Maserati Coupe?
 

Kind of a long story, so please bear with me....

With a new addition to the family expected in April, my porsche 996 is about to go from mildly impractical to totally impractical as a weekend family car - basically there's just not enough room in the back to fit two childseats and still drive it.

Top of the list for a replacement is an Audi RS6 avant. I went for a long test drive in one today. I've previously driven one and came away disappointed (it's not a sports car) but I went to today's test drive with different expectations and came away very impressed. It's no 911, but what it does it does very well, and I'd be more than happy to have one.

But....

A day or two ago I was browsing through some old car mags and came across an article on the Maserati Coupe - thought it looked gorgeous - and the article described it as a serious porsche 911 rival, but one which *could* carry 4 adults and luggage in comfort. So on the way back from test driving the RS6 today I stopped off at Maranello Sales in St Albans to have a look at them. They're even better in the flesh, have a gorgeous cabin and 4 proper seats (the boot looked perhaps a little small for a twin buggy, but the salesman was more than happy to let us come back and try it out for size and take the car for a test drive). Just sitting in the stationary car, it feels special.

I've never really had a thing for Maseratis in the past - too many horror stories of beakdowns, rust, things dropping off and residual values dropping through the floor - so to be honest know very little about them. But I've been led to believe that since Ferrari took over, quality and reliability have been much improved. Has anyone here had any personal experience of the Maserati or know anyone who's owned one? I'd be really grateful for any input at the moment because I'm now in a bit of a quandry - the head says just buy the Audi, but the heart says take a serious look at the Maserati!

Thanks,

Gary.

Have a look at their running costs before comitting to one

Hi Gary,

My father had a Maserati 3200GT Assetto Corso, in three years it never let him down as such, and he loved it. However whenever it went into Maranelo for a Service they kept it in for an extra day for warranty recall work of which it "seemed" to have quite a bit. Personally I dont think the car was always the problem. Extended warranty is ridiculously priced too as is servicing costs at Maranello anyway, so check these out. If you're buying new I would't worry about reliability at all.

If the baby seats go in the rear then great, the rear seats are pretty tiny though if you need to maintain any legroom in the front and I wold have thought the baby seats would protrude forward. I don't know how much of the associated baby bits will fit in the boot, it isn't too big! It definately wouldn't get our pram in that's for sure!

Rapid car and great fun to drive. Don't have any experience of the later non turbo GT.

Rgds
Nito

Thanks for the replies.

I asked about running costs and was told about 700 a year on average for servicing. There are no hugely expensive engine-out belt services like on the ferrari according to the salesman. I'd probably look to buy one about 6-12 months old after they've taken their first depreciation hit (which looks pretty big) and run it for a max of 2 years.

The rear seats do look a lot bigger than those in the porsche, but I haven't closely looked at legroom in the rear. The boot (as you say Nito) is pretty small and marginal I think whether the buggy we had in mind would fit. Have to admit it was quite funny chatting to the Maserati salesguy about rear child seats and room for buggies, he admitted that they weren't the typical questions asked by potential buyers :)

Gary.

I'll eat my hat if a mazza 3200 GT will cost £700/year maintenance - think double and add a bit.

Gastro

Last generation M5? Even if it's a saloon I thought the boot was quite big. Mate has an E-class saloon (same class car) and two kids, and he's happy with that. From what I read, RS6 is rocket powered but a little dull.

What you've read about the RS6 is true. It's very quick and "nice" to drive, but it's not an involving sports car.

I'd agree that the M5 is the logical choice...but my wife doesn't like them at all, and they just don't really do it for me. It's hard to explain but it's a case of all or nothing for me somehow, and if I can't get something with the same raw appeal my 911 has, I'll just go for the extreme family practical option which is the RS6.

Gary.

I was choosing between the 'practical' Maserati GT and the M3 CSL(that car just has 'something' that no other BM has) when along came baby number 3 making both choices redundant. Did ask the same questions regarding child seats and boot space though LOL The Maserati was very tempting...
www.pistonheads.com gassing is a good source of info.
My concern about the GT was that I didnt want their semi auto gearbox, but the manual isn't as easy to sell on...and they do seem to be a bit fragile according to bbs reports...of course people are generally more vocal about problems so that does pop up alot on the BBS
The Audi is a well built car, but I found it uninspiring as a 'sports car', well it isn't one. I can just never justify owning one because it is soo compromised...it really does make sense to consider a 'lesser' family lugger and keep the Porsche for occasional use..or even trade 'down' to a 993 to keep for fun..we had an S4 avant for a short time before deciding that the additional running costs (fuel/range/insurance/servicing) just couldn't be justified.
As I said on another thread, our C4S is about to go, but thats because with 3 kids it is really no more practical than a Boxster (or any other 2 seater) so I reckon I may as well go the whole midlife crises thing now...we have an A3 Sportback for the family town trips and the 22B for trips to Scotland/weekends away though...which is nice.
Sportback is lovely, Audi cabins really are very nice places to sit.
Cman

Chuck, are you following Mog's thread on his new Forester STi?

