I had to put some diesel in the gulping Ghibli today – it may be a diesel but achieving anything over 30mpg in everyday driving is darn near impossible. You can get into the high 30s on the motorway but the ‘official’ 40+ mpg must have been done downhill with wind assistance.

It’s a rare treat to find an independent garage in 2014. You know the sort – with a mechanic in oily overalls and receipts written on paper. I worked in one as a teenager, until the manager decided to burn it down with a discarded cigarette.

Anyway, there were three mechanics working on a Citroen Xsara inside and I could see they were all staring at the Maserati. It was only when I went inside to pay, that one of them asked if it was a Jaguar.

When I told then it was the new Ghibli there was genuine excitement. They were crawling all over the car and keen to know how it performed. And I guess that is the Maserati’s number one selling point – it’s different from the rest and it is an Italian thoroughbred. You won’t get that in a Mercedes, BMW or Jag…