Harmony Four Cylinder:
Maserati's first hybrid car knocks on the door of the electric vehicle market
As an alternative to diesel vehicles, Maserati has brought to market a four-cylinder petrol car with an 48-volt starter motor and an electric supercharger, will this new hybrid product deserve the name Ghibli?
Alphabetically, the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class essentially control the German high-end car market. Volvo's V90 Travel Edition barely gets a piece of the action. For other vehicles in its class, such as the Maserati Ghibli, Jaguar XF and Lexus ES, there really is only a few scraps left. This situation is likely to arise because the latter models rarely have the opportunity to appear in the business car procurement list of major companies, because the managers of large and medium-sized companies responsible for vehicle bulk procurement will basically focus on diesel and hybrid models, which leads to models like Ghibli basically no chance at all.
Finally, Maserati launched their first mild hybrid model as a stepping stone to the electric vehicle market. The 330-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine replaces the diesel model, which is 3701 euros cheaper than the 350-horsepower V6 engine. This "reduction" may be beneficial to the Chinese market for some tax reason, but it will not bring any benefits to the German market because of its electrification to some extent.
The hybrid Ghibli's power output is in the same range as that of the 3.0-litre V6 engine, but due to the lack of two cylinder blocks, its price is closer to that of the A6 55 TFSI (340 hp, V6), 540i (333 hp, R6) and E 450 4Matic (367 hp, R6). Even so, its base price of up to 71,507 euros still makes this sedan with a length of nearly 5 meters more expensive than BMW and Audi by nearly 9,000 euros, and almost 5,000 euros more expensive than Mercedes-Benz's mixed four-wheel drive.
01
Bashi's drive
In fact, the initial driving state of Ghibli is not much to show off for those "poor acids", but let's take a look. Opening the bonnet, there is a 48-volt belt starting motor inside, which is capable of providing 10 kW of electrical support (kinetic energy recovery power: 12 kW) to the engine through the pulley on the crankshaft, while powering the start-stop on the road. Normal cold start-up is still dependent on a conventional 12-volt gear motor. An electric supercharger (eBooster) from BorgWarner can quickly raise the exhaust gas pressure to the level required by the turbine. The dual DC transformer at the bottom of the 500-litre luggage compartment and the 48-volt battery (and 12-volt battery) well distribute the vehicle's front and rear counterweights: 995 kg at the front and 994 kg at the rear.
On urban roads, this drive is particularly prominent, with almost no delays in starting and accelerating halfway: 350 Nm of torque can be output at 1500 rpm, which is undoubtedly beneficial for everyday driving (from 2250 to 4500 rpm, 450 Nm can be output). The depth of pedaling on the accelerator pedal at startpoint directly determines whether the feedback from this ZF eight-speed automatic transmission is comfortable or violent. Equally comfortable is the ability of the eBoost to avoid unnecessary gear switching when the engine is running at low speeds.
The acceleration of this four-cylinder engine in the high rev range is not always satisfactory. Perhaps because of the electronic aid, it produces a very small torque vacuum platform. Of course, it can quickly cross this platform and return to normal. Although for this level of vehicle, its acceleration performance is not bad, but if you take out the speed increase of 100 to 200 km / h (17.3 seconds) alone, it is 3 to 4 seconds slower than several other competitors in the German series.
Similarly, there is the untreated sound: it is really enjoyable for a four-cylinder car, but there is nothing to be excited about. In addition to the lack of excitement in the car's drive system, it is not very fuel-efficient, and the fuel consumption of 12.1 liters per 100 kilometers is even 2 liters more than that of some six-cylinder C-class cars with the same output power. The Ghibli powertrain did not surprise us, but the price was quite eye-catching: the Gran-Lusso series started at 83 169 euros, and the test vehicle even reached 101 674 euros due to the various additional configurations added.
02
The ceiling of an executive class sedan?
In order to fit its identity, the Gran Lusso (or "palatial") version had to come up with some real materials. The first is its expensive three-layer baking paint "Noble Blue" (3154 euros). The photo may not show its true appearance, and the paint surface will reflect different shades of blue under different angles of sunlight, which is very impressive.
Needless to say, the interior is made of high-grade leather over a large area to create the ultimate luxury atmosphere. In addition to this, the comfortable seat not only has seat ventilation, but even has a button that can control the expansion and contraction of each pedal! Luxury is certainly more than that, and there are many nice details, such as the front passenger car with super door handles and front door panels separated by different storage, and the driver's side has a grip integrated in the central armrest. In addition, the steering column is equipped with an aluminum alloy paddle for 417 euros, and the left paddle is located exactly between the steering wheel and the turn signal lever, so it is somewhat inconvenient to operate. However, this inconvenience is negligible, as you will have a completely different driving experience with the paddles.
Anything else? yes! The hands on the barrel analog dashboard glow blue at night, and the 10.1-inch HD resolution central control screen provides a fairly reasonable operating interface. However, there are also many confusing details. For example, the seat heating function is hidden under a multi-level menu, the spin button is not available in many submenues, and there is a raised volume adjuster in the center of the button. In addition, all four doors are equipped with a "vandal-resistant" button that locks all the doors on the inside, which may actually come in handy in some real-world situations.
The driver's seat can have two sets of seat position memory storage, unfortunately, the passenger seat does not provide memory function. The processing technology of the whole vehicle is decent, but there are still some places where the tolerance is like going through the motions. For example, if you look closely at the exterior of the car, you can find flaws above the rear window area. Inside the car, the seat back rubs against the central armrest, making an unpleasant noise. In addition, the buttons in the car look no different from the cheap compact model, and even the chrome trim seems to be no different.
03
What happened to the control system?
If these small details can be ignored through the "fan" filter, then the control system is another matter. Not only is there little feedback on the road information, but on the city road it reacts almost crazy! When you turn the steering wheel, you will feel that the body is a little adhesion to the road surface, as if to be able to return to the central position in time later.
It happens so strangely that sometimes for 10 to 15 minutes you don't even feel it's there, but it happens very annoyingly for the next 3 minutes. However, it should be noted that there will be no security risks in the occurrence of this situation. The question is, how can the Maserati headquarters in Modena tolerate such a thing? You know, the Trofeo-V8 model we've tested has excellent handling.
The lateral dynamic control of the hybrid Ghibli is quite acceptable. Although its larger body weight is not superior in its class, it can still provide a smooth acceleration performance and prove its own capabilities on the test track. In the 18-meter snake-like pile test and elk test, it gave good test results, at least it can produce the same or even better results as the same level of German competitors. If you want to be more fun, you can position the rear axle by the accelerator pedal when cornering, and the tire width provides enough adhesion for the 285 mm sparring endurance tire.
The Ghibli's speed limit is 255 km/h, which makes it pleasant to drive on high speeds. Although sometimes potholes in sharp bends can make the car body a little bumpy, but this is harmless. Most of the potholes are very gentle and only feel a little uncomfortable when the Skyhook adaptive shock absorber hesitates.
Of course, the loss of points on the chassis is due to the performance of the hybrid system that is not as good as expected, and its price is not in line with its own product strength. Germany's carbon dioxide emissions tax law seems to have no reason to buy such a car. Because it costs the same amount of money, it makes more sense to buy the V6 or V8 version of Ghibli.
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