Per comodità, e visto che potrebbe tranquillamente trattarsi di una futura Alfa sotto mentite spoglie, vi posto alcuni estratti ed il link della prova completa. Quando avete finito di leggere, immaginatevela con un 4 cilindri / 200cv, la motorizzazione piú diffusa in Europa per il segmento E.
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/maserati/ghibli
Alcuni passaggi salienti:
"In the meantime, take a moment to ponder the pedigree of this ?new? diesel engine. Said to be developed by Maserati under the watchful eye of Ferrari engine man Paulo Martinelli, it is nevertheless based on the same 3.0-litre V6 used by the Jeep Grand Cherokee, even though it is built by VM Motori.
And while no one at Maserati is making the connection, we cannot help but notice that not only is its 2987cc capacity identical to that of Mercedes? current 3.0-litre V6 diesel, but its bore and stroke are also the same.
That?s the Mercedes owned by Daimler that also used to own Chrysler which still owns Jeep, both of which are now owned by Fiat, which also owns Maserati. Engineering multiculturalism at its finest."
" Adequate? is not a word you want to hear in any description of a Maserati, but there seems none better to describe the performance of the diesel Ghibli in both subjective and objective terms.
Its acceleration would be entirely unremarkable for the class were it to wear a BMW or Mercedes badge. Indeed, it?s slower to 100mph than both the CLS350 CDI and a BMW 530d, let alone the 535d which is its closer rival, and it?s no quicker than an Audi A7 3.0 TDI. Is 0-60mph in 6.5sec and a 0-100mph time of 17.2sec acceptable for a Maserati? We?d say yes, just, but a Volkswagen Golf GTI is about as quick to both targets."
"Sadly, the Ghibli is no better at losing speed than it is at gaining it. At a socking 2040kg on our scales, our diesel test car was more than 200kg heavier than Maserati?s figures suggest, causing brake fade on the test track and, on the road, merely the sense of a car with sufficient braking potential for the performance but no more. The car also took a long time to stop in the wet."
"Despite a standard limited-slip differential, traction is surprisingly limited. On the move, grip levels degrade from excellent to unimpressive, and if you throw in some typical British B-road gremlins ? tightening radii, surface and camber changes ? the Ghibli can suddenly feel large, heavy and a little ponderous.
The ride is problematic. We don?t think customers will expect a Maserati to ride like a Mercedes, but even with this taken this into account, the Ghibli is still too intolerant of high-frequency bumps and, especially, our ubiquitous potholes, which jolt the structure sufficiently to suggest there?s too much unsprung mass hanging off each corner of the car.
Overall, the Ghibli is not as refined as we?d hoped. The diesel motor is too audible when under load and, at least on 20in rims, there is far too much road noise on coarse surfaces."
"From the way it looks to the sense of occasion it imparts, this car is special.
The suspension needs to be sorted out if it's to compete with E-class Mercedes
But more than any other Maserati, the Ghibli must work as a device for doing a job, in a segment where the standard is through the roof.
And here, the Ghibli is second best in too many areas. The car?s ride, refinement and ease of use are all notable for their mediocrity ? and the diesel lags behind its rivals in terms of performance, too.
The result is not a poor car. It still charms and it?s the most rounded Maserati ever created. But the sense it leaves is not of how good it is, but of how much better it could and should have been.
Rivals like the BMW 5-series, Jaguar XF and Mercedes-Benz CLS remains the more preferable option ? for now."
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