Maserati Quattroporte vs Mercedes-Benz E-Class

What's the difference?

Beauty is way more than skin-deep in the Quattroporte and while the 330 doesn't have the punch of the S, it's hardly that much slower. Maserati reasons you will want to spend the $25,000 saved on options, concentrating on the Italian craftsmanship rather than the outright performance available in the V8 or the efficiency of the less aurally attractive diesel.

As with any car of this type, you've got to want one in the first place, but for a big, beautiful sedan, there's nothing as good looking this side of an Aston Rapide. The Quattroporte 330 does nothing to dim the allure of Modena's big mover and, if you're that way inclined, nobody on the outside will ever know.

The Mercedes-AMG E53 Hybrid 4Matic+ is a superb blend of high-tech hybrid muscle and cossetting top-end luxury. Value is competitive, it looks (and feels) the business, despite the conventional sedan configuration it’s surprisingly practical (except for the modest boot), fuel-efficiency is a key benefit and safety is stellar. The ownership proposition is okay for the category but that’s not top of mind when an enticing series of corners ranges into view. It’s an impressive package.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

Long, flowing lines mark out the Maserati as something quite different to its German, British and Japanese competition. This Quattroporte has increased in every dimension but the lines cover its size beautifully.

Big wheels, long wheelbase, low ride but it still looks like a sedan rather than pretending to be a coupe.

The elegance of the lines is complemented by a distinct lack of bling – there's little in the way of chrome work or shouty details. There's plenty satin finishes available and the beautiful paint, while available in pretty much any colour you like, is best kept to a restrained, deep hue. Or silver.

The cabin will doubtless age well. Classic shapes house a fairly conventional but hugely comfortable cabin. The front seats have heaps of adjustment and are large but supportive. Naturally, the leather is soft and supple.

The central screen isn't the dominant feature, like a 50-inch LCD screen in a small living room while buttons are kept to a minimum.

The rear seat is sensationally comfortable, with hectares of available space and a seat comfortable for either lounging or working.

At first glance the E53 passes as a flash-looking Mercedes-Benz E-Class running 20-inch rims, especially in the launch car’s rich ‘Patagonia Red’ finish.

But then, there’s something about the AMG sedan’s stance that sets it apart. Which makes sense because the front fenders are wider by 11mm on both sides (compared to the E-Class) to make room for a wider front track (increased by just over 30mm over the previous-generation E53).

Wheelbase has also increased by just over 20mm to almost 3.0m and the car’s more aggressive nose treatment enhances the distinctive look.

There’s the AMG-specific radiator trim with ‘Panamericana’-style vertical slats, the sleek dual-section headlights and a large lower inlet that directs air to an additional front intercooler as well as an external opening for a wheel-arch cooler.

In profile there’s barely a hard edge to be seen, although character lines in the bonnet and along the car’s flanks contribute to a taut surface treatment.

At the rear, horizontally-connected LED tail-lights feature a stylised Mercedes three-pointed star signature, then a rear apron housing a diffuser and twin double tailpipe ‘trims’ and a bootlid spoiler on the left and right round off a beautifully proportioned design.

Climbing inside means a trip to screen city with an upright digital display in front of the driver flanked by a large central screen to the left and an additional panel for the front passenger beyond that. It’s a lot.

But once you’re on top of all the glass surfaces, details like open pore grey ashwood trim on the lower console come into focus, as do the brushed metal accents, beautifully sculpted ‘Performance’ front sports seats (optionally fitted to our launch drive example), racy stainless steel pedal covers and the five spoke AMG performance steering wheel with configurable rotary buttons.

It’s a supremely luxurious and comfortable interior. 

The current Quattroporte has been with us now for a couple of years in diesel and petrol turbocharged V6s and turbo V8 forms.

The 330BHP uses the same, Ferrari-built V6 but detuned to 'just' 330 bhp. The price has been detuned too, dropping $25,000 from the V6 S's entry price to kick off at $210,000.

