Car Statistics: Maserati - Gran Turismo Series 07 (4 stars)

Styling (5 stars)

The Gran Turismo's back-end may be slightly banal, but few would deny that this Italiano coupe has beauty, glamour and style by the bucket-load, and its interior is as beautifully furnished as Ferrari's - for tens of thousands less.

Handling (4 stars)

The Gran Turismo has near-perfect weight distribution, producing balanced handling that's very safe - and fairly entertaining too. It's slightly spoiled, though, by understeer in tight turns, and steering that lacks feel and is not always ideally weighted, being too heavy around town, and too light at high speeds. It's good, but not as deft as a Jaguar XKR.

Comfort (4 stars)

If you need to carry four for a distance, this coupe and the Mercedes CL are the only two in this class for the job. Just sitting in the cabin makes you feel comfortable, so tastefully plush is the ambience, and the impression is backed up by ride quality that's better than you'd expect, if on the firm side. The optional Skyhook suspension improves on this, but occasionally gets it wrong, and probably isn't worth the extra.

Quality (4 stars)

For richness of finish this Maserati is hard to beat, and the company has been battling hard to eliminate the reliability issues that have troubled it in the past - and this Gran Turismo is another step forward. Proof that Maserati is succeeding is found in strong residual values but, don't be surprised if you face the occasional disappointment.

Performance (3 stars)

The Gran Turismo's innards are very closely related to the Quattroporte saloon's, and although this Coupe is shorter and lighter it remains heftier than much of the opposition. Which is why Maserati originally planned a 4.7 litre V8 (which will come) rather the 4.2 installed, which delivers a little less go than might be expected, especially at lower speeds. But at high revs (it pulls beyond 7000rpm) it goes hard and sounds magnificent.

Roominess (4 stars)

You don't buy an ultra-high performance coupe to lug packages and people, and indeed, the Gran Turismo's boot is speedily filled, but if you regularly need to carry four this is a better device than you'd expect, back-benchers surprisingly well catered for, even if they won't quite be lounging. Space for on-board junk is adequate, too.

Costs (2 stars)

You'll rarely see the right side of 20mpg, and you should budget generously for servicing, but the good news is that modern Maseratis hold their value better than many, making this car less expensive to run than some in this class. But it won't be cheap, however you look at it, any more than insurance will be. And its CO2 emissions, at 330g/km, are poor.

Value (4 stars)

The Gran Turismo is more classily finished than any of its rivals, especially inside, it will be rarer and comes from one of the most glamorous marques on the planet, yet it is less expensive than several rivals. It's well-equipped too, with sat-nav dual zone climate control and CD hard-drive as standard, and option prices aren't too heinous.

Stereo (4 stars)

The sat nav in the previous Maserati coupe was infuriating, and if some may moan that this system is shared with various Peugeots and Citroens, the fact is that it works, and works well. The stereo is good, and very good with the optional Bose system.