2014 Maserati Ghibli S Q4 - An "Affordable" Exotic? 

Psst... check out our Ghibli preview if you want to hear the engine in all its glory.

Average Highschoolers Thank you, Average Highschoolers. Your kind words are greatly appreciated. Thanks for your support, too!

Hahaha! Give Chris an extra licorice whip on me! :)

+Heine Pedersen Yes it is, Heine Pedersen. Yes, it is. Thanks for watching!

Your are 💯% right just got a 2018 and if you shift through the trans gears one by one it shifts fine I love mine 👍

Thanks again, 1503granrey!

Joseph Parraz Nice to hear that, Joseph Parraz. We appreciate your comments and thanks for watching!

haha whatever ! fucking bullshit

The owner of this one still has it and so far still enjoys it, David M. Thanks for sharing and for watching!

my parents have a rolls royce drophead coupe, range rover sport & ferrari 458 speciale spider

Cool kids! I own a 1998 toyota supra with 850+hp. i could smoke all ya'll cars combined!

David Montes my parents have a Hyundai i30.. jealous?

2011 Honda Pilot WHATS GOOD?

No problem, my uncle was a mechanic for the maserati mc12 gt1 team, i have loved maserati ever since

+Omar Sabbouh It is less restrictive (when open), allowing the engine to "breathe" better when in sport mode. The louder, more aggressive exhaust note is a byproduct of this. Any extra power is negligible, at best, typically adding only a handful of ponies, if that. But it does allow for the car to have a very different demeanor - quiet when driving around town or through the neighborhood and LOUD when you want to have some fun.

Someone who’s probably never owned one always says this. Lack of knowledge is the downfall of our society.

Thank you, Anh Trinh. We appreciate your input. If you get a chance, check out our "Exhaust Notes" series where we showcase the Ghibli S Q4. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-a0YGZ3KPyYY.html. This series highlights the cars, themselves, with no music or commentary so that viewers like you (and us) can enjoy just the pure sounds of the cars. Thanks for watching!

+Pietervdv Ha! That very well could solve the issue, Pietervdv. Interestingly, Chris (our presenter) won't eat or drink in any of his personal cars, yet he always has his big travel mug while testing. Go figure. At any rate, we appreciate your comment and thanks for watching, too!

+Rick Rockey We appreciate your follow up, Rick Rockey. And we will not attempt to argue with your points, as they do appear to come from a logical and mature place. While a number of the comments on this video may focus on the frivolous and unnecessary traits of daily transportation, we all do not spend our afternoons revving our engines and leaving long black tire marks along every street we encounter (because, yes, tires are expensive, and many of us are well aware of, and respect, local noise ordinances). AutoAcademics offers videos like these to give viewers a place to enjoy the traits of these special cars that many have not seen before, nor can afford. Please do not be mistaken, though, as AutoAcademics attempts to cater to all consumers who have an interest in vehicles, no matter their motivation. On our RU-vid channel, we cover not only the fancy, super expensive, near unobtainable for most, vehicles, but also cars such as the fuel efficient hybrids, the spacious and flexible minivans, the very capable, yet unbelievably comfortable full-size pickups, and everything else in between. And a brief look at the comments on each of those videos will bring to light viewers who enjoy discussing the special traits that each of those types of vehicles has to offer, such as fuel economy, towing capacity, or even how well child safety seats fit in the back seat. So we request, if you have an opportunity, take a look at some of our other videos. You may find something that is just as informative (and hopefully, entertaining), yet more practical and responsible from an automotive point of view. As always, we appreciate your comments and hope that you give our channel another try. Take care!

Josh Caesar LOL The problem is that the positions for each gear are not clearly defined (the clicks are just that...clicks, as opposed to physical engagements), making it difficult to select the gear that you want. Over time, muscle memory does begin to take over (some), but this is the reason for the unsolicited gear selections that we (and we assume, others) have experienced. Thanks for watching!

ohhh okay makes sense. Don't you think Maserati would have tested that and saw these problems? *****

Josh Caesar Possibly, but quality control can be really challenging for small companies like Maserati. Even big companies like Toyota have quality issues from time to time. And like we said in the video, these are the types of things that pretty much all exotic owners have to deal with. Once you drive one, you quickly forget how long it took you to get it in gear.

***** All the other Maserati's are well equipped in detail but there is only a few made as apposed to this one where they are trying to mass produce in Maserati's case. I just think the center console doesn't have much to offer just very basic but its a beautiful car no doubt.

Josh Caesar This (very loosely) can be looked at as Maserati's version of the Porsche Cayenne, or the Cadillac Escalade, or dare we say even the Toyota Corolla. Maserati is hoping that this will be their bread and butter cash cow that brings in enough money so that they can do more things with their more expensive models. The problem is that the performance tech in the Ghibli is still rather expensive for the car's price, so Maserati has to minimize expenses in other areas by sharing components with its parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). Hence, the navigation/infotainment system and the "not as good as it could be" gear selector.