Maserati 330bhp benefits from an overall specification improvement across the range, landing in your garage with a ten-speaker stereo with USB and Bluetooth, power everything, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry and start, front and rear parking sensors with reversing camera, cruise control, sat-nav, auto headlights and wipers, double glazed windows and an interior covered in leather and wood.

Later in the year, your Quattroporte will be available with a new silk trim from Zegna

Only very occasionally does it become clear that Maserati is part of the Fiat Group and that moment comes when you use the 7.0-inch central screen in the dash.

eight-speed ZF automatic transmission

The software is based on the group's UConnect and it isn't great. It's not bad, but it feels its age (however, it's much better than the system on the Gran Turismo), needing a lot more work or a quick surrender to Apple's CarPlay or Android Auto.

Once you work your way through the weird menus, it's fine to use and is miles ahead of the not-much-cheaper Lexus LS unit which is almost unusable.

Sound from the ten speaker stereo is crystal clear and the phone performance is also very good.

Priced at $199,900, before on-road costs, the Mercedes-AMG E53 Hybrid 4Matic+ lines up against an interesting mix of internal combustion, hybrid and pure-EV contenders, the most closely aligned on spec and price being the BMW M4 M Competition xDrive ($201,300), Lexus LS500h F Sport ($199,250) and Porsche Taycan 4 Cross Turismo ($197,400).

And as you’d expect for a performance sedan on the cusp of $200K the standard equipment list is long. Aside from the performance and safety tech we’ll get to shortly, the E53 features four-zone automatic climate control, 17-speaker Burmester surround sound audio (including digital radio), Nappa leather trim (including the steering wheel) and the ‘MBUX Superscreen’ display consisting of three screens - 14.4-inch central media, 12.3-inch instrument/info for the driver and 12.3-inch for the front passenger.

You can also tick off the box on Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and Bluetooth connectivity, plus the power front seats (with memory) are heated.

There’s also a head-up display, panoramic sliding sunroof, ambient lighting, keyless entry and start, built-in nav, a 360-degree virtual top-down camera view, LED exterior lighting and 20-inch alloy rims. 

There’s more, but you get the idea. This car is loaded with included features that help it match or better its diverse competitive set.

There are four optional AMG packages available - The ‘Night Package’ ($3000) which includes aero-influenced body elements, special rims and more. The ‘Carbon Fibre Package’ ($6000), featuring a range of carbon bits including the exterior mirror caps, bootlid spoiler and interior pieces like the centre console and steering wheel. A ‘Performance Seat Package’ ($5000), which unsurprisingly focuses on racier front seats with integrated headrests. And the ‘Energizing Package Plus’ ($5300) adds ‘multicontour’ front seats that are heated (as are the centre console lid and door armrests) and individual fragrance for the interior, as well as ionisation of the cabin air.

The E53 is powered by a 3.0-litre, turbo-petrol, in-line six-cylinder engine working in concert with an electric motor housed within the car’s nine-speed (torque-converter) automatic transmission. 

Drive goes to all four wheels via an electro-mechanically controlled clutch distributing power between the front and rear axles.

Engine performance is up by around 10kW compared to the previous E53 thanks to software upgrades, a new twin-scroll turbo with higher boost pressure (1.5 bar vs 1.1 bar) as well as additional front and wheel-arch intercoolers. 

The engine alone produces 330kW/560Nm while the permanently excited synchronous motor chips in with a solid 120kW/480Nm for overall outputs of 450kW/750Nm.

Just a few hundred metres behind the wheel is all it will take to convince you the Maserati belongs in the same class as the competition. It's incredibly quiet – courtesy of the acoustic double glazing – and all occupants benefit from supreme comfort.

While the 330 is 58kW down on the full fat V6, you won't really miss them. There's a fat torque curve, with all 500Nm available from 1750 to 5000rpm, meaning easy progress for the 5.2 metre sedan.

The Quattroporte has two sport buttons to choose from – one looks after the drivetrain and exhaust valving while the second stiffens up the Skyhook suspension.

