Dan Trent: Maserati Quattroporte – Italian glamour for all the family

Bringing me to the Maserati four-door. No, doesn't quite have the same ring does it. Quattroporte … rolls off the tongue rather better, doesn't it? And while the fast saloon market is now rather dominated by cars like the Porsche Panamera, Audi A7, Mercedes CLS and BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe, Maserati's long-standing traditions in this field count for a lot. And just look how cheap they are now!

OK, time for a dose of realism. Buying a Maserati on the cheap is one thing. Running it another. An £80,000 car has £80,000 car running costs, no matter if the purchase price is a quarter of that or even less. But in creeps that dangerous 'what the hell' factor that would never apply to any of the German alternatives. And if I'm going to do a Quattroporte I'm going to do it properly. 

That means one of the early ones with the much derided Duo Select automated manual gearbox. Transmissions have come on a long way in the last few years, be they dual clutches or slick-shifting autos. Even the supercars that first pioneered these automated manuals have abandoned them for their lack of refinement. Well, all but the Lamborghini Aventador, which trades on the brutal shifts as part of its macho character. 

Launching a big saloon car but fitting it with an automated manual of this type and mounting it in a transaxle layout in the rear of the car to balance the weight distribution is the kind of dogmatic, idiosyncratic sense of tradition that appeals to me, even if the reality is ponderous automatic shifts, jerky manual ones and a need to drive round the gearbox rather than with it. That and an appetite for £1,500 clutches every 25,000 miles if you drive it in town. You'd never tolerate such a thing in a Mercedes or BMW. But to me in a Maserati it's all part of the legend.

Saying that even Maserati realised it was on to a losing streak and updated the Quattroporte with a regular automatic bolted to the back of the engine in a conventional way. It also increased the engine capacity from 4.2 to 4.7 litres, the more powerful S models attractive for their more aggressive looks and improved performance.

I don't care. I like the fact the Duo Select cars use an exotic dry-sumped V8 like a proper Italian sports car. I like the fact they need driving properly. I don't care the engine is, by turbocharged modern standards, not especially powerful and way down on torque.

So to the classifieds. This 2005 black one appealed for its gangster looks, the rather attractive wheels and its apparent GT spec, this model offering faster shifts and a few other upgrades. It's got some miles on it but looks clean and £14,995 is temptingly cheap and leaves some budget for ongoing costs. 

This one is also black and although the wheels aren't quite as nice (easily changed I guess) the voluptuous red leather rather lifts the otherwise austere cabin and, I think, adds a suitable sense of decadence. It's pricier at £22,990 but it's only done 27,000 miles and claims a full Maserati service history. And aren't they ageing gracefully. This is a 12-year-old car now but there's a timeless quality to these earlier Quattroportes and I don't think you'd lose much in the posing stakes outside a glitzy hotel or restaurant against much newer machinery. Maserati has since tried to align the modern Quattroporte as a competitor to the other cars in its class. I preferred when they did things their own way. If you're going to give your heart to an Italian car let it be the real deal.