{"id":24073,"date":"2026-10-25T17:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T21:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/?p=24073"},"modified":"2026-10-25T05:05:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T09:05:50","slug":"maserati-grancabrio-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/maserati-grancabrio-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Did the 2027 Maserati GranCabrio Trofeo Convince Me To Give New Cars a Chance After All?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s not something I often think about, but I only really drive old cars. But this was my immediate<\/em> thought when Maserati invited me to its driving experience in Santa Monica, featuring its 2027 lineup.<\/p>\n

Unlike most automotive journalists, I was actually a bit nervous. A touchscreen? Backup camera? All those buttons and features? Not to mention the 2027 Maserati GranTurismo Trofeo is just a few pounds shy of 4,000 pounds. What would it be like to drive such a big, button-filled vehicle?<\/p>\n

And I didn’t even know this would be up in the twisty, narrow canyons of Malibu yet!<\/p>\n

My boyfriend and my dad were insanely jealous. It’s not every day that you drive a Maserati. But I was facing the opposite problem that most people have. I’ve really only been driving older manual cars. How do you go from the barren, visceral interior of the 2006 Lotus Elise to the plush and overwhelmingly equipped GranCabrio? I’ve never even used a backup camera.<\/p>\n

All this overthinking at least led me to a good idea for a feature: Would the 2027 Maserati GranCabrio Trofeo make me consider a new car for once?<\/p>\n

Elegant and intentional<\/h2>\n
\"maserati
Image Credit: Olivia Richman \/ AutoNotion<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I’m not trying to say that driving a manual is easier for me, or anyone. But there is something just so straightforward and focused about driving a car like the Elise. No screens, no distractions, no features to mess with. It’s just you, the stick shift, the steering wheel, and the road ahead. I feel like there’s really not much to think about aside from the drive itself.<\/p>\n

That’s what I love about older cars. You’re just there to\u00a0drive<\/em>.<\/p>\n

For this reason, I really haven’t been itching to buy a new car. Instead, I’ve found myself with three manual cars: the ’92 Mazda Autozam AZ-1<\/a>, the ’93 Mazda Miata MX-5, and the Elise. I love how quirky yet simple each experience is. Each vehicle has a personality and a unique feel, but that’s all in the smell, the design, the sound, and the performance. There’s no assistance, no cameras, no buttons beyond volume and temperature.<\/p>\n

I first saw the 2027 Maserati GranCabrio Trofeo when Maserati graciously brought all of us journalists and content creators up to some $50 million mansion looking over Los Angeles. It was parked up there, the city lights glittering behind it, people in suits with alcoholic beverages hovering around it. It looked sexy and beautiful, and very Italian. But did it have character? Maybe not compared to the derpy smile of a Miata with the headlights popped up, and definitely not as much character as an Autozam with its gullwing doors opened up.<\/p>\n

I asked Longbow Co-Founder Mark Tapscott if their cars had a face back in May and he said they purposefully wanted their roadster to have no face<\/a>. \u201cFerrari is doing this thing where they don\u2019t want faces on the front of their car anymore. I kind of agree with that direction,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Tapscott said.<\/p>\n

I don’t. So I asked Head of Marketing Klause Busse if Maserati<\/em> tries to give their cars a personality. I got a bit of a better answer.\u00a0“I’ve spoken about this internally. [The personality] is elegance with intent. It’s not attitude – that can be misinterpreted. It’s intent. It wants to go somewhere. It has purpose. It’s like meeting someone who knows where they want to go. <\/em><\/p>\n

“They know who they are.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Okay, I can respect that. It’s not quite aggression, but a sense of determination. That definitely coincides with Maserati’s design language, which is being understated compared to obnoxiously audacious supercars.<\/p>\n

But okay, that’s just looks. You can’t base everything<\/em> on looks. There’s a (horrendous and agonizingly ongoing) show called Love Is Blind<\/em> for a reason. But to me, the GranCabrio was sort of like that over-the-top handsome guy at the gym that all the women say is just so perfect. I can acknowledge someone is good-looking, but I’m not attracted to it at all.<\/p>\n

If you say the GranTurismo is ugly<\/em>, you’re lying. However, it’s perhaps too perfect for me.<\/p>\n

A luxury and smudgy interior<\/h2>\n
\"inside
Image Credit: Olivia Richman \/ AutoNotion<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Maserati explained to us before the drive that Maserati isn’t just about looks, even though that’s something they definitely care about (and talk about). It’s an entire sensory experience, they said. This includes the thoughtful rumble of the 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged Nettuno V6 engine, the crisp stereo sound, the feel of the steering wheel (redesigned after customer feedback), and the new gear selector levers. Together, they create what Maserati calls “comfortable performance.”<\/p>\n

