Maserati Trounces Mercedes, Jaguar, Lexus in Comparison Test
Motor Trend Declares Quattroporte Sport GT the Best Luxury Sport Sedan

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The motoring press has spoken again: Maserati’s Quattroporte is the best luxury sports sedan you can buy. That was the verdict of Motor Trend magazine when they pitted the Quattroporte Sport GT Automatic against three rivals: the Jaguar Super V8, Lexus LS600hL and Mercedes-Benz S550. On the freeway, on the track or tackling twisting back roads, the Maserati was the clear winner, being declared “the feel big sedan of our time”.

From the interior luxury to the performance and handling, the Motor Trend testers found plenty to praise. The cabin met with particular approval: “Its wood and leather are the Jag’s equal, but rendered as only the Italians could – striped mahogany adorns the doors and center stack, its graining angled up and forward, meeting at the center of the car like arrows pointing ahead.” But it was on their tricky test route that the Maserati really came into its own. “Of course, the brightest star on Mt. Palomar was our Italian stallion... there’s so much grip that the stability control is largely unnecessary on dry pavement. The steering is as direct and communicative as a Ferrari 599’s, and bumps and ruts never upset its line on a corner.”

Reigning supreme subjectively - “The spectacular engine note...completes the whole sensory extravaganza” - the Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT sedan also dominated the objective ratings. The quickest accelerating across the board with 0-60mph in 5.4 seconds and a quarter mile in 13.9 seconds at a blistering 102.2mph, the Sport GT out braked every competitor by a massive 12- 20 per cent, differences measured in car lengths. In handling terms, the Quattroporte delivered superior lateral acceleration by similar margins, being the only car to better 0.9g, a fact which told in its superiority in Motor Trend’s figure-8 handling test.

So when Motor Trend came to select their overall winner, it was no contest. “The one car that every voter desperately wanted to mortgage his soul to own was the Maserati.” “It made us feel like F1 glamour-pusses and we physically ached to see it go.” “Lights up the brain’s pleasure centers like no other sedan we know.”

Perhaps the final word from the review should be left to their supremely experienced tester, Arthur St. Antoine. “‘I think that is the best-handling sedan I’ve ever driven’,” he said “tall praise from someone with over two decades’ experience evaluating sport sedans. Nobody could argue.”

The Motor Trend verdict is just the latest in a long line of plaudits for the stunning Masertai Quattroporte. In fact, following its introduction to the United States, it came out top in its very first comparison test, run by Car and Driver magazine. It has routinely been judged to be the best sports sedan in tests by European magazines such as Top Gear and evo, and it has also been named Best of the Best by the Robb Report – not just once, but twice in closest possible succession, a feat no other car has achieved.

Motor Trend testers “physically ached” to see their Quattroporte go, but after driving one at your authorized Maserati dealer, you can arrange to keep it forever.

Click here to view the Comparison Test Introduction Video.