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Road Test: 2009 Maserati Quattroporte S car review--Italian, with four doors
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Take the Maserati Quattroporte S. If there’s proof to the adage cars reflect the nationality of their makers, the Quattroporte is it. While the German luxury sedans haf vays of making you know zay are Cherman, Swedish cars look right parked in front of an IKEA store and the Brits make one believe there will always be an England (even if there won’t), the Maserati Quattroporte S talks with its hands.
There’s a passion to the Quattroporte that could only be Italian.
The Quattroporte S is one of a trio of luxury sedans from Maserati, including the “base” Quattroporte—calling any Quattroporte “base” should be punishable by law, and probably is in Italy—the Quattroporte S, and the Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S. Smack in the middle, the Quattroporte S has a little more horsepower than one, a little less than the other.
For more photos, see the Maserati Quattroporte S picture gallery below.
More than that, however, the Pininfarina-designed Quattroporte S has a revised front end, longer by 1.4 inches, with vertical slats, for more family resemblance to the Granturismo coupes. The tail was stretched by a half-inch as well, balancing things out. The interior was massaged as well and it appropriate to note that—as one should expect at this price point though not always get—the Q’porte can be outfitted with enough leather and seat piping choices, plus wood and wood finish alternatives to make up a whole math test in combinations and permutations.
Actually, we could go on about audio systems and climate control and such, and certainly those things are important, but it moves away from the central thesis, which is that cars have an inherent ethnic personality. A major part of that character, especially for an Italian car, is under the hood. For the Maserati Quattroporte S, that’s a high revving double overhead cam 430 horsepower V-8 with its power peak at 7000 rpm and its max torque of 361 lb-ft at 4750 rpm. The engine isn’t soggy on the bottom end, however, with 82 percent of max torque at 2500 rpm, but yes, a obsession for revving. These eight cylinders live for rapid reciprocating.
And they do so with a vigor that had us looking over our shoulder for the Nuova York Polizia di Autostrada. The New York Stateys might not drive Lamborghini cruisers, but they do have radios, and just one run through one gear makes law enforcement heads swivel like kissing dolls. “Siete in un mucchio di difficoltà, ragazzo,” is something we don’t want to hear, either in Italian or English—you’re in a heap o’ trouble, boy.. So we shuffle around quietly—which the Quattroporte will do—until we are absolutely sure, and then…
All too easy to cruise at supra-legal speeds on the highway? Does the pope sit in the Vatican?
It’s also no surprise that the 4378 lb Maserati is fast. Turn it loose and 0-61 mph (0-100 km/h) tics off in 5.4 seconds, says Maserati. The quarter mile (0-400m) slides by in 13.7 seconds.
Suspension is race car-like double A-arm front and rear, with aluminum arms and hubs. And you expected…? Maserati adds its Skyhook electronic suspension control system—not on either base Q’porte or the Sport GT S, incidentally—which varies damping in two modes, Normal and Sport. The damping in Sport is continuously variable—it’s not just “soft” and “firm”—but there is a distinct difference in feel.In Sport, the big sedan bites into corners like una bambino into spumoni. Weight distribution is 49/51 for optimal balance and it can be felt on the road.
Maserati equips the Quattroporte S with stability control and traction control, plus ABS and electronic brake force distribution. The same button that switches the shocks from Normal to Sport also affects the sensitivity of traction control and the speed of gear changes.
Shifting can be left to the 6-speed ZF automatic or the driver can opt for manual control. Unlike most cars which have the shift paddles attached to the steering wheel, the Quattroporte’s paddles are fixed to the steering column and don’t turn with the wheel. It’s odd at first, but at least the driver always knows where the paddles will be. However, it often requires taking one’s hands from the wheel.
Brembo provides braking to match the car’s performance capabilities. Huge 14.71 inch diameter rotors have cast iron braking surfaces with an aluminum hub for lightness, and six-piston calipers. Strong as they might be—we couldn’t fully test them—the brakes were smooth and progressive.
What this comes to, then, is a sedan not only with remarkable performance and bone-deep luxury—did we mention the wood trim is wood, not veneer?—but also a vivaciousness unexpected in a large sedan.
But like we said, the Maserati Quattroporte S, it’s Italian. What more needs be said?.
Illustrations: 2009 Maserati Quattroporte S; Maserati trident on Quattroporte C-pillar. Photos by John Matras.
| Layout | Front engine, rear-wheel drive |
| Engine | 430hp/4.7L DOHC 32-valveV-8 |
| Displacement, cc | 4691 |
| Compression ratio | 11.0:1 |
| Horsepower @ rpm | 430 @ 7000 |
| Torque, lb-ft @ rpm | 361 @ 4750 |
| Maximum rev, rpm | 7200 |
| Fuel | Premium unleaded |
| Transmission | 6A, w/paddle shift |
| Suspension, f/r | double wishbone/double wishbone, electronically-controlled continuously variable shocks |
| Brakes, disc dia., in., f/r | 14.71 |
| Dimensions & capacities | |
| Length, in. | 200.7 |
| Width, in., w/w-o mirrors | 78.4 / 74.2 |
| Height, in. | 56.6 |
| Wheelbase, in. | 120.6 |
| Trunk capacity, cu ft | 15.8 |
| Fuel tank, U.S. gal. | 23.8 |
| Curb weight, lbs | 4,387 |
| Performance | |
| Accel., 0-60 mph, sec. | 5.3 |
| Accel., 1/4 mile, sec | 13.7 |
| Top speed, mph | 174 |
| Fuel econ., EPA, mpg | 12 city/18 hwy |
| Base price | $125,750 |
| Paint, as tested, Bordeaux Pontevecchio | incl. |
| Wheels, 19" V-Style | incl. |
| Brake calipers, Argento | 750 |
| Paddle shift | 1,350 |
| Headliner, Aolcantera | 1,750 |
| Seats, color, Avorio | incl. |
| Seat piping, color | 350 |
| Mahogany interior trim | 1,000 |
| Steering wheel, leather, Grigio Medio | incl. |
| Gas guzzler tax | 2,600 |
| Dealer prep | 300 |
| Transportation | 1,500 |
| Total MSRP, as tested | $135,350 |
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