On the road again - Robb's Maserati Adventures

My wife hit 50 this year so we decided to add another car to the garage. One on her list.

2014 Gran Turismo Sport in Rosso Trionfale over Sabbia or Pearl Beige… Waiting on the build sheet to know for sure. Man I love this paint color.

what a great car. True cream puff one owner with only 10 k miles.

I picked it up outside of St Petersburg Florida this morning and am going to enjoy a week on the road (5 days) to get it back to AZ adding 2,000 miles.

New tires and battery and recently serviced passing the ppi so I figured time for a needed break and road trip.

Will update the trip on this thread along with our ownership experiences.

Will need to order floor mats and the sticky buttons are on the horizon. So I am looking forward to getting those perfect. My A-frame fabric backing is loose on a couple spots so I guess I will need to fix that also at some point.

I am enjoying learning the quirks with the car. The tech is pretty horrendous so I’m not sure if I will replace with an apple car play system touch screen yet or keep it 100% original… lol

The wheels are pretty nice and are growing on me although I think I always liked the Neptune wheels the best. I was told mine were an upgrade option…. I will stop in at a few dealerships on the way home to pick up some swag and try to grab a build sheet / window sticker.

The car is very well built and solid. I like the suspension on it in normal and sport. Seems perfect. The suspension on my sport pack Aston was too hard. And the non sport pack cars were too soft. This Maserati seems the perfect balance. It is fast enough for me and will be a great road-trip car for my wife and me.

Robb

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Sport mode is great. Paddles are big and very nice to use.

Parking sensors work fine. They engage back on at stoplights even if you switched them off on the button on the dash… lol

a/c works fine. Seats are supportive and comfortable. Radio sounds good with my Bose system but selecting stations is not very modern. My toggle switches and volume controls on the steering wheel are not working so I will have to look into those back in AZ. Haven’t read the manual yet for some of the extra buttons or features.

Cruise control works pretty good. If you keep the switch on and use the brakes, the next time you activate it with the stalk, it will go back to last saved speed. It won’t start where you currently are. So if you want to reset a brand new speed, you kind of need to turn the main switch off and turn it back on to clear its memory. But worked fine.

I am getting 23 mpg cruising on the interstate at 77 mph so that’s pretty good. I am sure to reduce that on many of the upcoming roads.

Had a couple of rain storms and the car still looks very clean. I guess 75 through heavy rain is basically a car wash for the aerodynamics on this car.

All in a great buy and hopefully a long term keeper. Will cross fingers on low maint on this one.

Robb

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Enjoy! We've had a 2011 Gran Turismo convertible since October 2010 and just can't let it go, no matter what other cars we buy. In 11 years, we've gone through two batteries and a few tires. We had an oil leak at our 10 year check up that cost about $3,000, but that was the most expensive service we've had. Definitely some sticky buttons, but fixed with a little effort. On a cold start few cars sounds as angry as the Gran Turismo.

 

I will also add that visibility is excellent with bigger greenhouse than Aston’s and the front hood slopes down toward the road quickly (also better than the Aston’s) so out front, great connection to the road. 3/4 view out also is pretty good with the mirrors. The blind spots aren’t bad at all.

Robb

 

I love reading owners reports on their experiences with their cars. The color on your Maserati is very lovely!

What’s a comfortable cruising speed, or at what speed does it feel “difficult” on the Highway? 80-95? MPH

Ciao!

 

It’s solid so far up to 90. I’ll see what it’s like above that at some point. No problems with handling. Today heading toward Shreveport, Louisiana.

Robb

 

You must be joking you can cruise all day long at 130 mph in these, the issue is not the car but traffic and law enforcement.

 

I’m not joking, it is a serious, but subjective question.

I can cruise at 150 MPH all day long in Montana, but that’s me. And the issue isn’t traffic or law enforcement; it’s a deer or an elk!

I was asking Robb his opinion of his comfort level with his Maserati.

 

Perfect.

Thanks Robb!

 

Great car, great choice, gorgeous, I’m sure you have a very happy wife . I’ve owned several Maseratis over the years, they are special automobiles.

Have a safe and wonderful trip!

 

I think the color is a slightly darker (and a slightly less orange version) of Ferrari’s Rosso Fiorano

I noticed today that the brake pedal takes a little distance before engaging. So I’ll likely do a brake fluid flush when I get back. No biggie. Not sure if other owners have similar long brake pedal travel?

I made it to Shreveport, Louisiana tonight going through Mississippi and Alabama. Nice tunnel in Mobile. That put a smile on my face. I will actively seek out more tunnels and underpasses…

Robb

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Congrats Robb! Only one way to really get to know a car... and you're doing it.

 

I’ve picked up most of my additions in person and driven them 1000 plus miles off the bat. Definitely reveals a huge amount right off the bat. Great memories on all of the journeys.

my blue 355 needed radiator work so it did not make a trek except directly to the shop.

Robb

 

Will be stopping at Boardwalk Ferrari / Maserati on Monday so will pull build sheets and see if they have some swag… lot of bugs on the car now so will also see if they can get it washed for me. Lol.

Robb

 

Lovely, Robb. What camera and lense(s) are you using? I've been a Leica photographer since 1945 when I bought my Leica llla w/ 50mm/f2 Summar from my Dad for $25. (I was 14)

 

Thanks for sharing, great photography

 

I am all Leica SL2 and M11 these days. Best optics in the world.

although these quick shots are with the latest iPhone pro so I could be really light weight this trip. I have the big cameras out most other days of the year.

Robb

 

Great day on the road. Hit a rest area for a pit stop in TX. Made it to Dallas area around lunch.

Filled up with gas and enjoyed seeing the unleaded gas sticker on the gas lid… and there is a hanger for the cap on the gas lid door.

Dropped into Boardwalk Ferrari and Maserati in Plano. Great outfit. The service guys got me cleaned up for the second half of my cross country trek so all the late night bugs wouldn’t be compounded. I also talked to the sales crew about the Mc20 waiting list.

Robb

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The service department pulled a build sheet for my car and it was revealed my interior was Sabbia…. In real life it and Pearl Beige are crazy close to each other. it also showed the options on my car which I already knew about.

but I also checked out some of the subtle leather and paint differences in their specifier area.

Robb

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All cleaned up. It was hot and humid… but I’m sure you all guessed that already.

Robb

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Some pics from the dealership.

Robb

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Updated F1 team photo. It used to be Alonso on the wall long after he departed.

Robb

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I like the simple gauge without the kilometer markings. Most cars have both.

grabbed some Hard Eight bbq for lunch

lots of ag in west Texas.

on my way to Lubbock, I passed the 6666 ranch. Fans of the Yellowstone tv series will enjoy that tidbit…

tacos for dinner.

Robb

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I have a black dash, but I do notice that it has a pretty high reflection amount in the front windshield when driving into the sun. More than my other vehicles. Maybe it is from windshield rake. Might look at adding an Al cantata or carpet cover on the dash to knock down the reflections. Anyway. I’m glad I didn’t get a tan dash like I have seen in some other cars, that must be a reflection nightmare.

Robb

 

Congrats Robb, beautiful car!