It’s helped in this regard by good visibility, this breeding confidence in you by making the car easy to place on the road, which in turn creates a sense of compactness at odds with dimensions that record nearly five metres nose to tail and two metres across the hips.
Ultimately, it isn’t as invigorating as the Porsche 911 Turbo, but it feels lighter on its feet than the Bentley Continental GT.
When it comes to continent-crushing capability, it also makes a fair fist of leaving you relaxed and refreshed when you arrive at your long-haul destination. Noise levels are impressively low and there’s just enough luxurious waft to the ride on undulating but smoothly surfaced roads.
High-grade materials are used throughout and the quality of the finish is pretty much on a par with its upper-crust rivals. Put proudly on the centre console is Maserati’s latest touchscreen infotainment system, which is visually slick but home to too many functions. We challenge you to turn on the headlights in a hurry.
The driving position is nicely low slung, while neat packaging also means it’s possible to fit four average-size adults, provided those in the rear are willing to compromise on visibility, while the 310-litre boot is long, if low.
The Trofeo rings the till at a hefty £166,830 in the UK, which is bang on the money for the Continental GT V8 and about £10,000 more than the 911 Turbo.
It can’t match the aristocratic image and five-star comfort of the former, nor the sharper edged dynamics and adrenaline-pumping pace of the latter, but it’s not hard to see the appeal of the Granturismo, which is a vastly more polished performer than its predecessor, even if its engine lacks the old stager’s charisma and siren call.
Crucially, it still packs enough magnetic Latin style, charm and personality to make it a tempting left-field choice in this rarefied corner of the market.
