Compare the2023 Audi A6VS 2022 Maserati Ghibli

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Audi A6 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Maserati Ghibli doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The A6’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Ghibli doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the A6 and Ghibli have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A6 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Ghibli’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Audi A6 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Ghibli doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The A6 has a standard Secondary Collision Brake Assist, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Ghibli doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The A6 Prestige has a standard backup collision prevention system that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Ghibli doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the A6. But it costs extra on the Ghibli.

Both the A6 and the Ghibli have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the A6 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 89 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Ghibli has not been fully tested, yet.

The A6’s corrosion warranty is 8 years and unlimited miles longer than the Ghibli’s (12/unlimited vs. 4/50,000).

There are almost 3 times as many Audi dealers as there are Maserati dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the A6’s warranty.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the A6’s reliability 44 points higher than the Ghibli.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Audi vehicles are better in initial quality than Maserati vehicles. With 16 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Audi higher than Maserati.

On the EPA test cycle the A6 gets better mileage than the Ghibli:

Regenerative brakes improve the A6’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Ghibli doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Audi A6 higher (5 out of 10) than the Maserati Ghibli (1 to 3). This means the A6 produces up to 39 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Ghibli every 15,000 miles.

The A6 offers an available sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Ghibli doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The A6 stops shorter than the Ghibli:

For better traction, the A6’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Ghibli (255/40R20 vs. 245/40R20).

The A6 Prestige handles at .93 G’s, while the Ghibli Modena Q4 pulls only .91 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The A6 Prestige executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Ghibli Modena Q4 (24.9 seconds @ .75 average G’s vs. 25.5 seconds @ .8 average G’s).

The A6 has 3.6 inches more front legroom and 4.2 inches more rear legroom than the Ghibli.

With its sedan body style, valet key, locking rear seatbacks and remote trunk release lockout, the A6 offers cargo security. The Ghibli’s non-lockable folding seat and non-lockable remote release defeat cargo security.

The A6 has a 3500 lbs. towing capacity. The Ghibli has no towing capacity.

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Ghibli, the A6 offers an optional passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The A6 Prestige has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Ghibli doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

If the windows are left open on the A6 the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Ghibli can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the A6 has standard extendable sun visors. The Ghibli doesn’t offer extendable visors.

A power rear sunshade and manual rear side window sunshades are standard in the A6 Prestige to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Ghibli doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The A6 Prestige offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Ghibli.

The A6 Prestige’s Park Assist Plus can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Park Assist Plus will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Ghibli doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Audi A6, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Maserati Ghibli isn't recommended.