C​hange of Focus

If you look at my car history you can see its been along the lines of practical performance. I've always made sure my main car had at least 4 useable seats. The idea being that either my grown children or parents would get in the back when we went out together. With the change in driving habits during the pandemic I started to look back at just how often this happened. On average, due to the distance between us, this was only 5-6 times a year at most. Was it worth compromising car choice for this? Time for some thinking.

T​he Maserati Levante S is a tremendous car. It has power, poise, comfort and luxury. It is a wonderful place to sit and eats up the miles. It has plenty of room for luggage and can comfortably fit 2 adults in the back for long distances. Its surprisingly nimble on the twisties in sport mode. Hugging the tarmac and almost making you forget its bulk. However it can't get away from the high centre of gravity and 2.5 tonne weight. In that respect the Ghibli was better. Would a change back to the Ghibli work?

I​ started looking at Ghibli, still with the thought of 4 seats, but with no newish second hand S models around I turned to the fact that the local dealer had a Ghibli Trofeo in stock and were touting it for test drives. A 200+mph four door Italian saloon? Yes, please. I booked the test drive and waited.

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T​he test went well but I wanted to think about it so didn't talk numbers immediately. A month or so later, with the price of the car coming down, I gave them a call and took over the Levante to get a price to change. I expected it to be more than the Levante, its a newer model with a £120+k list price, but when the figures came back I was a little shocked. It was over twice as much.

W​hilst on the way over to Maserati the thought of whether I needed the rear seats had started to percolate in my head. I could always hire a car for the few times we needed them. My local Ferrari dealer had a California in that was less than the Ghibli. I gave the salesman, who had sold me both Maserati, a call to ask about it. Someone else was looking at it and would get back to them later in the week to confirm. I thought nothing of it and went to talk to Maserati.

A​ couple of days later, with Maserati doing their best to adjust the price, I got the call from Ferrari to say that the California was available if I wanted to come over and take a look. I finished early for the day and went to look at the car and have a chat.

T​he car looked great, sounded great, had a couple of issues but they would be fixed as part of the approved Ferrari programme, so it was time to talk money. Using the same details as for the Ghibli Trofeo the California came in at less than the Levante. A little deposit to find but, even using that deposit on the Ghibli would still leave it at almost twice the price.

D​ecision time. I did the practical thing of checking insurance etc, which again was less than the Levante but would require it being kept in the garage. Something to check. The Levante wouldn't fit in the garage as its too long. Some diligent measuring later and I could confirm that the Ferrari would fit, just.

T​he final reckoning was taking into account the drive towards electrification, that understanding of mortality that COVID has brought. If I didn't go for it now would I have another opportunity? So here we are.

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