Oman motoring: Drive Quattroporte packed with luxuries

Lifestyle Sunday 24/September/2017 19:44 PM
By: Times News Service
Oman motoring: Drive Quattroporte packed with luxuries

Few luxury cars stand up to their claims of providing a sporty experience to drivers, the Quattroporte does, quite convincingly. Italian cars are sometimes the hardest to review. They have this immaculate perfection that requires too much observation for critics. Though I happen to have an apt for finding faults but the Maserati wouldn’t go down without a fight. Before you walk into the car, you observe a long full sized sedan embellished with eye catching sporty appearance like the sleek aerodynamic trims, revised bumpers similar to the Levante SUV, restyled mirrors, and LED lamps. All of this under the crowning Maserati trident that traditionally represented Neptune’s power over the seven seas. That logo looks good.

Getting into the vehicle is a distinctive experience altogether. Probably designed for someone who refused to leave their five-star hotel room, the interiors are decorated with a plush leather lined cabin.
The dashboard functionality is impressive and the 8.4-inch infotainment is exemplary encompassing every feature one can think of. You can literally control all vehicle systems with your hands on the steering. The luxury and comfort is inundating and I sat there for a while just to make sure I have digested everything that the Quattroporte had thrown at me. It is designed in a way that the driver can’t wait to start driving and with every function at my fingertips, I gave in; the excitement for the drive was so much that I had to postpone observing the interiors.

The moment I stepped on the pedal of the rear wheeled 350hp Quattroporte, my attention to detail characteristic was blurred by the drive. Being equipped with lesser horses under the hood than the fastest Maserati or even the fastest Quattroporte, which is claimed to produce the fastest salon in the world with its 510hp variant, my ride was tangibly weaker. However, there was little to dent the driving experience.
Driving with sport mode off and adaptive cruise control on, life couldn’t have been easier. The lane detection took account of my lethargy by sounding alarm every time I steered away from the track and the vehicle collision system that I tried to perfect during my college days kept me from touching the pedals even during high speed traffic.

But hey wait, just before I took the car, I had a chat with an official at Maserati. “You will enjoy the sporty ride,” he told me. What could be sporty about this, traction control, cruise control, lane detection and every other feature activated, until I saw sport mode just on the left of my gearstick.

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There are few sedans in the world with such a beautiful rear wheel drive and I must say I miss driving rear powered cars. Oh, I nearly forgot, my little 11-year-old brother was with me all the while. A veteran of Need For Speed series and an Acura NSX fan, he was not the best influence in a situation like this. “It is rear wheel; why don’t you accelerate on turns so the back skids?” he said. He is not to be blamed.

During my days of building a Formula styled car at University, I nearly always made him sit with me while designing the powertrain of the vehicle. While I have forgotten half of it, the smart kid knows of the wonders a V6 turbo fuelled powertrain could do on Omani roads. By this time, I knew that the Quattroporte was different. It is sometimes compared with BMW and Mercedes full sized luxury sedans but it’s an unfair comparison. While the Germans could easily score in luxury arena, athleticism was the home of the Quattroporte, where it was unbeatable.

I once again proved myself right on this while driving on testing roads of Jebel Sifah. Even without the All wheel power distribution and grip, the Quattroporte was a screamer. Exceptionally well around the corners and quick on straights. Its responses were sharp even as I climbed the Qantab hills and its steering remained stiff but easy to use. The car showed little drawbacks of a full size sedan.

The gear shifting in the eight speed transmission, that Maserati had said became faster than the earlier model was actually quick along with the throttle response. On one of my not so smart overtaking decision up the hill, this came in very handy as I effortlessly passed a roaring G-Wagon. On the downside, even with sound deadening materials installed for greater refinement in the 2017 model, the Quattroporte seemed slightly noisy.

That said, the Quattroporte seems like a great vehicle to drive. It has got nearly everything from a sporty performance to a luxury packed interior. Safety, passenger space, elegant features, and nearly everything required for a fun packed luxury car is in the Italian ‘four door’. I can recommend this vehicle for anyone with a family that likes top of the charts luxury and a heart that enjoys having fun on the roads. It is one of the rare blends of the two parallel areas. One can never get bored with this car.
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Tech Specs

Displacement (cc): 2,979
Max. Power (kW/hp @ rpm): 257/350 @ 5,500
Maximum Torque (Nm/rpm): 500 @ 1,750 - 4,500
0-100 km/h (sec): 5.5
Top Speed (km/h): 270
Dealer in Oman: Al Fardan Motors