Maserati Quattroporte S: When German luxury won't do

Maserati Quattroporte S.

The Maserati Quattroporte S is a luxury V6 four-door saloon that's built for speed.

While the Aussies rate the Maserati Quattroporte S as a rival to the luxury Mercedes-Benz S-Class, in reality the price and the size may be similar but we Kiwis view the two vehicles as very different beasts.

Priced from $194,000, the four-door Italian sports sedan's aim in New Zealand is to hit the road and let other drivers hear the roar of the 3-litre turbo V6 engine as you overtake.

It arrives here just a few months after the V8 Quattroporte went on sale in New Zealand and visually inside has different wood trim and leather pattern for the seats than the bigger beast while the V6 has round exhaust rather than square.

Maserati is expected to sell 30 models across the range this year - and that's what differentiates the Italian sports sedan from the S-Class.

Mercedes-Benz NZ is already near the 20 sales mark for the S-Class since its launch late last year here, and is desperate for stock - though as there is a six month waiting list in Germany, it may take some time.

The S-Class is also chock full of safety features whereas the Quattroporte steers away from that.

When asked why the car didn't have such features as blind spot monitoring, heads-up display or radar cruise control that you find in moderately priced Japanese cars these days, the Maserati spokesman said: "You drive a Maserati, you don't let the car drive you."

And that's the point about the Quattroporte. It's not supposed to be a limo - again as some Aussies are portraying it as - instead it's a car for the businessperson who doesn't want to drive a German brand.