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Maserati Ghibli vs BMW 5 Series

What's the difference?

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Maserati Ghibli
Maserati Ghibli

$119,990 - $208,880

2021 price

BMW 5 Series
BMW 5 Series

$114,900 - $114,900

2024 price

Summary

2021 Maserati Ghibli
2024 BMW 5 Series
Safety Rating

Engine Type
S/C & T/C V8, 3.8L

Fuel Type
Premium Unleaded Petrol

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Fuel Efficiency
12.3L/100km (combined)

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Seating
5

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Dislikes
  • Seats lovely but a bit firm
  • Confused sense of identity
  • Expensive

  • 520i is pricey for 153kW four-pot
  • Styling a little gaudy in places
  • Multimedia could be simpler
2021 Maserati Ghibli Summary

Maseratis make a certain amount of sense to a certain kind of person. As the folks who run the brand in Australia will tell you, its buyers are the kind of people who’ve driven German premium vehicles, but find themselves wanting something more. 

They are older, wiser and, most importantly, richer. 

While it’s easy to see the high-end lure of Maserati’s Italian sex appeal styling and luxuriously appointed interiors, they’ve always struck me as cruisers rather than bruisers. 

Again, they’re for the older, more generously padded buyer, which makes the Trofeo range something of an oddity. Maserati says its Trofeo badge - seen here on its mid-sized sedan, the Ghibli, which sits below the vast Quattroporte limousine (and side on to the other car in the range, the SUV Levante) - is all about the "Art of Fast". 

And it certainly is fast, with a whopping V8 driving the rear wheels. It’s also completely bonkers, a luxury car with the heart of a track-chomping monster. 

Which is why Maserati chose to launch it at the Sydney Motorsport Park complex, where we could see just how quick and crazy it is. 

The big question is, why? And perhaps who, because it’s hard to imagine who wants, or needs, a car with such severe schizophrenia. 

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2024 BMW 5 Series Summary

More than half a century of 5 Series pedigree has led BMW to this, the first electric version of its venerable sedan, the i5. 

It's true that electric cars come with benefits that suit the realm of luxury (or at least executive) motoring like their effortless acceleration and near-silent operation, so this new G60 5 Series has the potential to be the best yet in its ‘i5’ form.

But there are rivals, well-liked ones at that, which BMW must contend with to snatch the spot at the top of the large premium sedan ladder technically held currently by the Porsche Taycan in terms of sales - though Mercedes’ E-Class would lead if its electric cousin EQE’s sales were combined.

So, with names like that to go up against, BMW better have brought its A-game.

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Deep dive comparison

2021 Maserati Ghibli 2024 BMW 5 Series

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