We review the Maserati Ghibli from price to economy and all its features

GHIBLI is the name of a North African wind and an Italian World War II plane. Now Maserati believe the third version of the four-wheel Ghibli will help their sales take off.

It was originally a 1970s saloon and two decades later a coupé — now it returns to its roots as the wild child of the executive car park against the German giants and Jaguar XF.

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Take off ... Maserati  hope Ghibli sales will rocket

If those parking spaces were Take That, the Ghibli is definitely Robbie Williams.

Choosing this car over the usual exec crowd is equivalent to dying your hair peroxide blond and getting drunk. The looks of the Ghibli are intoxicating enough.

This is very much a little brother to the Quattroporte — by 290mm. It’s a supercar that’s been shrunk in the wash.

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Intoxicating ... supercar shrunk in the wash

It simply trounces everything else in the motoring boardroom battle, oozing exotica from every airvent.

The Audi A7 and Mercedes CLS are no slouches in the desirability department, but the Ghibli has that Italian personality that is simply unbeatable.

The gaping grille, big T badge, traditional three side vents on the wings and swooping, big cat athletic shoulders make this a thing of sheer beauty. Four-door saloons just aren’t supposed to look this good.

Choosing this car over the usual exec crowd is equivalent to dying your hair peroxide blond and getting drunk

Yet it still does what a saloon is supposed to do on the tin from a practical perspective — just. It certainly feels spacious enough with a 500litre boot.

However legroom in the back is not in the same first-class travel you get in a Mercedes E-Class or BMW 5 Series. There’s a huge transmission tunnel that also takes up feet space in the back.

It’s also generously equipped and so it should be for a car close to 50 grand. The interior looks like it’s been stolen from Land Of Leather and feels expensive — the 8in sat nav and entertainment/media screen the centre piece.

You also get climate control and six-way electronically-controlled seats as part of the standard price.

Typically in this sector, the options list is as long as my arm and so will be the receipt if you want to add the glitz of extra carbon trim, xenon headlamps and fully electric seats.

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New premium king ... luxury interior

Unfortunately on the road is where the German premium kings leave the Ghibli in their wake.

On paper it appears a revelation for a Maserati boiled-down supercar.

The 3litre V6 diesel delivers 275bhp which means 62mph in just 6.3 seconds and goes all the way to 155mph. Plus it seems economical, producing only 158g/km of CO2 and around 47mpg.

But that doesn’t get near Audi and BMW rivals that can deliver 2litre diesels and 120g/km with naturally better economy at the pumps.

It can bring out the boy racer in any boardroom bigwig

It’s not like the performance is substantially better to justify that either. The 3litre doesn’t feel satisfyingly quicker than anything else.

It’s fun to drive and can be thrown about the back roads to bring out the boy racer in any boardroom bigwig.

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Yet stick the suspension setting in Comfort mode and it will waft along motorways in real style.

But the biggest bugbear was the incessantly poor ride. Plodding about in city centres the dreadful road surfaces played havoc with the Ghibli’s poise thus the Sportpack is to be avoided at all cost if you like your spine arrangment the way it is.

Stick the 18in alloys and it soaks up the worst of our roads with a far more pleasant driving experience which is far closer to the flying carpet qualities of the Germans in this sector.

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Rear of the year ... Masser's a thing of sheer beauty

It’s in UK showrooms now and prices begin at £48,830 for this diesel model, which will make up 70 per cent of sales, while the more powerful turbocharged V6 petrol models start at £52,275.

Maserati clearly mean business for big business. It has created its first UK fleet sales department and it is offering Ghibli Diesels starting from around £700 a month on company car schemes. It expects a third of all Ghiblis to be bought from company car lists.

I loved driving this saloon. For all its faults, the Ghibli is a heart-rules-over-the-head buy. It’s the only car in this sector that can give its pin-stripe suitors a bit of passion. Let’s hope it can put the wind up the Germans.