2024 Maserati GranCabrio Trofeo First Test: Worth It at $200,000?
DEK: Maserati’s new GranCabrio Trofeo entices with 542 hp, new tech, and attractive looks.
Pros
- Most attractive convertible under $400,000
- Quick for a gas car
- Good back-road partner
Cons
- Puny trunk, even for a drop-top
- Folgore EV is more refined
- Screen-based top controls
It’s not often you can define a car’s spirit from one tiny, in-car clock, but that’s the Maserati GranCabrio Trofeo. The focal point of the convertible’s interior isn’t the Italian-flag trim on the passenger side, but an analog clock perched at the top of the dash. Except it’s not actually analog at all; the timepiece is a circular digital screen.
That’s the 542-hp Maserati GranCabrio Trofeo summed up. Old-school in style and performance, but not excessively so. Finally modern in feel and technology, yet not desperately following every new trend.
After testing the GranTurismo Trofeo coupe, we figured we knew Maserati’s new two-door. After all, how different can the convertible be?
Meet the Most Interesting Convertible’s Sibling
Just $2,000 separates the 2024 Maserati GranCabrio Trofeo—a gorgeous gas-powered drop-top—from the GranCabrio Folgore. The latter is the electric model with an EPA-rated 233-mile driving range. Perhaps enough to get you from the mansion in the city to the villa in the country, but only just.
An electric high-style convertible is the nichiest of niches, and we admire Maserati for pursuing it. The AWD convertible’s 751 hp and 2.7-second estimated 0–60-mph time might make other drop-tops feel inadequate, but not the GranCabrio Trofeo. With a more-than-healthy 542 hp, the GranCabrio Trofeo also has standard AWD but swaps out an electric powertrain for a twin-turbo V-6.
That’s right, Maserati replaced a V-8 on the last-gen model with a V-6.
On the track, the six-cylinder GranCabrio Trofeo more than proves its worth with a 0–60 time of 3.4 seconds, matching the coupe. That performance is accompanied by a gruff bark of an engine note that encourages drivers to explore the bottom side of the accelerator pedal as often as safely possible. Go on, rip to 65 up every onramp.
You’ll want to remember how good that feels once you subject this gorgeous car to stop-and-go traffic, say from Los Angeles to Palm Springs. Suddenly, that beautiful song sounds more like a loud grumble around 1,400 to 1,700 rpm.
Better Than the Coupe?
A funny thing happened at the track: We liked the Maserati GranCabrio’s figure-eight performance better than the GranTurismo coupe we’d recently tested. Even on a grand tourer like these two-door Maseratis, we expect the coupe to be a better driver at the limit than the drop-top. Instead, road test editor Chris Walton said the GranCabrio Trofeo felt “like a proper sports car rather than a GT I’m trying to force to become a sports car.”
Around our figure-eight test, which you can think of as a racetrack in a bottle, we experienced lots of dive and roll along with more brake feel than the coupe. Still, the overall experience was positive, and the GranCabrio Trofeo’s 23.8-second time at 0.88 g average beats the GranTurismo Trofeo coupe’s 24.1 seconds at 0.84 g average.
Those body motions might be excessive on the track, but they add to the fun on a winding road at more down-to-earth speeds.
There’s enough steering feel to have fun and a dead spot at the top of the brake pedal’s travel to facilitate smooth stops. Braking from 60 to 0 mph took an impressively short 103 feet, with consistent stops the four times we ran the test. In fact, that’s 3 feet shorter than the 106 feet it took the new GranTurismo Trofeo coupe.
Like the coupe, the GranCabrio convertible aspires to be a GT that can dance, not a full-strength sports car all the time.
Still, we have mixed feelings about the tuning of the air suspension. Maybe our expectations were ultra-low for a sporty Italian convertible, but at first the GranCabrio delighted in the way it minimized minor road imperfections. By the end of our time with the car, however, we’d brace for larger impacts like expansion joints on highways.
Go Loooong
We never tired of looking at the GranCabrio’s design, which doesn’t have a weak angle. Just like the GranTurismo coupe, however, panel gaps on the hood are quite noticeable.
What really distinguishes the long-hooded Maserati is the way it combines good design with big-car presence. This thing takes up as much space front to rear as a Mercedes E-Class sedan. Coming in at 195.5 inches, the 2024 GranCabrio is longer than the Mercedes SL, Porsche 911, Ferrari Roma Spider, and BMW M8.
