Meet the Maserati Ghibli GranLusso. That suffix is new, and it marks this out as the facelifted Ghibli in its most luxurious trim. The facelift lands four years after Maser’s BMW 5 Series rival launched, and a sportier GranSport trim will follow.

The Ghibli’s had a restyle, but good luck identifying one on the road. The headlights are mildly different, the grille gets more chrome, and we’re told the bumpers are new. Anyway, it’s always been a decent looking thing, so we can tolerate Maser not messing with it too much.

They insist the new styling isn’t just aesthetic, and that it also improves the four-door’s aerodynamics. Whether the change is as marginal aerodynamically as it is stylistically we’re not told…

The Ghibli’s update also brings new active safety tech to take us a step closer to self-driving Maseratis, but we imaging choosing one of these over a superior 5 Series or E-Class means you’re more interested in driving yourself. Engines should remain the same; a 272bhp V6 diesel that sells best, and 345bhp and 404bhp V6 petrols that drive best.

The Ghibli received an update last year and so the adding of a new badge and some minor exterior tweaks are, in truth, leaving us a bit nonplussed. It seems Maserati has predicted that, giving the car its big reveal at the Chengdu motor show this week (what do you mean you haven’t heard of it?), rather than at the huge Frankfurt show next month.

STORY Stephen Dobie