

[svelte]

I've always just read car mags for insight into the features and specs of a car. Most automotive writers produce rubbish, IMHO. (Ezra Dyer is a notable exception - love his writing style and much of what he says)

 

[culverwood]

 

[tridente]

Pasta must always be served very much 'al dente'; if you don't like it, feel free to eat some place else. I can think of a few choice Italian expressions for some of these reviewers, and one of them begins with Ma Vafffaaaa...and ends in nculo

 

[rsm]

Listen, man, the Ghibli is definitely not without first model year WTFs, but on the whole the car is amazing. Any reviewer not able to reason that out after driving and thoroughly scrutinizing the car is either dishonest or incompetent or, perhaps, both. I mean, he claims the seats are awful -- I have to question if he really sat in the car. He did happen to correctly point out some flaws, but even a broken clock is right twice a day. I dunno, I can't really take this "review" seriously... I'm out.

 

[blunero]

I don't even understand the comparison with an E Class when they're two totally separate price categories.

 

[anderson_b76]

Car and Driver is notorious for slamming anything that isn't a VW/Audi/Porsche product these days. VW Auto Group clearly gives them some sort of perks or payola. It used be this way with BMW, which for the most part BMWs of yesterday earned the praise, but VW/Audi/Porsche leaves me scratching my head many times.

The other issue is, everyone here's MASERATI and their expectations go through the ceiling on what the car "SHOULD BE". What I find incredibly interesting is everyone praises the Quattroporte yet some of those same reviewers slam the Ghibli…why????? They are basically the same car that uses the same parts with the same nav system etc. etc. Same seats too!!! Bottom line here….the Ghibli stomps the S6/S7 as a total package and Car and Driver want to make sure the checks still come from VW so they couldn't give it 5 stars. Motortrend and Automobile and Road and Track praised the heck out of the car conversely.

 

[anderson_b76]

They also got the weight of the car wrong….4124lbs not 4649lbs…just bad journalism.

 

[Etodd31856]

RSM you are correct.........not worth the time to refute..........like piston heads........not in touch with reality or even making a reasonable analysis.

 

[cfelbab]

It's too bad that the review was this negative. The key point appears to be that some aspects of the Ghibli feel rushed to market. If we were honest with ourselves we would probably agree. Most cars don't tell you to service the tire pressure system every time the car sits outside for several hours in cold weather, most cars don't cause the passenger window to open a bit random times when you get in the car, most cars don't have rattles in the speaker system. More "mature" car companies would have caught these issues pre-production so I will give the reviewer that. But, to overlook the many good qualities of this car for that is way overkill and unfortunately many people will read the review and probably not look past that. That's bad for Maserati but maybe it will encourage them to address the issues quickly?

 

[anderson_b76]

It's too bad that the review was this negative. The key point appears to be that some aspects of the Ghibli feel rushed to market. If we were honest with ourselves we would probably agree. Most cars don't tell you to service the tire pressure system every time the car sits outside for several hours in cold weather, most cars don't cause the passenger window to open a bit random times when you get in the car, most cars don't have rattles in the speaker system. More "mature" car companies would have caught these issues pre-production so I will give the reviewer that. But, to overlook the many good qualities of this car for that is way overkill and unfortunately many people will read the review and probably not look past that. That's bad for Maserati but maybe it will encourage them to address the issues quickly?

Well the tire pressure issue is pretty normal as that happened in my last Mercedes, current BMW and Porsche when it got really cold. But agree on your other points.

 

[vuem5]

Car and Driver is notorious for slamming anything that isn't a VW/Audi/Porsche product these days. VW Auto Group clearly gives them some sort of perks or payola. It used be this way with BMW, which for the most part BMWs of yesterday earned the praise, but VW/Audi/Porsche leaves me scratching my head many times.

The other issue is, everyone here's MASERATI and their expectations go through the ceiling on what the car "SHOULD BE". What I find incredibly interesting is everyone praises the Quattroporte yet some of those same reviewers slam the Ghibli…why????? They are basically the same car that uses the same parts with the same nav system etc. etc. Same seats too!!! Bottom line here….the Ghibli stomps the S6/S7 as a total package and Car and Driver want to make sure the checks still come from VW so they couldn't give it 5 stars. Motortrend and Automobile and Road and Track praised the heck out of the car conversely.

Seriously. They would never put a Maserati against 5/6 / MB/S7 models because in their view its a "niche" car, and market, and not worthy of comparison. C&D is annoying like that.

 

[vuem5]

It's too bad that the review was this negative. The key point appears to be that some aspects of the Ghibli feel rushed to market. If we were honest with ourselves we would probably agree. Most cars don't tell you to service the tire pressure system every time the car sits outside for several hours in cold weather, most cars don't cause the passenger window to open a bit random times when you get in the car, most cars don't have rattles in the speaker system. More "mature" car companies would have caught these issues pre-production so I will give the reviewer that. But, to overlook the many good qualities of this car for that is way overkill and unfortunately many people will read the review and probably not look past that. That's bad for Maserati but maybe it will encourage them to address the issues quickly?

