New Ghibli - any advice from owners?

New Ghibli - any advice from owners?

Author
Discussion

67Dino

Original Poster:

3,630 posts

112 months

Saturday 30th December 2017
quotequote all
I'm looking to buy a 2017 Ghibli. Any Ghibli owners out there?

Love to hear your views on:
- Petrol and Diesel V6 economy
- Wheel size impact vs ride quality
- Rear seat space/practicality
- Options worth or not worth having
- General ownership likes/dislikes.

Plus, of course, be delighted to get a barrage of criticism from those that don't own Ghibli's and who think buying one is sheer madness and have a much better idea what I should get (well, not really, but appreciate I will get those responses anyway).

MrVert

4,428 posts

246 months

Saturday 30th December 2017
quotequote all
Had a V6 petrol for a few days on loan in May.

My impressions were..

Mad fast, sport mode was very entertaining, sports exhaust barked and ‘woofed’ beautifully, economy was disastrous (16mpg over three days of mixed roads driving without thinking about economy).

Interior was nice but dash build and SatNav did feel second rate compared to Audi / BMW etc.

Overall a nice alternative to a 5 Series.....but I’d still have a 5 over one unless they were a fair bit cheaper on a lease deal..


Master Bean

4,008 posts

127 months

Saturday 30th December 2017
quotequote all

67Dino

Original Poster:

3,630 posts

112 months

Saturday 30th December 2017
quotequote all
Master Bean said:
Many thanks, Master Bean. Great article, and loads of useful insights there too. Much appreciated.

Edited by 67Dino on Saturday 30th December 15:31

67Dino

Original Poster:

3,630 posts

112 months

Saturday 30th December 2017
quotequote all
MrVert said:
Had a V6 petrol for a few days on loan in May.

My impressions were..

Mad fast, sport mode was very entertaining, sports exhaust barked and ‘woofed’ beautifully, economy was disastrous (16mpg over three days of mixed roads driving without thinking about economy).

Interior was nice but dash build and SatNav did feel second rate compared to Audi / BMW etc.

Overall a nice alternative to a 5 Series.....but I’d still have a 5 over one unless they were a fair bit cheaper on a lease deal..
Thanks MrVert, very much in line with my own views. Interesting about economy of the petrol V6. I would probably prefer it, but the diesel I test drove was surprisingly good (both sound and performance), so given I do quite a few miles, fuel economy might swing the decision.

Master Bean

4,008 posts

127 months

Saturday 30th December 2017
quotequote all
How much is quite a few miles? Diesel Maserati is just wrong. Even my dad aka Mr Stinge thinks so.

67Dino

Original Poster:

3,630 posts

112 months

Saturday 30th December 2017
quotequote all
Master Bean said:
How much is quite a few miles? Diesel Maserati is just wrong. Even my dad aka Mr Stinge thinks so.
10k per annum sort of miles - daily driver stuff. Your Dad sounds excellent, btw.


Master Bean

4,008 posts

127 months

Saturday 30th December 2017
quotequote all
10k miles is not enough to save money with the diesel mpg. Plus the petrol sounds so much better and you can rev unlike the grumbly diesel.

67Dino

Original Poster:

3,630 posts

112 months

Sunday 31st December 2017
quotequote all
Hmmm, you make a good point. You might be right there.

(Note: appreciate this post infringes the well established convention that PHers should not change their mind on something as a result of informed feedback, but should instead argue increasingly angrily that they are right and that anyone questioning their judgement is an idiot. Sorry about that, no offence intended)

P14SMM

229 posts

162 months

Thursday 4th January 2018
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I had 1 of the first reg 3.0D cars with loads of options.
£62K wish kept it for just over 3 years and got low £20 back with 30K miles.
Very expensive for tyres and service for a 3.0d and mine was the worse car I've ever had for reliability!!
I tried everything to reject it due to a catalog of ongoing problems.
Avoid an early car at all costs as the repair bills will be mental! you could pay me to have it back

However Ive had a 17 plate petrol as a loan car and it was a different car completely.
My wife now runs a Levante D and thats great and never missed a beat!

Yipper

5,964 posts

97 months

Thursday 4th January 2018
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Testdrove one a few months back. Rattly slow old diesel with a twitchy backend that looked like my dad's old Mondeo.

67Dino

Original Poster:

3,630 posts

112 months

Thursday 4th January 2018
quotequote all
P14SMM said:
I had 1 of the first reg 3.0D cars with loads of options.
£62K wish kept it for just over 3 years and got low £20 back with 30K miles.
Very expensive for tyres and service for a 3.0d and mine was the worse car I've ever had for reliability!!
I tried everything to reject it due to a catalog of ongoing problems.
Avoid an early car at all costs as the repair bills will be mental! you could pay me to have it back

However Ive had a 17 plate petrol as a loan car and it was a different car completely.
My wife now runs a Levante D and thats great and never missed a beat!
Thanks P14SMM, v useful to know your experience as an owner. Much appreciated.

StickBreitling

78 posts

133 months

Thursday 4th January 2018
quotequote all
Owned a 2014 Ghibli S with 20 inch wheels, no skyhook. Super solid. Space wise more than enough. Nice exhaust note. Fuel economy was good. Only issue I had with it was that the tyre pressure sensors needed recalibrating after the car was parked up for a few weeks at an airport.