When I sat in the driver’s seat of the GranCabrio Trofeo, I wasn’t as intimidated as I thought. If you ignore all the screens, steering wheel buttons, and extra features (like the Scarf Mode I mentioned in my previous interview<\/a>), you’re just in a car. However, that’s part of the problem. If you hid the Maserati branding, I don’t know if anyone could guess it’s the interior of the GranCabrio. It basically looks like every new luxury car, which means it’s elegant, sleek, and sort of boring. There really isn’t much personality inside, especially compared to the “intent” of the exterior.<\/p>\n

I have never had an infotainment screen, and the GranCabrio Trofeo has a 12.3-inch central display and 8.8-inch lower display below it. This is where I fumbled around with the Bluetooth and navigation, and where I struggled to find the volume. Why can’t it just be a dial? Who doesn’t love cranking up the volume with a physical dial? And seeing my sunblock-covered fingers leaving smudges all over the screen was driving me insane, even in the first 10 minutes of driving. This was just as depressing as I always thought it’d be<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Maserati explained to us earlier that the infotainment screen was designed not to distract. They want you to be in the moment. That’s part of the Italian lifestyle: “allegria,” which means feeling lightness and living in the moment. Maserati doesn’t want you to fiddle with the infotainment screen instead of enjoying the drive. I wasn’t really all too distracted, even as someone who has never had a screen to look at before. However, it still felt a bit soulless. It still felt like I was being watched. Coddled. It wasn’t just me and the car, nothing else. In older cars, you are much more engaged. Cranking up the stereo. Fumbling with your phone on the passenger seat. Changing gears.<\/p>\n

You feel so much more connected when it’s truly just you and the car.<\/p>\n

Predictable, confident, and adaptable<\/h2>\n
\"2027
Image Credit: Olivia Richman \/ AutoNotion<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Driving the GranCabrio Trofeo, I could tell it was a lot more powerful than my own cars. It has 582 horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque. You can feel it. You can hear it. I would purposefully drive a bit slower down the Pacific Coast Highway to take in the beautiful ocean view, the wind in my hair, the sound of the engine, the warm air on my neck from the Scarf Mode. Then I’d speed up to catch up to the rest of the group, admiring the GranCabrio’s fast pickup and perfectly planted feel as I switched lanes. This is a predictable, confidence-building car that wasn’t as intimidating as I thought.<\/p>\n

But that was part of the problem.<\/p>\n

You’re definitely more engaged with the GranCabrio than with other luxury vehicles. But the driving experience is very straightforward, especially if you’re just cruising or commuting. It’s comfortable and elegant, as promised, but it’s not a\u00a0visceral <\/em>driving experience where you feel every little error you make or every bump in the road. Adaptive air suspension automatically adjusts to changing road conditions, keeping everything smooth. Skyhook dampers continuously compress and rebound. Aggressive tuning improves cornering stability and limits body roll. You can change from Country mode to Sport mode to Corsa mode. The GranCabrio Trofeo is constantly adapting to keep you comfortable and secure.<\/p>\n

This was especially noticeable once we got to “The Snake” on Mulholland Highway. I love canyon driving… I thought. But this drive was extremely narrow, with horrifyingly steep drops just inches from your tires. I’m terrified<\/em> of heights. I couldn’t really give the drive all I had, but my driving partner proved that the GranCabrio could handle S-curves and hairpin turns despite its heaviness and size compared to a car like the Elise. She was quite confident in its abilities (and its strong yet smooth brakes). When it was my turn, I nervously skidded at one point, my fear getting to me, and the SanCabrio corrected itself so quickly and got us right back where we should be.<\/p>\n

\"2027
Image Credit: Maserati<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There’s nothing wrong with this. It’s literally what the car is designed for. On paper, the GranCabrio Trofeo is 2039842305489 times better than my cars. But has it convinced me to get a new car?<\/p>\n

No.<\/p>\n

The imperfections of older cars are what make the drive fun. The quirks, the flaws, the danger, the bumpiness, the lack of features… That’s still a lot more preferable to me.<\/p>\n

The Maserati GranCabrio is a masterpiece. But it’s for a very specific customer who wants to experience Italy’s luxury, elegance, and class. It’s for customers who want to feel relaxed, comfortable, and confident. The kind of people who roll up to the valet, wear expensive watches, and order bottles of wine that leave flavor on your tongue for over 20 seconds. And Maserati has never apologized for this. They are very passionate about their branding, their connection to Italy.<\/p>\n

They don’t really care if the GranCabrio appeals to a driver like me. I like that. I like things that are unapologetically themselves. That definitely makes the GranCabrio Trofeo more intriguing to me.<\/p>\n

But I’ll stick to my Elise next time I’m on The Snake.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s not something I often think about, but I only really drive old cars. But this was my immediate thought … <\/p>\n

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