My love affair with the Maserati Quattroporte V began the moment I sat behind the wheel of a fifth-generation model, and I still remember the feeling as if it happened yesterday.
This QP carries a Ferrari-developed 4.2-litre V8 under its long bonnet, a 394bhp unit that Maserati first offered back in May 2004, and it remains one of the most soulful saloons ever built, backed from the start by the Skyhook adaptive damping system fitted as standard.
Maserati Quattroporte V
The gearbox, sold as DuoSelect on this model though descended from the Cambiocorsa unit, can feel jerky and ponderous in auto mode, yet nobody buys a Quattroporte V expecting a smooth commuter appliance.
Talk to Andy Heywood at McGrath Maserati, a specialist who has handled more of these cars than almost anyone else, and he will tell you that properly maintained examples of the fifth-gen car are the pick of the whole family of Maseratis, far ahead of the 4200 Coupe in everyday enjoyment.
He always stresses that a meticulous approach to servicing costs a thousand pounds more upfront but saves a fortune later, and that setting a sensible budget rather than chasing something cheap means this extra outlay is worth every penny once you understand the rules of ownership.
The chassis underneath, shaped with input from Pininfarina, earned special praise when new and still draws admiring looks today, wrapped in styling that never feels dated even decades into its production run.
Maserati expanded the range sensibly over time, starting with the Executive GT, a cosseting version loaded with extra wood, leather and toys for buyers wanting comfort first.
The Sport GT arrived alongside it with 20-inch alloys, quicker shifts, a sports exhaust and recalibrated dampers for a firmer edge, and by 2007 Maserati finally answered customer demand for a regular auto, fitting a six-speed ZF transmission that roughly 70 per cent of buyers chose over the manual-style box.
The Sport GTS followed a year later with 20-inch wheels, uprated brakes and conventional damping as standard, and by 2008 the engine’s engine capacity grew to 4.7 litres, lifting output to 425bhp and 433bhp across the S and GTS respectively, while a facelift brought a fresh front grille with vertical slats and revised lights.
Every version stayed beautiful, charismatic and genuinely driver-centric, and I always tell people to go into ownership with eyes wide open rather than starry-eyed.
It is a flawed masterpiece in every sense, but a work of art all the same, as one German correspondent discovered while driving one across Europe and calling it the most comely four-door car he had tested that year. He described the whole experience almost like winning a lottery, since instead of facing the usual Rental Car Lottery on a trip through Antwerp, a generous friend handed him the front seats of a genuine Maserati Quattroporte V, known to insiders by its factory code Tipo M139.
This car wears the marque’s badge proudly, and since its 2003 debut when it was first unveiled, it re-established Maserati at the top of the luxurious, performance car market after a predecessor that had chased a more contrived positioning.
Ferrari engineered the underpinnings, including an early sequential gearbox that the Modenese engineers loved but that brought real clunkiness and a lack of refinement, hurting the sales prospect of a car that otherwise suited its brand and intended market perfectly.
The correspondent’s own test car covered 1400 kilometre stretches across western Europe in a later Sport GT model fitted with the more mundane yet far more serviceable ZF torque-converter, badged simply as the six-speed auto, while the Ferrari-based V8 engine kept its 400 hp output unchanged throughout.
Reviewers of the day generally said the car was well received as standard, thanks to its rear-mounted automated manual gearbox setup and the input of genuine Maserati specialists who understood exactly what buyers wanted. Ask anyone who has run one for years and they will confirm what Andy Heywood says too: buy a properly maintained car and the fifth-gen Quattroporte rewards you every single day you drive it.
What We Said
Before I first drove the QP, I assumed the idea of a sporting luxury saloon this size was a contradiction in terms, since nothing stretching five metres and weighing nearly two tons should handle well or feel truly entertaining and involving.
That assumption fell apart within the first mile, because the fluidity and precision in its keenness to change direction made the 500kg advantage of lighter rivals feel irrelevant. The steering delivers just enough information without ever feeling nervous, and the car’s on-the-limit temperament stays benign even under real provocation from an enthusiastic driver.
