automatic for the people
April 12th, 2006[04.03.06] According to Automotive News, buyers of the Maserati Quattroporte will soon have the option of ZF’s excellent 6 speed automatic, fixing one of the car’s few flaws: a sequential manual gearbox that – like most – is too jerky in everyday driving…
UPDATE:
While it has all the ingredients to create a feeling of luxury, it’s hampered by being such a driver-focused car. That infamous paddle-shift gearbox is the biggest problem, making mooching about at low speeds a disaster thanks to a horrible pause between gears that would be masked by the torque converter in a proper auto. Although Maserati claims that its DuoSelect system is ‘one gearbox with two souls’, it’s obviously aware of its shortcomings. Word from the inside is that the QP will be available with a proper ZF automatic gearbox towards the end of the year, leaving the paddle-shifter for the more driver-orientated models. About time too, is all I can say. – evo’s Harry Metcalfe