Vehicle: 2012 Maserati GranTorismo Convertible Sport
Price as tested: US$149250
Performance: Whether you are getting a base or Sport in convertible guise, you are getting the same 4.7 liter DOHC V8 derived from Ferrari silibing. The only difference is Maserati has detuned it for Gran’s grand touring nature, especially when its time to go underneath the sleek hood of its gorgeous convertible. In the base form, it has a really good 433hp and equally compelling 361 lb/ft of torque. If you just think 433 stallion just isn’t fast enough, opt for the slightly messaged 444hp and 376 lb/ft of torque in our Sport tester. When it comes to seat-of-the-pants feedback, we don’t feel latter is significantly quicker given its negigence weight difference. That said, our Sport is weighting in at a disappointingly porky 4365lb at its Italian wrist. What we really love about both powertrains are the “passion” or what we dubbed “engine note”. There aren’t many engines build as equally as Ferrari ones. When its shoehoned into a Maserati, it haven’t lost much of its soul and character. Its the same sweet and entertaining engine note which is simply music to every driving enthuisast’s ears, whether is on low-end accelerating or boosting up for strong middle and upper ranges. Maserati’s engines are just sweet-as-a-nut. Mated with this sweet Italian stallion is a standard ZF 6-speed maumatic with paddle shifters. Not only does the leather-stitched shifter is lovely to behold, it also works up nicely with the engine as a team. The paddle shifters are able to override at any given gears, while providing tall enough ratios for superb highway cruising and retaining the short ratio for peppy off-the-line acceleration. If there is one wish, however, we hope the shifting is smoother given the engineering prowess influenced by Ferrari. Otherwise, the shifts are crisp and relatively linear for its given purposes.
Handling: The Gran has a decent chassis to begin its life with, along with the recalibrated suspension for our Sport tester. That should make for one heck of a sporty Maserati convertible, right? You have to give credit where credit is due. If you are expecting a truly sporty convertible, you are in for the wrong car. Its desingation already a dead giveaway that this car is destined to be a grand tourer, except for the track-breed MC coupe. Yes, its rear-wheel-drive configuration has created a near perfect 51/49 weight distribution for balanced handling. But the whole ride feels very much like a highway cruiser than a capable track handler. The Skyhook suspension has already done a nice enough job of given it the better balance for a superb ride and decent dynamics. While the ESC has given high enough threshold for some oversteer fun. With the stiffer structure of a convertible, it doesn’t have any cowl shakes when driven through railroad tracks and patholes. But then here lies the rough……
As decently engineered as the Gran itself, its chassis already felt aged compared to much younger rivals. Another letdown is the soft steering feel. We expect sharper and quicker steering ratio, especially with the more responsive feel and feedback go through driver’s hands. Driver’s control should be quicker and more delicate given Maserati’s engineering prowess.
The silver lining behind all of these is currently no timeframe for Gran’s replacement. Given Italy’s dire economy, there is no replacement for products which needs disposable income. Both GranTorismo and Quattroporte fall into this category. When all of their rivals have received a new and improved version, Maserati can’t soldier on with selling only aged but limited range of coupe, convertible and sedan while adding a “possibly” new CUV then called it a day.
Brakes: With large 4-wheel discs and standard ABS, Gran has provided nice enough stopping distance as a grand tourer. The stopping distance is short while pedal always feel firm and well-modulated. Our only hope is the ABS doesn’t activate earlier than what we expected.
Interior: Slip behind the wheel of a GranTourismo, you would expect the same exquisitely build interior as any Maserati. It certainly lives up to this brand’s reputation of producing classy interior. There are lovely leather seats which provide great support, with soft-touch plastic everywhere to justify its price and brand. However, the Italian quirky ergonomics are something that I am not too fond of.
When the roof is up, the rear sightlines are poor. Regardless of the roof up or down, the rear seats are equally tight for adults and enough to punish kids. Luggage space is decent enough for two persons on a weekend getaway.
Conclusion: The Sport is costing about $10k more than the base Gran convertible. Whether its worthy of the premium is debatable, which is definitely up to the way this car drives. Even though base doesn’t come with the advanced Skyhook suspension, it doesn’t lost anything with its cruising abilities. The additional 11hp doesn’t feel like worth the cost of 10 grand neither.
If it were my money, I would take the base car and save the extra 10 grand for a nice vacation.
Competitions:
BMW 650i
Jaguar XK8
Porsche 911 Carrera
OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2012 Maserati GranTorismo Convertible Sport
=====================================
Performance: 4.5/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 4/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 4/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 4/5
Value-for-money: 3/5
Overall rating: 4/5