Maserati 5000 Reviews

Peter Anderson road tests and reviews the Maserati Quattroporte 330BHP with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Luxury car buyers will again be spoiled for choice this year, with a new arrival to suit every budget.

Peter Anderson road tests and reviews the Maserati GranTurismo MC Sport with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

While Australian new-car sales may be heading for another record and most Top 10 brands are up, the latest figures show prestige marques are outpacing the rest of the market.

Richard Blackburn road tests and reviews the Maserati Quattroporte S with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

The race to build the world's costliest and most outrageous SUV just shifted into high gear.

The total of 105,054 registrations was one of the best ever and confirms an upswing in February, following a Reserve Bank interest rate cut.The figures, obtained by News Corp Australia ahead of their official release next Tuesday, show a broad-based rebound among private and business buyers and across all vehicle types.One in every three vehicles registered is now a high-rider.SUVs accounted for the bulk of the additional 7800 sales with demand up 15.3 per cent, led by Mazda's CX-5.One in every three vehicles registered is now a high-rider.However, the Toyota HiLux spearheaded a resurgence in light-commercial demand, with 2000 additional private buyers cancelling out a fall in business purchases. Rather than looking to utes, fleets bought an extra 1400 passenger cars over the same month last year in a rare boost for the traditional format.Toyota's Corolla, which was March best-seller with almost 4300 sales, and the company's locally built Camry, with deliveries up 11 per cent over last year, were two of the main beneficiaries.But Holden and Ford's Australian-made vehicles failed to fire, with the recently refreshed Falcon finding only 700 buyers and Commodore sales slipping 18 per cent.Ford's Melbourne-made Territory SUV also missed out on the sunshine, with sales down 15 per cent, while Holden's Adelaide-built small car, the Cruze, slumped 24 per cent.Most mainstream carmakers had a strong month but luxury brands were among the biggest winnersAs all three Australian makers prepare to halt production over the next two years, fewer than one in 12 vehicles sold is made locally.Most mainstream carmakers had a strong month but luxury brands were among the biggest winners, with Mercedes recording a 30 per cent increase and its second-highest number of registrations ever.The new Mercedes C-Class, which this week was awarded the World Car of the Year accolade during a ceremony in New York, is on a roll and outsold all other mid-size cars at any price except the Camry.Most premium makers outperformed the overall market, with demand for Lexus and BMW both up 14 per cent. Land Rover was up 19 per cent, Audi 22 per cent, Porsche 87 per cent and Maserati tripling its sales compared with March last year.

Last year the vehicle market notched up a record with 1,136,227 sales, busting the previous zenith by about 24,000 and confirming that in Australia, one million-plus is the norm.Figures for November, released last week, show sales have already passed the million mark, and when the final tally emerges in early January the industry will congratulate itself on another bumper year.In reality, it has spent most of 2014 in reverse and it would take a freak December to even approach last year's total.If the trend holds, then the overall decline will be about 2 per cent - equivalent to 500 fewer buyers a week. But it's a mixed picture for the 50 or so brands, with the gap between winners and losers larger than ever.With one or two exceptions, the winners by a substantial margin are luxury brands. Their share of the market now approaches 9 per cent, up from 7.7 per cent last year, and it's reflected in some impressive numbers.The German luxury trio dominates but Australia bucks the trend by favouring Mercedes-Benz ahead of BMW and Audi.With its small car range - the A, B, CLA and GLA - flying out of showrooms, the three-pointed star is stretching its lead over BMW and rubs it in by selling more of its expensive performance variants as well.Its bestseller, the C-Class, has been available for only a few months but will finish the year as the third most popular mid-size car at any price - behind only the Toyota Camry and Mazda6.Audi's ambition is to overtake its German peers and become No 1 here, replicating its position in Europe and China. After slowing in 2012, its growth spurt has resumed and it's catching BMW on the strength of its award-winning A3 small car.Some of the second-tier luxury brands are powering ahead even faster. Thanks to its new-generation Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, demand for the British SUV specialist is up 22 per cent. It will finish as the fourth most popular luxury marque.Ironically, SUV demand is also powering Porsche. It cannot get enough of its second SUV, the Macan, and waiting times are stretching the patience of buyers. Without the Macan, Porsche was on track for a record. With it, sales are up almost 50 per cent. When Maserati adds an SUV, the Levante, in 2016 it can expect to get a comparable boost.Super-large, super-expensive SUVs are what the elite badges lack but they are all working on one. Even so, Maserati's push for volume is yielding results. The new-generation large sedans Ghibli and Quattroporte have almost tripled sales this year.Even among the luxury brands there are losers. Volvo lacks the deep pockets of the Germans and is struggling to keep its product pipeline full. Its dealers will doubtless breathe easier when the overdue replacement for its XC90 SUV arrives in the second quarter next year, with sales down 7 per cent in 2014.Lexus is another that has waited too long for fresh product and its NX mid-size SUV arrives too late to prevent it treading water.Among mainstream brands, losers are much easier to find than winners. Over-optimism and the pressure to grow meant many ended 2013 carrying too much stock, with Nissan the standout - but far from sole - example.The traditional solution to this problem, and one by no means limited to mainstream brands, is for the distributor and/or dealers to register cars themselves.It's a way of meeting sales targets but it simply saves up trouble, not the least of which is an excess of ageing 'demonstrator' models that sooner or later have to actually be sold. When they are, the sales have already been counted.Combine that with an assault on their traditional territory by the luxury brands and everyone from Toyota to Honda, Holden to Ford, has seen their numbers go south.But the biggest losers in 2014? Cheap Chinese brands, with Chery sales down 35 per cent and Great Wall almost 60 per cent.

New S-Class Coupe to make Australian debut at Motorclassica, along with appearances from Maserati, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin and Lotus.Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building will play host to Motorclassica this weekend, as over 500 cars and motorcycles fill the world-heritage listed building and its surrounding grounds.Celebrating classic cars and bikes, Motorclassica started as a concourse event but has since grown to become a motor show-style exhibition which has attracted attention from several iconic sports car marques.Among the classic cars at this year's event will be new models from Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Porsche, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Lotus, Caterham and Morgan.Each of these brands have rich histories, and Motorclassica gives manufacturers a platform to build on this heritage with their latest models.S-Class Coupe will be available with a number of powertrains, including the 430kW/900Nm AMG 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8Mercedes-Benz was the first contemporary manufacturer to debut a new model at Motorclassica last year, and will use this year's event to reveal its new S-Class Coupe to an Australian audience for the first time.The new model is Mercedes' flagship luxury coupe, replacing the CL-Class range, and will rival the Bentley Continental when it goes on sale locally in the first quarter of next year.Though Australian specifications are still unconfirmed, the S-Class Coupe will be available with a number of powertrains, including the 430kW/900Nm AMG 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 aboard the S63 performance flagship.Maserati will celebrate 100 years in the automotive business at this year's show and is expected to be represented strongly with iconic past models. The Italian marque's new Ghibli and Quattroporte sedans will also be on display, along with the Gran Turismo and Gran Cabrio two-door models.Jaguar will showcase its F-Type R Coupe, the firm's most powerful production model ever, while fellow British brand Aston Martin will have a Vanquish and V8 Vantage on display.Lotus will also show a pair of mid-engine Exige S sports cars, one hardtop and one roadster.The show will also celebrate 50 years of the Ford Mustang with a special display featuring the most desirable and classic Pony cars, although the new 2015 model due to go on sale in Australia next year won't make the show.Motorclassica 2014 will run between October 24-26 at Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building.

Ewan Kennedy road tests and reviews the 2014 Maserati Ghibli.