Honestly if I read that review and took it at face value I wouldn't bother going to a test drive. It's just way to negative.

C&D is BMW's bitch. If a BMW doesn't win a comparo it'll be filled with lots of disappointments and failed expectations that it would win.

 

[K-A]

Honestly if I read that review and took it at face value I wouldn't bother going to a test drive. It's just way to negative.

C&D is BMW's bitch. If a BMW doesn't win a comparo it'll be filled with lots of disappointments and failed expectations that it would win.

Actually, C&D appear to be trolling BMW as they give them such little credit these days. They're all up Audi's butts. They remind me of ex-fanboys who turned sour on the cars because BMW stopped building cars that were first-and-foremost fun to drive around cones (opposite of what their buyer-base wants, clearly, as BMW gained more market share than ever since they focused on mixing class leading luxury and solidity-which were previously Mercedes' calling cards- with their sporty DNA).

Realistically, I find that cars that win comparisons in these things are usually not the ones I choose, and I tend to always like the cars that get even "last place" in some cases.

As for the Ghibli, I see it two ways. I don't know the car as well as you guys do, obviously, but I do agree with a lot of his preliminary observations. There are elements that can seem "unfinished", things that look pre-production, like misaligned or uneven panel gaps, questionable materials scattered throughout, un-luxury-car-esque sounds when you slam, open, flick, click things, bad fit/finish in areas where the Germans wouldn't show such as how the chrome trim around the greenhouse has a visible seam-line which looks crude and even "crooked" in itself, etc.

I agree with him that "because it's what the Charger has" is unacceptable for a Maserati, but maybe I, like he is asking too much for a Maserati. I really don't think so, as this is a car that practically starts at $70K, and sacrificing in areas like the switchgear, switches (like the horridly cheap light switch and surrounding area) because it's "what the Charger uses" shouldn't be accepted, IMO.

However, on the other hand, you read his article and it seems like the car is an utter POS, totally not ready for production, which obviously is pretty extreme, whether you like the car or not. I think his negative sentiments do echo a lot of the exact negative sentiments I've witnessed here, though as well seem to disregard, mute, or go opposite of the exact opposite, positive sentiments that I've seen here as well.

 

[maserwannabe]

Did I read in this review that it sounds like an F430 and that you will feel nothing but love for the transmission when you drive in manual sport. Ok boys, that says it all ...now, let's keep the masses out of the mazz!

 

[cfelbab]

Actually, C&D appear to be trolling BMW as they give them such little credit these days. They're all up Audi's butts. They remind me of ex-fanboys who turned sour on the cars because BMW stopped building cars that were first-and-foremost fun to drive around cones (opposite of what their buyer-base wants, clearly, as BMW gained more market share than ever since they focused on mixing class leading luxury and solidity-which were previously Mercedes' calling cards- with their sporty DNA).

Realistically, I find that cars that win comparisons in these things are usually not the ones I choose, and I tend to always like the cars that get even "last place" in some cases.

As for the Ghibli, I see it two ways. I don't know the car as well as you guys do, obviously, but I do agree with a lot of his preliminary observations. There are elements that can seem "unfinished", things that look pre-production, like misaligned or uneven panel gaps, questionable materials scattered throughout, un-luxury-car-esque sounds when you slam, open, flick, click things, bad fit/finish in areas where the Germans wouldn't show such as how the chrome trim around the greenhouse has a visible seam-line which looks crude and even "crooked" in itself, etc.

I agree with him that "because it's what the Charger has" is unacceptable for a Maserati, but maybe I, like he is asking too much for a Maserati. I really don't think so, as this is a car that practically starts at $70K, and sacrificing in areas like the switchgear, switches (like the horridly cheap light switch and surrounding area) because it's "what the Charger uses" shouldn't be accepted, IMO.

However, on the other hand, you read his article and it seems like the car is an utter POS, totally not ready for production, which obviously is pretty extreme, whether you like the car or not. I think his negative sentiments do echo a lot of the exact negative sentiments I've witnessed here, though as well seem to disregard, mute, or go opposite of the exact opposite, positive sentiments that I've seen here as well.

You know a lot of reviewers are making too much of the "Chrysler part's bin" issue. I have no problem with that. It is good business sense to leverage across their production platforms things that can help reduce the cost and are not core to the experience or value proposition of the car. Nobody buys a Ghibli because they expect the world's best infotainment head unit. The cost of the computer programmer to build the system could never be recovered against the volume of cars that they sell. Building their own would add thousands of dollars of cost to the car with little practical benefit. Best that they focus on the things that separate the Maserati from other cars (not the door lock controls!) but the engine and the exhaust pipes!