Diplomat takes the Maserati Quattroporte for a test drive

The only way to beat the excitement of hearing that you will be loaned a Maserati Quattroporte is to actually drive a Maserati Quattroporte. I had chosen to take this absurdly good-looking car to the wedding of my smartest friend, where I knew it would look just the part parked outside the chapel next to her enormous Palladian home.

My previous experience of Italian cars led me to expect something fiery, temperamental, jolting and fast – oh so very fast. But while the Quattroporte is capable of satisfying anyone’s lust for speed, it is a car like no other in that it matches the comfort and convenience of an executive saloon (the name literally translates as ‘four doors’) with the thrills of a high performance sports car.

Let’s start with how it looks: sleek, glossy and muscular, the Quattroporte’s aerodynamic edges elegantly trail a radiator grill of gleaming chrome teeth that gulps down the oncoming road. Inside, the decor is more ‘executive limousine’ than ‘Italian sports car’. Seriously comfortable, the finely stitched Poltrona Frau Leather upholstery envelopes you like a favourite drawing room armchair. The minute you put your foot on the brake and the key in the ignition, your seat adjusts to the optimum driving position. Meanwhile, the wood panel dashboard lights up, offering you numerous air conditioning and seat heating options as well as an in-built sat nav (which strangely kept telling me I was in Serbia). Unfortunately, someone had filled the music library with the life works of Kate Bush, so her eccentric shrieks accompanied us all the way to Birmingham; fortunately drivers can programme a library of music of their own choosing, lasting many hours and which can be organised into different playlists to suit any driving mood.

Turning over the ignition, you hear a muffled roar that is the product of nearly 100 years’ experience manufacturing high performance cars. I was told that the beauty of the Quattroporte is that it has ‘the soul of an executive limousine and the heart of a powerful, Italian thoroughbred.’ Cruising around London with effortless ease, the car certainly turns many a head; out on the open road, its straight-line performance is awesome. Accelerating from a standstill, you’re pressed into the back of your cushioned leather seat just enough to remind you that there’s more than a few heavy-set Italian horses under the bonnet – the Quattroporte can go from 0-60mph in just 5.6 seconds and its official top speed is 167mph. And while the V8 engine offers plenty of raw power, the inbuilt Maserati Stability Programme co-ordinates the car’s performance to make you feel completely in control, regardless of how fast you are travelling.

The Quattroporte’s cleverly designed rear seats can easily accommodate a grown man – the six-foot-two passenger I carried back to London found that he had plenty of leg room and could comfortably sleep off the previous night’s festivities. Additional features such as a boot big enough to fit four golf bags, a refrigerated compartment inside the armrest and tyres that can travel up to 75 miles with a puncture make you love the car even more. But it was the bare-faced luxury and formidable performance of the Maserati Quattroporte that actually had me plotting a five year career plan in order to buy one myself – this is truly a wonderful car to drive.

The Maserati Quattroporte range starts from £77,335 on the road.

For further information please visit www.maserati.com or call the Maserati Info Centre on +44 (0) 800 064 6468.