Maserati finally got around to updating the Quattroporte, its flagship sedan. At a glance, you'll see more chrome on the grille and matte black on just about everything else. It's nice, but the interesting changes are the new infotainment system and the suite of active safety features.
I drove the 2015 Quattroporte S Q4 from Manhattan to its spiritual summer home, the Jersey Shore. The performance impressed me—the sedan hits 60 mph in less than five seconds, thanks to all-wheel drive and a 3.0-liter V6 that thankfully doesn't keep its voice down.
But the Maserati fell short when the road straightened and traffic piled up. I found the infotainment system infuriating, and the navi system's maps illegible and often incorrect. Worse, the car lacked safety features like blind spot monitoring, and lane departure warning offered on cars one-third its price. This isn't a problem in sports cars like the Alfa Romeo 4C, the Quattroporte's corporate comrade, because you expect them to be something of a pain in the ass to live with.
But the Quattroporte is a flagship sedan competing with the likes of the Audi A8, Mercedes S-Class, and BMW 7 Series—all of which offer superior amenities. The Maserati starts at $106,900. Buyers may want Italian performance and styling, but they're also going to want the best of modern automotive technology.
So it's a smart play adding adaptive cruise control, lane departure and forward collision warnings, automatic braking, and a surround view camera, all of which make driving the Quattroporte easier and safer. The infotainment system is built around an 8.4-inch touchscreen, runs Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and ought to be easier to use.
Maybe for next year, Maserati can add a gesture control system to suit its Italian heritage.