You are correct that this car does use a number of parts from the FCA parts bin, Pradigy Musicman. However, that does not make it any less of an exotic. Did you know that Ferrari sources its MagneRide adaptive suspension, a suspension that has been used on everything from Buicks to Chevys to Cadillacs, from Delphi (created by GM) and they're not even the same company? None of those previously named brands are exotic, yet one would never question whether or not a Ferrari is. We're just saying this to say that a brand's use of similar parts does not determine whether or not it is exotic. The fact that a car brand comes from somewhere else (and typically in lower quantities, mind you) is what makes it exotic. Hope this helps and thanks for watching.

***** there is nothing inside this car that makes it unique from a Fiat brand standpoint. It has a great sounding exhaust. I sit in a Charger every day. This car is literally identical to my red leather charger. Sorry but don't say this is exotic. It's just a Dodge with a different engine and nice exhuast

Pradigy Musicman What makes the Ghibli unique is that you can not buy one in every town like the other FCA products. While we currently have no proof, we'd argue to say that those in Italy might find a Hellcat exotic, and definitely not because it has unique parts. But we could probably discuss this for days, only to obtain the same outcome. Cool that you have a Charger as a daily driver, though. We look forward to conversing with you on another car soon!

Your crap dodge don't cost as much as this Italian masterpiece stop being a broke hater

+Rick Rockey Wow! We're sorry that you took an honest explanation to your inquiry as negative, Rick Rockey. We truly meant nothing dismissive by it as we were just trying to share our (and many others') passion for cars with you, based upon your question of exhaust sound. Believe it or not, this is a common question that is asked, not only in comment sections on RU-vid, but at car shows, enthusiast meets, even at your local dealership, by people who are just plain curious about the obsessions of people like us. And contrary to how you may have interpreted our response, there are "car guys/gals" who base their obsessions on vehicle quietness, just as we assume you do. And there is nothing wrong with that. Otherwise, all cars would be noisy and AutoAcademics (and other more prominent automotive publications) would be strictly evaluating things like how fast the infotainment unit can change radio stations or how cold the A/C gets. Thankfully, this is not so, as all cars have different personalities, just as people do, and as we like to say when assisting clients with automotive purchases, "There's a vehicle for everyone." And our job is to help you find it. We truly hope this sheds a little more light on our view point and that you might even reconsider your decision. We definitely are not in this business to drive (excuse the pun) people away from what we feel so passionately about. Thank you for sharing and for the kind comments about our ages. LOL Some of us aren't as young as perceived.

+Rick Rockey Just as a follow up, because we just reread the comments, AutoAcademics did not post the recent reply to you about the Ferrari. We think this is what may have frustrated you and wanted you to know it was not from us. Thanks again!

We agree, Scott "Bugs" Allen. Does Maserati have a flawless car in the Ghibli? No. But it does offer that passion you referred to at a price point much lower than previously offered, with a design that your neighbor can't incorrectly say "My buddy/aunt/cousin has one of those, too!" See: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vm9b-ymOG_g.html. Thank you for your comment!

***** The devil is in the details... Wheel wells to start, 1:47 dusty steering wheel, 2:02 dirty engine compartment, 2:30 dust on car, just a few to start... Everything shows on hi-def cameras :-/

Why

@@douglascosta4050 First couple of production years had a lot of problems but by around 2016 Maserati (FCA/Stelantis) got it together. Brand new engine, new platform, etc etc.

Utter rubbish

That Chrysler 300 ain't 400hp

The Chrysler 300 wish it had the designers from Maserati to redo the inside and out side of their car. I have the 2014 Maserati Ghibli SQ4 and l have a 2010 S550 long wheelbase Mercedes. The Mercedes don't have full leather inside the car and the fake wood grain fades over time. But the Maserati looks perfect on the inside with no flaws after 5 years.

***** Typically it is based on the make of the car, K onliner. But what's your definition of an exotic? Maybe we'll agree.

Universally, the term is rather subjective, so it depends k n the person's opinion. I dont think brand alone makes a car exotic. Mercedes Benz SLS AMGbis considered exotic, but a Mercedes E Class is not (Even though the price is not much different from the Maserati. I personally think the term exotic refers to cars that relatively costs above the reach of average middle class people. But thats just my personal opinion.

***** Officially, the term "exotic" means from a distant or foreign country, however, when speaking of cars it has typically referred to those that are not as readily accessible or are of limited numbers, which the SLS AMG could fit into that category. Maserati as a brand is still fairly rare and in limited numbers, that is unless the company has their way with Ghibli production, and this is why we consider the brand exotic. We do not argue your opinion, though. Thanks for watching!

ok

Exactly. People are to dumb to understand that this car is at best, bare bones when it comes to luxury. This would be like the merc cla, and people buy this just to say "Oh look I have a Maserati " you maybe do but, it's a bare minimum car.

you must take down your cheap glasses and look again

Indeed, the car's interior is very disappointing. It is very.......... plain and there is no luxury feel. For $70K+ I would expect a lot more upscale interior look and feel. Also, the exterior is not all that. There are a good number of cars that look better in person than in pictures, the Jaguar XJL and the Porsche Panamera just to name a few. But you hardly see a car that looks worse in person. Well, that is the case of the Ghibli. Don't get me wrong, it is not by any mean an ugly car, however, is not a "head-turner" like the GranTurismo.

Juan Moya panamera... :)