Faults:

Dumped engine coolant into passenger foot-well at 4500 miles. It turned out that the heater hose was rubbing (due to incorrect fitting at factory) resulting in a hole being created. It took three weeks to get a replacement hose, which was replaced under warranty.

Windscreen split at 4600 miles. No sign of stone damage. Dealer agreed that the screen appeared damaged when originally fitted. Maserati refused to replace under warranty.

Engine management warning light kept coming on at around 6000 miles. Fault was due to incorrect spark plug specification. All plugs were replaced under warranty.

An annoying rattle developed at around 6500 miles. This was traced to an ill fitting interior light. This was replaced under warranty.

At the same time, the gear leaver gaiter kept coming loose. This was replaced under warranty.

All four tyres were replaced at 6700 miles. These had worn unevenly due to the tracking being a long way off the correct settings.

General Comments:

Fabulous looking car and gets lots of admirers.

Superb engine and exhaust note.

Great performance, however the steering is much too light.

A very comfortable car and the cabin is a very pleasant place to be.

The manual gear-change is not as slick as it should be and would benefit from a shorter shift.

Servicing costs are horrendous (over £3000 for the most recent service).

After sorting the early glitches, the car has been very reliable.

Fuel consumption at around 15 to 16 mpg on super is not great. However, at least the tank is large enough to give you 300 miles between fills (with the new BMW M3 one starts looking for fuel after only 200 miles!).