In terms of pure A to B ability, this is the best Maser chassis I have driven, and it genuinely redefines big-car dynamics for anything of similar size. The engine loves being worked hard, climbing through the revs cleanly all the way to 7600rpm at the red line and filling the cabin with a guttural howl that never gets old. My only complaint concerns the gearbox; the DuoSelect unit in auto mode simply cannot match a conventional torque-converter automatic for smoothness, a flaw many owners learn to live with.
Years later, road tester John Barker climbed into a 2008 Sport GT S and came away with mixed feelings. With 339lb ft and 396bhp fighting almost 2000kg, he called it a quick car but not a strikingly fast one, admitting he wanted more grunt, not just to out-drag turbodiesels on the autostrada but to properly exploit the chassis on a twisty road.
He also noted the steering feel felt a touch light around the straight-ahead, needing extra concentration at motorway speeds, though it firmed up nicely once tipped into corners.
He described the car as weighty, smooth and direct through bends, with a poise and quality to its demeanour that encouraged confident driving, and a consistency that rewarded commitment.
Push hard enough and the understeer turns gently into progressive, catchable and gatherable oversteer, exactly the kind of behaviour you want from a big four-door. Its looks never faded either; whether parked after a stint on the Autobahn, resting at a pit stop, or sitting in a car park, the car’s beauty stood out next to anything more modern.
The Quattroporte carries a certain butch style alongside its poised grace, and stepping inside reveals Poltrona Frau leather that, even well-worn, still shows exceptional quality through touch, feel and scent.
The wood trim looks like the work of an Italian artisan rather than something sourced from Faurecia or Johnson Controls, so despite its age the cabin still feels like a genuine luxury item rather than plastic dressed in gold foil.
Of course, there are flaws. The rain sensor triggers the wipers clumsily, and at maximum speed the right-hand wiper can knock against the lower cladding. The automated lights behave just as unpredictably, the air-con swings between too warm and too cold, the glovebox shows signs of material fatigue, and a rattle near the b-post reminds you these quality issues are part of ownership.
The Blaupunkt sat-nav system fitted to many cars was rated poor when new and looks laughably awful today. On the subject of NVH, the cabin lets in more road noise than expected, along with occasional wind noise, possibly linked to the Lancia Thesis sourced wing mirrors, plus noticeable engine vibrations and transmission vibrations through the body.
Despite all that, the car never feels weak; below regular revs around 3000 RPM it can feel like the power output is only half the claimed figure, yet push past that and it comes alive properly, proving genuinely potent once given room to breathe. Next to an Audi A8 of similar vintage but different flair, the Quattroporte can look hopelessly inept on hard facts alone, since the German rival is better built and more advanced, and even the 4.2 V8 petrol engine feels stronger despite giving away 50 hp, at least at non-Autobahn speeds.
None of that matters once you hear the glorious engine note, something no comparison chart could ever capture. The interior touchpoints remind you constantly that this is a bespoke device, not a mass market product, and the performance car roots show through in every driving impression, especially once that singing V8 wakes up above 3000 RPM.
On one memorable trip through endless roadworks and awful weather, I never came close to finding the car’s real limits, partly because I was paying for the petrol myself. I simply cruised through Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium at around 130 kph, burning through Super 95 at roughly 12.5 litres per 100 kilometres, while the oil temperature sat closer to 70° C than the ideal 90°.
That low-speed cumbersome demeanour brought the odd clunk from the wiper against the plastic cladding, and honestly, it is hard to build a reasonable case for this car on paper.
The Audi A8 is the clinical Bauhaus style bungalow to this Maserati’s cosy Tuscan renaissance villa, and even the turbocharged successor improved everyday usability so much it can feel like a dressed-up Chrysler wrapped in posh hides. Still, when feelings matter more than facts, every driver and every scribe who has spent real time behind the wheel ends up loving it anyway.
What to Pay
If you are shopping in 2025, expect the bargain basement to start around £6000, and cars at that price usually carry higher mileage along with a service record that isn’t fully watertight.
A full service history matters more than anything else on these cars, so always ask to see it before falling for the styling. Pre-facelift Sport and Executive GT models are easy to tell apart by their mesh grills, finished in either black or chrome, and their price swings wildly depending on condition.
You might find a tired Executive GT model for around £8000, especially if it is leggy on mileage, while a genuinely clean, sub 70,000-mile Sport GTS model can fetch up to £30,000.