No Brendan. To be honest I can't believe the Forester would be better than an Impreza STI..so won't replace the 22B. And as a 3 kid car they aren't that great. The middle rear seat is on a serious hump, the space between rear seatbelts prohibits 2 boosters and a baby seat in the back, and you can't disable the front airbag for the bigger kids should there only be 4 in the car. It therefore becomes much the same as the S4 in my book..nice and quick sure, but compromised compared to the saloon.
Rgds
Cman

Very similar scenario...
 

Hi,

hopefully I can offered some first-hand insight into this quandry.

In the last 12 months, I have had a CSL, RS6 and currently have a Maserati GT (Cambio-corsa).

The RS6 is probably still my favourite all-round car. It does most things very well although the achilles heel is its B-road handling which is left wanting. They are hugely practical, offer massive power (mine was 505 bhp with 720 nm after a visit to QST) and are built to a very high standard (far better the BMW or Merc). I found the biggest let down to be the looks. Whilst I get the whole 'wolf in sheep's clothing' thing - there was just not enough styling cues to make it look / feel anything special other than an A6 Avant with a massive power plant.

The Maser is a totally different proposition. Still reasonably discreet but very very beautiful. I have had mine 3 months and have been amazed at the amount of fuel forecourt conversations which have been started by other motorists. I have had the Tubi exhaust system fitted and the car sounds amazing. Mine is the 05 model which has the new F430 engine fitted (albeit in a different state of tune) but it sounds amazing both pottering around or on full attack.

I would not say that Maser is practical for regularly carrying people in the rear seats. I am 6 4 and there is no way anyone could sit behind me.

The quality of the finish is very good and I think there is an awful lot of baggage surrounding the reliability of these cars stemming from the De Tomasera days. Ferrari really have invested quite a lot in QC and I think it really shows (even comparing a 3200 to a 4200).

Servicing is rumour to be around £700-£800 a shot which isn't too bad every 12k miles for a bit of Italian metal.

The Maser paddle shift does take some getting used to. It definately needs SPORT engaged (a mode which alters the suspension, throttle and gear shifts). It is nowhere near as good as the SMG 2 offering by BMW by with a bit of practice, you soon get used to it.

The boot is tiny, would be very surprised if any of the modern day pushchair / pram / transformer style kit would fit.

Some pics...

http://www.btinternet.com/~rodney.ja...massa_side.jpg

http://www.btinternet.com/~rodney.ja...ssa_engine.jpg

http://www.btinternet.com/~rodney.ja.../massa_int.jpg

Thanks
Rod

nice wheel arches.....so much storage space :)

Stunning car Rod, shame they let a 5 year old design the dials...

The wheels look fab.

Gary,

You could always do what I did, keep the Porsche and get a Subaru Legacy Outback H6. Fabulous drivers car and bags of space. I use the Skyline at weekends etc.

Or how about a Porsche Cayenne Turbo, anyone tried one of these?

Rgds
Nito

Oh dear, that's just cruel, I think you've just moved the debate up a level...

or even a cayenne turbo with techart or gemballa bits on it ;) :D

.....think thats more than one level we've moved then though ;)

i do love those maser coupes though :thumb:

Thanks for all the extra replies. In the end I've let head overule heart and I've put down a deposit on a 10 month old RS6 avant. After checking out luggage space and double buggies we concluded that the Maserati would just about suffice for a day out with 2 kids, but not really any longer - certainly not the long weekends in Europe we had in mind.

Your car looks stunning BTW Rod and I can well believe it sounds that way too. During my deliberations I downloaded a 'soundtrack' of a Tubi equipped Maserati Coupe GT from the internet, and it did sound rather nice :)

Thanks for the other suggestions - getting a 993 or just keeping the 996 as a weekend car and getting a Legacy. Any 911 at the moment is just not really feasible though. I commute to London by train to work and am usually not home until 7pm at the earliest in the week. This means weekends are precious family time, and no degree of driver feedback or flat-6 scream can make up for having to leave kids and/or wife at home. As for the Cayenne, well they're great cars I'm sure, but 4x4's aren't really my thing.

So the RS6 it what it will be for a couple of years until we're done with buggies, toys and all the other things which toddlers seem to need at all times nowadays :)

Gary.