Hope You Don’t Like Shopping
Shocking no one, that size doesn’t translate to noticeably superior interior space. The GranCabrio technically has two rear seats, but with a tall driver or front passenger, the rear quarters become more of a leather-lined luggage area. That’s great, because the trunk is very small even for a convertible.
Would you rather Maserati compromise looks for another cubic foot of trunk space? We thought not.
Better to just put the top down to enjoy the sky above and the wind in your hair. Sadly, the GranCabrio requires you to swipe and hold an onscreen button for about 18 seconds to lower or raise the top. As on the Mercedes SL, this tech-forward arrangement will seem innocuous until you need to hold your finger to a display that’s been sitting in a hot, parked car for a few hours.
Another issue that popped up intermittently: The GranCabrio sometimes emitted a slight creak when entering a raised driveway or shopping center entrance. Chopping the top off a coupe presents structural challenges for any automaker, and we hope (but doubt) this was unique to our test car.
Why Not Go Used? This Is Why
We know what you’re thinking: Why not pick up a last-gen model with similar looks for under 50 grand instead of well over $200K on a new one? The interior is why. A modern and easily reconfigurable digital driver display starts things off well, and a pair of central control screens is definitely of this era.
We didn’t experience the same infotainment lagging in the convertible that we noted in our review of the coupe, but we echo the comment about making it easier to activate the 360 camera. You can add an icon to engage the 360 camera to the top left of the upper touchscreen, but the icon is so tiny you must be very deliberate with your screen tapping.
Speaking of taps, we’d appreciate any upgrades Maserati can make to the center stack’s gearshift buttons in feel and style. The functional controls are finished in piano black and feel just all right to the touch. When you’re driving a $228,600 car, you want it to be more than just all right.
Gas or Electric: How to Decide? Step on It
These drawbacks are not deal-breakers; the real question is power: electric or gas?
Lead with emotion. If the Trofeo’s 542-hp V-6 sounds noisy to you (instead of rewarding to listen to), try the Folgore. The quicker Folgore delivers more everyday refinement, but its 180-mph top speed can’t compete with the Trofeo’s 196 mph (oh no!).
This GranCabrio Trofeo eschews the instant torque experience of the electric Folgore for an old-school sensation—feeling an engine wind up for just a moment before the scenery blurs.
The modernized 2024 GranCabrio isn’t the “most” or best of any one trait except one. It lacks the next-level dynamics of a Porsche 911, the snob appeal of a Ferrari Roma Spider, and the practicality of a BMW M8 convertible. This side of the upcoming Aston Martin Vanquish Volante, though, the GranCabrio is the most attractive new convertible money can buy today. And that’s enough.
I’ve come a long way since I drove sugar packets across restaurant tables as a kid, pretending they were cars. With more than 17 years of experience, I'm passionate about demystifying the new car market for shoppers and enthusiasts. My expertise comes from thoughtfully reviewing countless vehicles across the automotive spectrum. The greatest thrill I get isn’t just from behind the wheel of an exotic car but from a well-executed car that’s affordable, entertaining, and well-made. Since about the time I learned to walk I’ve been fascinated by cars of all shapes and sizes, but it wasn’t until I struggled through a summer high school class at the Pasadena Art Center College of Design that I realized writing was my ticket into the automotive industry. My drive to high school was magical, taking me through a beautiful and winding canyon; I've never lost the excited feeling some 16-year-olds get when they first set out on the road. The automotive industry, singing, and writing have always been my passions, but because no one seeks a writer who sings about the automotive industry, I honed my writing and editing skills at UC Irvine (zot zot!), serving as an editor of the official campus newspaper and writing stories as a literary journalism major. At USC, I developed a much greater appreciation for broadcast journalists and became acquainted with copy editing rules such as why the Oxford comma is so important. Though my beloved 1996 Audi A4 didn’t survive my college years, my career with MotorTrend did. I started at the company in 2007 building articles for motorcycle magazines, soon transitioning to writing news posts for MotorTrend’s budding online department. I spent some valuable time in the copy editing department, as an online news director, and as a senior production editor. Today, MotorTrend keeps me busy as the Buyer's Guide Director. Not everyone has a career centered on one of their passions, and I remind myself all the time how lucky I am.
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