Maserati Quattroporte

For the most part, the cabin of the Quattroporte looks and feels every inch the luxury car it’s trying to be. There’s plenty of (electrically operated) adjustment on the leather-upholstered driver’s seat and steering wheel, and the individually ringed dials and customisable digital display in between give a nice touch of class that’s complemented by the touch-screen infotainment system on the centre console. There are also umpteen combinations of high-class materials, trims and finishes for the cabin. We like the pull-out drawer at the bottom of the centre console that will hide your phone and cable while it’s plugged in to the USB socket.

Sadly, however, there are also a few too many places that betray a lack of attention to detail. The wheel-mounted controls for the digital display are fiddly to operate; the pedals are offset to the right and make the driving position a little uncomfortable; some of the controls – such as those for the headlights and wipers – feel cheap; and the visibility to the rear is restricted by the head restraints blocking the view out of the small rear window. Oh, and putting the boot-release button in the roof seems perverse.