Maserati Ghibli review

Cor: physical instrument dials! Ooh, no touch-sensitive buttons! The Ghibli’s interior may well be a generation older than the established rivals, but that by no means relegates it to irrelevance. Not all of BMW and co’s gadgets are actually progress.

There’s something rather pleasing about the Ghibli’s old-school use of actual switchgear. Shame some of the minor bits and bobs, like the light switch, indicator stalks and steering wheel buttons, are low-rent. 

The touchscreen’s been upgraded since the Ghibli went on sale and now measures 10.1 inches and looks slick in its frameless surround. It’s impressively rapid too, though the native interface is fussy, and you’ll be glad of the standard Apple and Android smartphone mirroring. You can choose to use a rotary BMW iDrive-style controller to work your way around the menus, but its position stacked under the volume knob is a little fiddly as well. 

While the Ghibli’s seats are coasted in expensive-smelling leathers and the front chairs are comfortable, space in the back is pathetic – think of it as a 2+2, rather than a BMW 3 Series (let alone 5 Series) rival, and abandon all hope of carrying adults four-up. There’s 500 litres of boot stowage, but no hidden under-floor space.