I found it was missing a bit of that wild edge so ended up trading it in for a Granturismo Sport.


MrMickS

37 posts

223 months

Friday 5th January 2018
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I have a 2015 Ghibli S with 20" wheels and Skyhook that's just gone over 40,000 miles include two European trips to Italy and back.



I've had a few minor snags with the car, fixed under warranty, and a steering pump failure that wasn't. That ended up an expensive repair but I'm not going to go into more detail on a public forum.

Its quick though you have anticipate corners in order to get the best out of them. Its a big heavy car when it comes down to it. The 20" wheels seem fine to me, though I've not tried others. I find the non-sports mode on the Skyhook to be a bit floaty on country roads so almost always switch to sports mode once I leave major roads.

The best thing about it is the noise and the sense of occasion. The V6TT in sports mode and manual makes some great noises. Not the same as a V8 Maserati, but just as good. The whoomf noise when you change up under acceleration always makes me smile.

Tyre wear and costs seem reasonable to me but the summer Pirelli P-Zero MGT tyres seem harder to get to temperature this year than last. Great in the warm and dry, less so in cold damp conditions. I'm toying with the idea of an extra set of wheels with winter tyres but may leave that until next year.

I'm amazed at the comments on MPG. Why would you consider a Maserati and worry about fuel consumption. That said I'm averaging a little over 23 over my ownership which is on par with my expectations. On the European trips I averaged 30 or so. I don't understand why anyone would buy a diesel one, but each to their own.

Servicing costs are ok I guess, they've all been below £1k. Parts are expensive; a full set of pads, fitted, and tracking was over £1k and a set of wiper blades are around £90.

Given the mileage I'm putting on it, and the fact that I believe cars are to be driven, I intend to keep the car for the foreseeable future. Its a comfortable car for daily use and eats up the miles on road trips.

I took a bit of video on the last European trip that I've stuck up on YouTube here in case you're interested.

Happy to answer any questions you might have.

67Dino

Original Poster:

3,630 posts

112 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
Many thanks MrMickS and StickBreitling, v helpful to hear more from owners. Thanks for taking the time to post. Enjoyed the YouTube video, MrMickS, engine sounds terrific (and scenery isn’t bad either).

Re economy, my interest is really range rather than cost (since these aren’t cheap anyway). Had a few cars that need refills in the 200-250 mile range and whilst that’s fine for a weekend plaything, can be a bit of a pest for a daily driver.

Could I ask - what sort of range does the Petrol version give on a tank?

Edited by 67Dino on Friday 5th January 22:34

Master Bean

4,008 posts

127 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
325 based on late night maths.

MrMickS

37 posts

223 months

Saturday 6th January 2018
quotequote all
My average range is 409 miles/tank. That's if I were to push it to empty.

I log all of the fill ups and mileage, have done for the last 10 years or so, I don't care what its costing but I like to have an idea.

It depends on the driving you are doing. If you've got a decent drive that lets everything get warm and no much stop start traffic you should be able to get to 450 - 500. A lot of my driving on some tanks is 10-15 mile commute and stop start traffic. Thats getting 20 or so mpg and then I seem to be getting 350 or so.

67Dino

Original Poster:

3,630 posts

112 months

Saturday 6th January 2018
quotequote all
MrMickS said:
My average range is 409 miles/tank. That's if I were to push it to empty.

I log all of the fill ups and mileage, have done for the last 10 years or so, I don't care what its costing but I like to have an idea.

It depends on the driving you are doing. If you've got a decent drive that lets everything get warm and no much stop start traffic you should be able to get to 450 - 500. A lot of my driving on some tanks is 10-15 mile commute and stop start traffic. Thats getting 20 or so mpg and then I seem to be getting 350 or so.
That’s pretty good as it’s the motorway journeys where I prefer not to have to fill up en route so often and just get there. MasterBean sounds like you’re doing more the latter, which is fine, don’t mind so much when pottering about. Thanks both.

Pork

9,453 posts

241 months

Friday 12th January 2018
quotequote all
P14SMM said:
I had 1 of the first reg 3.0D cars with loads of options.
£62K wish kept it for just over 3 years and got low £20 back with 30K miles.
Very expensive for tyres and service for a 3.0d and mine was the worse car I've ever had for reliability!!
I tried everything to reject it due to a catalog of ongoing problems.
Avoid an early car at all costs as the repair bills will be mental! you could pay me to have it back

However Ive had a 17 plate petrol as a loan car and it was a different car completely.
My wife now runs a Levante D and thats great and never missed a beat!
blimey, I had no idea they were down to that sort of price. That’s a hell of a drop for a first owner but makes for a decent used prospect.

67Dino

Original Poster:

3,630 posts

112 months

Friday 12th January 2018
quotequote all
Quick update...

MasterBean’s dad clearly knows what he’s talking about, so bearing in mind his, MrVert’s, and others’ advice, plus liking the sound made by MrMickS’s car on the video and sensing the mood music around diesels, have gone for a petrol Ghibli. Pics and first impressions to follow when I collect. Thanks all for your help.