Posts tagged review
2017 Maserati Levante Q4 – Where Performance and Luxury Meet Practicality
Jul 19th
It’s up for debate if the world really needed another luxury crossover but Maserati sure seems to be making some waves with their Levante. With striking looks and its unique Italian character, the Levante is doing its part to stand out in a sea of homogenous boxes on wheels. Maybe we can chalk it up to Italian flair, but Maserati doesn’t really know how to build boring cars. Instead of the usual melting jelly bean shape we’re used to seeing on modern crossovers, the Levante trades bulbous proportions for chiseled, aggressive bumpers and bold character lines. But of course the Levante the way it does; with roots firmly established in Modena, just down the street from the hallowed grounds of Ferrari, there’s some sports car DNA in every vehicle they produce.
Lamborghini Gallardo Driven
Oct 5th
A week ago I had the opportunity to drive our 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo to shoot some video for the web. I’ve always liked the Gallardos, and this one certainly didn’t disappoint. It looks awesome in white (Bianco Mocerus) over black, and has some nice touches like the Callisto silver-painted wheels over red calipers, and clear engine cover. Add-in the E-gear transmission, leather touches in the cabin, suede sport steering wheel, power \ heated seats, navigation, and 6-CD changer, and you’ve got over $25k in options on this car. Can’t say I would have skipped any of them.
The driving experience is fantastic. The engine note is mean down low, and superb at high RPMs. Back in 2006 Lamborghini made some changes to the car which included a sportier exhaust system, with valves opening at high rpm, while maintaining a quieter note in town. They’ve also tweaked their E-Gear transmission over the years, and that was apparent driving this car. 1st gear engagement was smooth, even in sport mode, while the next 5 cog-swaps are dealt with how you expect them to be: Snappy when you’re driving hard, a bit more subdued when you’re taking it easy.
The suspension is surprisingly forgiving. Thanks to Minnesota’s notorious Winters, we can’t exactly brag about our road quality. Sure it’s still best to avoid the big potholes, but the average every-day stuff was soaked up without ruining my day. That is to say – you feel the bumps (you’re supposed to in a car that’s capable of nearly 200mph), but it’s surprisingly comfortable to drive.
In typical supercar fashion, the old Lambo stereo was not much worth mentioning. For 2008 Lamborghini added the onboard computer, a welcome addition. Flip down the screen and you can insert two SD cards full of MP3s. I had mixed success with the system. Most of my memory cards didn’t work. After searching the forums it seems it’s compatible with SD, but not SDHC cards. So you’re limited to under 2GB, which is something like 30 hours of music. In the real world I only got a 256MB card to work, with about 4 hours of music on it, but I presume a deeper dive into the owners manual would have solved my problems. The navigation is typical Audi, which is to say it works pretty well, but without the very-quick MMi interface it can be a little tedious to enter your destination.
Check out this Lamborghini Gallardo for sale on our site: www.twincitiesluxuryauto.com/detail-2008-lamborghini-gallardo…
Overall this is a pretty fantastic supercar. With around 520 horsepower, a superb all-wheel-drive system, and E-Gear transmission – this is a shockingly easy car to drive. Certainly it’s fast enough to hurt you, but it’s not quite so eager to take your head off like a Ferrari 430 might do if you’re not careful. Just about anyone could get in this car and drive it fast, a trait lampooned by Top Gear a couple of years ago: (skip ahead 3 minutes)
Autoblog: Bentley Mulsanne Review
Jan 20th
2011 Bentley Mulsanne
The 2011 Bentley Mulsanne is, on paper at least, everything a big Bentley should be. Beautiful? Powerful? Luxurious? Yes, yes, and yes. “Great,” you may be thinking, “but does it drive like a big Bentley should?” Well, thanks to Old Man Winter, none of us here at Twin Cities Luxury Auto have actually driven the car on U.S. soil. Thankfully, the good folks over at Autoblog just published their own review of Bentley’s new ultra-luxury sedan.
What did they think? In their words, “Let us reassure you that the 2011 Bentley Mulsanne is worth every single copper-plated zinc cent of one-third of a million dollars.”
Head on over to Autoblog.com or click here to read the entire article. Oh, and follow that starting procedure carefully. Like the best dessert at your favorite restaurant, this car is best when savored. Sensible bites, everyone.
source [Autoblog]
2010 Maserati GranTurismo Convertible Road Test
Feb 22nd
2010 Maserati GranTurismo Convertible
Evo magazine has posted a brief road test review of the 2010 GranTurismo Convertible – I suspect this is a teaser for an upcoming article, but they did give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
From the article: “What’s it like to drive? As good as Maserati claims; accurate steering, responsive, poised handling, fine ride. With the roof up, you really could believe you were driving the coupe. The engine isn’t over-endowed with torque but there’s enough, and the noise the V8 makes in ‘Sport’ mode is glorious.”
source: evo
USA Today’s Review of the Maserati GranTurismo
Jan 8th
USA Today had a great review of the Maserati GranTurismo recently, here are some excerpts:
If you can talk about the Maserati Gran Turismo high-performance coupe for more than two minutes without using a naughty innuendo, you should get a prize. We’ll try to remain prizeless.Just looking at the $121,000 GT is enough to make you vibrate, so you can imagine what happens when you actually drive it.
You lean into the throttle coaxing the Maserati-designed, Ferrari-built, 4.2-liter V-8 into delivering as much power and speed as your lawyer and bank account can handle. And you wonder: If this is a car, what are all those frumpy lumps of metal getting in your way? Or, if those are cars, what on earth is the GT? Because it’s sure not like those.
Read the full article here: USA Today
Drive Everything; Buy a GranSport
Aug 7th
“Having owned a number of Porsche 911 coupes, Robert was looking for a change. “The 996 was a great utensil I call it a toaster car, you use it every day until it breaks, and then you throw it away,” he told us. “I considered getting a 997 Porsche – but I wanted something a little more… interesting, soulful, comfortable, stylish and, in Los Angeles, you see about 20 Porsches a day.””
“I think the Maserati is the most rational decision for someone looking for a luxury GT that performs; the only car which comes close is the Aston Martin, and I feel that is just a little too ‘parts bin’ as beautiful as it is, I prefer the purity of the Maserati’s lineage, and I like the motor infinitely better than what is coming out of Aston Martin.”
Rob’s GranSport
Auto Hebdo Praises the Maserati GranSport
Apr 20th
Celebrating its thirtieth anniversary, the French magazine dedicates six pages to the test drive of the Maserati GranSport, placed for this occasion in the hands of a reader chosen by the editors and invited to find out what the life of a motoring journalist entails.
Dominique, the lucky reader selected to test drive the car, became more and more enthusiastic about the GranSport as his hours at the wheel of the Maserati increased: “It’s a perfectly balanced car; so much so that it is difficult to understand where its limits lie. Gear changes are simply stunning!”
The comments of the article’s author, the Journalist Romain Bernard, also confirmed his travelling companion’s enthusiast. In his oppinion, “Knowing you are going to spend a day at the wheel of a GranSport is one of the best antidepressants in the world”.
4Car test drives the Quattroporte Sport GT
Mar 30th
” You look at this car, you drive it, you want it. There’s a Deadly Sin in there somewhere. “
