MASERATI'S lovely Ghibli saloon has never quite muscled in on the 'executive' saloon car territory pretty much owned by the BMW 5 Series, Audi A6 and Mercedes-Benz E-Class trio, writes William Scholes.
More's the pity, perhaps. A Maserati is a far more beguiling proposition than a German taxi, but there you have it.
Anyway, a low-profile hasn't stopped Maserati tinkering with the Ghibli, which first arrived in 2013.
The latest update is a substantial one, centred on giving the car a hybrid drivetrain - an essential in its part of the market.
It's a mild-hybrid system, so offers only a gentle application of electrification. A 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol turbo engine works with a 48-volt alternator; harvested energy gets stored in a rear-mounted battery, from where it is deployed to, among other things, power an electric supercharger.
It's a unique solution for cars in the '5 Series class' and certainly seems to yield performance figures very much in keeping with Maserati's reputation: 326bhp and a chunky 332lb.ft of torque should be ample. The 0-62mph time is quoted as 5.7 seconds.
Official fuel consumption and CO2 figures have yet to be announced - expect WLTP figures of around 35mpg and 190g/km, however.
The mild-hybrid Ghibli replaces the diesel-engined version.
You can order one now - prices start at £58,220.
