Doug DeMuro Zeroes In On The Maserati Ghibli’s Bad Points

The Levante, which is dubbed “the Maserati of SUVs,” is a perfect case in point. With a suggested retail price that starts from $72k or thereabout, you’d expect this mid-size utility vehicle to integrate an assortment of superb touches, both inside and out. The exterior is a case of love it or hate it, but there’s no excuse for the Ram 1500 switchgear scatted all over the place.

But the biggest offender in the Maserati range is the Ghibli. Doug DeMuro puts it best in his video about why the mid-sized sedan is a terrible way to spend your money. First things first, the passive and active safety equipment is years behind the competition. To prove a point, Doug compares the Ghibli to the 2015 550i. Yup, the old BMW 5er. And the Ghibli, unsurprisingly, loses.

The essential things, meanwhile, are suffering from iffy quality. The backup camera is more low-res than a Playstation 2 game, the ceiling housing moves when operating the dome lights, the rear windows don’t open too much, and the shift lever is, as per Doug, infuriating. Then there’s the suspension system, which is set up more for sporty driving, alas the ride isn’t great.

What really grinds my gears, however, is that Maserati charges $85,000 on a well-equipped Ghibli S Q4. The price per se is not my problem. It’s the context of paying 85 big ones on a luxurious sedan fitted with switchgear from the Dodge Dart which, conicidentally, originate from the DaimlerChrysler era. Come on, Fiat Chrysler, couldn’t you do any better than the Dart?

And another thing: That GINORMOUS panel gap in the main photo!