With the first sport button pressed, you get a more lively throttle, sharper shifts and a glorious noise from the exhausts, although they are a long way from your ears.

It's still a fast car, with strong acceleration from standstill and in the gears, the power as linear as you like with no real turbo lag and a most un-turbo noise to go with the performance.

The only dynamic problem is the electric steering – it seems to get confused between your inputs and feedback from the road, the tyres feeling like they're 'nibbling' an uneven surface, tweaking the wheel in your hands. 

The assistance is a little spotty, too, unexpectedly changing weight. It's just a bit weird. In normal driving, you'll never notice it.

If you’re lining up for a Mercedes-AMG you want an optimal blend of luxury and performance and the E53 Hybrid 4Matic+ nails that delicate balance.

With 450kW (that’s 612hp!) and 750Nm under your right foot, engaging ‘Race Start’, pushing the accelerator to the floor and letting the car do its thing will result in 0-100km/h acceleration in 3.8 seconds. The fat band of mid-range torque is so satisfying to lean into.

Induction, engine and exhaust sounds combine to produce a suitably gruff soundtrack with the hybrid powertrain operating seamlessly. Hit your preferred track day or tempt legal fate and you can explore the car’s claimed (governed) maximum velocity of 280km/h. 

The nine-speed auto is slick and manual changes using the wheel mounted paddles are rapid.  In normal conditions the AWD system is biased to the rear and an electric rear locking diff helps keep things under control if you decide to get the bit between your teeth on a twisting drive.

A chunky brace links the front suspension strut mounts and the car feels predictable and stable in enthusiastic cornering. Rubber is Michelin Pilot Sport 4S (245/35 fr / 275/30 rr) which grips with satisfying determination but does make its rumbling presence felt on anything approaching a coarse chip surface (despite the car’s standard acoustic glass).

Speed-sensitive power-steering delivers accuracy and good road feel without any jitters, the standard active rear-axle steering playing its part. The ‘turning point’ is 100km/h with the rear wheels subtly turning in the opposite direction to the fronts up to that speed and in the same direction beyond it.

‘AMG Ride Control’ combines steel spring suspension (strut front, multi-link rear) with adaptive adjustable damping for the choice of ‘Comfort’, ‘Sport’ and ‘Sport+’ settings. Comfort is the pick for B-road running on typically uneven surfaces. The optional ‘Performance’ sports front seats are comfortable and grippy in equal measure. 

Braking is by ventilated composite rotors all around, with beefy four-piston fixed calipers up front. An electro-mechanical brake booster is designed to combine electrical recuperation with the hydraulic brake for more frequent and efficient energy harvesting over a longer period of time. The pedal feels firm and progressive with smooth initial bite. 

All around vision is good for a conventional sedan with a quality reversing camera, 360-degree overhead view and front and rear parking sensors helping massively with parking duties. That said, a 12.5m turning circle isn’t tiny.

Six airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, brake assist, blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert.

There is no ANCAP or EuroNCAP safety rating for the Quattroporte.

The Mercedes-AMG E53 Hybrid 4Matic+ hasn’t been assessed by ANCAP or Euro NCAP, but that doesn’t mean it comes up short in terms of crash-avoidance and passive safety tech.

It features a comprehensive suite of ‘Advanced Driver Assistance Systems’ (ADAS) features including ‘Active Brake Assist’ (Merc-speak for AEB), adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, lane-change and lane-keeping assist, front and rear cross-traffic alert, traffic sign recognition, driver attention monitoring, adaptive high-beam, ‘Park Assist’ (including front and rear parking sensors) and tyre pressure monitoring.

And if an impact is unavoidable the airbag count runs to 11 - dual front, front and rear side, full-length side curtains, driver and front passenger knee and a front centre bag.

As the name implies, ‘Auto Emergency Call’ will contact emergency services after a collision and there’s even the obligatory Mercedes first aid kit and high-vis vests. 

There are three top tethers for child seats or baby capsules across the rear seat with ISOFIX anchors on the two outer rear positions.