24 Jul 2018
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Maserati Australia took the opportunity of a mid-life facelift for its Ghibli mid-sized sports sedan to not only refresh the styling and technology but also reorganise the line-up into nine distinct variants.
Buyers could mix and match three powertrains with three equipment levels to create the Italian car of their dreams.
As before, the powertrains were all 3.0-litre V6s – a 202kW/600Nm turbo-diesel in the Ghibli D, a 257kW/500Nm bi-turbo petrol in the Ghibli, and an enhanced 316kW/580Nm bi-turbo petrol in the Ghibli S.
The latter packed 19kW more power and 30Nm more torque than before , cutting the 0-100km/h dash by 01 seconds, to 4.7s.
On top of the engine choices, buyers could choose from three specification level in ascending order – Ghibli, Ghibli GranLusso (Grand Luxury) and Ghibli GranSport.
Styling wise, the Ghibli received reshaped bumpers and grille. Mechanically, the biggest news was electric power steering in place of the hydraulic set up of the previous model.
This meant Maserati could add safety features such as lane-keeping assist. Other safety tech new to the Ghibli at this time was adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, active blind spot assist and integrated vehicle control.