Maserati Ghibli saloon - Reliability & safety

The Maserati Ghibli – like the larger Maserati Quattroporte and two-door Maserati GranTurismo coupe – feels a million miles away from Maseratis of the eighties and nineties. This means build quality is impeccable, driver ergonomics are excellent and a sense of solidity abounds. While the Ghibli is too niche a car to have featured in our 2019 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey, it was submitted for crash-testing by Euro NCAP, which judged it to be a very safe car indeed.

Maserati Ghibli reliability

Assuming you choose the diesel, you’ll be getting a modified version of a Jeep engine, which has earned its stripes through years of dedicated service for Grand Cherokee owners. Such pedigree might not quite tally with the Ghibli’s image, but it does bode well in terms of reliability and robustness.

If you’d rather focus on the Ghibli’s glamour, rest assured the diesel engine’s adaptation was overseen by one of Ferrari’s top engine men. The Ghibli’s petrol offering, meanwhile, was designed from the ground up by Maserati, but built by Ferrari, which, it’s fair to say, knows a thing or two about assembling engines.

Safety

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Although Maserati hasn’t put any of its other models forward to Euro NCAP for testing, the Ghibli was assessed by the independent safety body back in 2013. It was found to provide excellent protection in the event of a collision. A 95% adult occupant protection score is genuinely impressive, while a 79% child protection score is decent, too.

Seven airbags, anti-whiplash headrests, a braking assistance system and a clutch of electronic safety programmes will provide excellent protection should the worst happen, or even prevent such an event occurring in the first place. In addition to these standard items, go for one of Maserati’s optional Driver Assistance packages and you’ll get adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring and a system that scans behind you when reversing.