What to Look Out For
Mechanically, the 4.2 and 4.7 versions of the engine share the same basic architecture, differing mainly in bore and stroke, and both are genuinely bulletproof as long as they are regularly serviced, ideally annually. The big service comes every four years and costs around £2000 on an early car, though as values fall some owners start to cut corners, so always check for stamped and receipted service history before buying. The one known weakness lies in the camshaft variators, which turn noisy on a cold start before the oil has circulated, sometimes producing odd tapping noises around 2000 revs, though many owners have secured free replacements and a later modification under warranty, a job priced at about five grand.
Transmission worries are rare too; the ZF auto proves largely trouble-free, while the DuoSelect setup can feel clunky, though adjusting the biting point on the clutch softer or harder changes the character noticeably.
The fuzzy logic built into the system adapts to your driving style over time, and any gearchanging anomalies, such as jumping from second to fourth, usually points to clutch wear rather than a genuine gearbox issue.
Clutch life normally runs between 20,000 miles and 30,000 miles, shorter with heavy town driving, and specialists often replace the flywheel at the same time for around £3000, so a pre-purchase inspection using proper Maserati diagnostics to check remaining clutch life is money well spent at roughly £300 per inspection.
Suspension, steering and brakes all deserve scrutiny too; the ball joints wear less than on the 4200 Coupe, but carrying two tons still takes its toll over time, so listen for wear on a test drive.
Check that Skyhook functions properly if fitted, since replacement dampers are expensive, and remember this car does eat brakes and tyres quickly, with rear rubber lasting as little as 6000 miles if driven hard. Front pads alone can cost over £500, while drilled discs run past £1000 a pair, and the attractive 20-inch wheels are genuinely delicate, so watch for bent wheels from hitting potholes.
Finally, check the body, interior and electrics; serious corrosion is rare, so focus instead on signs of accident damage. Test every one of the electrical gizmos, and inspect the LCD screen on the dash closely, since if it starts to lose pixels it becomes fearsomely expensive to replace, and a proper inspection should reveal any electronic maladies before they become your problem.
‘I Bought One’ Ewen Clark
Longtime owner Ewen Clark put it best after running several Maseratis himself. He bought his first Maserati Quattroporte V back in 2007, moved through three DuoSelect models, and now runs a GTS, adding that across all his QPs he has covered around 70,000 miles with very little going wrong, calling the car far more reliable than a colleague’s Merc S-class.
The only real fault he mentions is a puddle-light in the door mirror that would switch on randomly while parked, flattening the battery, though that has since been fixed. For him, the QP ticks every box, being fast and fun enough to count as a toy, yet luxurious and spacious enough to suit the whole family, and to his eyes it remains the most stylish saloon on the road, with handling to match its looks.
He also loves the aura around the Maserati marque, plus the community and knowledge shared through the Maserati Owners Club and the Sports Maserati forum.
His advice for new buyers is simple: always source a car from a reputable dealer, whether an official outlet or an independent specialist, and never skip an independent inspection, since these heavy cars wear their brakes and tyres quickly, causing rubber to wear quickly even under gentle use.
His clutch was still healthy at 50,000 miles, and while he enjoyed the sporty feel of DuoSelect, he admits the ZF auto suits stop-start traffic far better as a practical car for a mundane commute or a spirited hack on a free weekend.
It certainly isn’t cheap to run; he averages 20mpg and sets an annual budget of about £1500 for servicing and consumables, but with almost no depreciation, he says finding this much pace and grace for the money elsewhere is nearly impossible.
FAQs
Is the Maserati Quattroporte V reliable?
Yes the 4.2 and 4.7 engine is genuinely bulletproof if properly maintained and regularly serviced.
How much does it cost to run a Maserati Quattroporte V?
Budget around £1500 annually for servicing and consumables, since it does eat brakes and tyres quickly.
Which Maserati Quattroporte V is the best to buy?
The Sport GTS is widely seen as the pick, combining uprated brakes, 20-inch wheels, and a trouble-free ZF auto.
Is DuoSelect or the ZF auto better on the Quattroporte V?
The ZF auto feels far smoother in stop-start traffic, while DuoSelect rewards a more sporty, driver-centric style.
Why do people still fall in love with the Maserati Quattroporte V?
Because beneath its flawed masterpiece reputation lies a soulful, guttural V8 that makes every drive feel unforgettable.
