Dynamic Turtle Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 Been spending a bit more time driving fezzas lately, friends have let me borrow their 360 & 430. The former is a surprisingly hard car to drive fast and is in no way a lazy GT like the zed, problem being the B-road damping which definitely wasn't borrowed from Lotus. It is an absolute catapult though and picks up so quickly. Open gate gearbox is hard to use, got to be accurate with it along with the pedals which are so close to each other that there is a likelihood of braking and accelerating at the same time. Also weird how it's quieter inside the car than you'd expect (certainly compared to say an Exige 240 or decatted 320 the latter requiring earplugs). Incredible Tubi exhaust though and it just sings! The 430 felt similar but more sanitised (best word I can think of). Not necessarily a bad thing - more user friendly. Paddleshift lets you focus on the sheer speed but misses somethign in the process. Another's friend's father has a 458 Spider which makes every other car I've experienced feel like a fisher price toy. Test driving the new Cali T & 488 later this week, pretty excited DT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WINKJ Posted October 12, 2015 Author Share Posted October 12, 2015 Been spending a bit more time driving fezzas lately, friends have let me borrow their 360 & 430. The former is a surprisingly hard car to drive fast and is in no way a lazy GT like the zed, problem being the B-road damping which definitely wasn't borrowed from Lotus. It is an absolute catapult though and picks up so quickly. Open gate gearbox is hard to use, got to be accurate with it along with the pedals which are so close to each other that there is a likelihood of braking and accelerating at the same time. Also weird how it's quieter inside the car than you'd expect (certainly compared to say an Exige 240 or decatted 320 the latter requiring earplugs). Incredible Tubi exhaust though and it just sings! The 430 felt similar but more sanitised (best word I can think of). Not necessarily a bad thing - more user friendly. Paddleshift lets you focus on the sheer speed but misses somethign in the process. Another's friend's father has a 458 Spider which makes every other car I've experienced feel like a fisher price toy. Test driving the new Cali T & 488 later this week, pretty excited DT wowzers, lucky you DT. We had a 360 at the track day company I used to work out, personally really enjoyed giving it some ASBO around a track, felt more like a go cart with a mustard carpet interior. Never had a chance to drive an F430 so I can't comment. I have seen a couple 488's in the flesh and haven't been blown away with their beauty unfortunately. Also the smaller, TT engine would put me off over a N/A V8 that is in the 458. The sales rep was telling me that the sound is not even close in comparison to the 458 so would be good to hear your POV on that point specifically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynamic Turtle Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 I think the 360 on smooth tarmac would be epic but it sadly felt a bit hamstrung on our crappy roads where the damping just can’t get along with the lumps & bumps. You have to be a good driver to get the best from it, particularly as modulating the brake is so difficult. The go-kart analogy is accurate but it picks up a helluva lot quicker than a two-stroke. Debating the aural characteristics of the 458 & 488 seems a bit churlish and very much a first-world problem, these are cars so capable that you’re probably never going to access 7/10ths and above unless you’re Lewis Hamilton. Obviously it’s the end of an era but so was fuel injection, ABS, TCS and paddle-shifting. I think anyone going from a 250GTO (Petrolicious vid is a must-watch) to a 458 would be disappointed with the noise of Maranello’s latest but would they question the performance? Likewise I doubt many would turn their nose up at the 288GTO and F40 for being turbocharged and the AMG GT has shown that you can engineer a nice exhaust burble if you design it carefully. Not advocating the latest & greatest but times change… Also hasten to add that I’m not in the market for one of these (looking at a leggy VTEC or Busso for track work!) I just have friends in the right places. Friends who are also nursing serious financial wounds from upkeep and maintenance regardless of the price rises in the market which barely offsets it. Sympathy violin anyone? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WINKJ Posted October 12, 2015 Author Share Posted October 12, 2015 I think the 360 on smooth tarmac would be epic but it sadly felt a bit hamstrung on our crappy roads where the damping just can’t get along with the lumps & bumps. You have to be a good driver to get the best from it, particularly as modulating the brake is so difficult. The go-kart analogy is accurate but it picks up a helluva lot quicker than a two-stroke. Debating the aural characteristics of the 458 & 488 seems a bit churlish and very much a first-world problem, these are cars so capable that you’re probably never going to access 7/10ths and above unless you’re Lewis Hamilton. Obviously it’s the end of an era but so was fuel injection, ABS, TCS and paddle-shifting. I think anyone going from a 250GTO (Petrolicious vid is a must-watch) to a 458 would be disappointed with the noise of Maranello’s latest but would they question the performance? Likewise I doubt many would turn their nose up at the 288GTO and F40 for being turbocharged and the AMG GT has shown that you can engineer a nice exhaust burble if you design it carefully. Not advocating the latest & greatest but times change… Also hasten to add that I’m not in the market for one of these (looking at a leggy VTEC or Busso for track work!) I just have friends in the right places. Friends who are also nursing serious financial wounds from upkeep and maintenance regardless of the price rises in the market which barely offsets it. Sympathy violin anyone? not from me . very good points in your second para. One of the good things that ferrari offer and throw in is a 7 year service plan, helps a bit towards the upkeep. Maintenance is 4 years I believe. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Debating the aural characteristics of the 458 & 488 seems a bit churlish and very much a first-world problem, these are cars so capable that you’re probably never going to access 7/10ths and above unless you’re Lewis Hamilton. Normally I'd agree with you, but the 458 is so bloody good that even I felt happy slinging the back end around on roads that actually aren't that wide, and I'm far from a Lewis. Maybe you'd never get to feel just how quickly you could get round a corner in terms of ultimate pace as you don't want to be going that fast, but you can definitely feel the balance of the car and how above normal stuff it is if you're prepared to play with it. Whether you'd feel as happy flicking the 488 around as you may have to deal with a spikier throttle, I don't know. Be interesting to see how you find the Cali T, I was far more taken with it than I thought I would be. Sure, the noise isn't 458 but then the Cali wasn't 430 as it's a different market, however it did make a better noise than I expected. Certainly had more than enough shove, although the steering is still a bit numb around the centre. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynamic Turtle Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 I think the 360 on smooth tarmac would be epic but it sadly felt a bit hamstrung on our crappy roads where the damping just can’t get along with the lumps & bumps. You have to be a good driver to get the best from it, particularly as modulating the brake is so difficult. The go-kart analogy is accurate but it picks up a helluva lot quicker than a two-stroke. Debating the aural characteristics of the 458 & 488 seems a bit churlish and very much a first-world problem, these are cars so capable that you’re probably never going to access 7/10ths and above unless you’re Lewis Hamilton. Obviously it’s the end of an era but so was fuel injection, ABS, TCS and paddle-shifting. I think anyone going from a 250GTO (Petrolicious vid is a must-watch) to a 458 would be disappointed with the noise of Maranello’s latest but would they question the performance? Likewise I doubt many would turn their nose up at the 288GTO and F40 for being turbocharged and the AMG GT has shown that you can engineer a nice exhaust burble if you design it carefully. Not advocating the latest & greatest but times change… Also hasten to add that I’m not in the market for one of these (looking at a leggy VTEC or Busso for track work!) I just have friends in the right places. Friends who are also nursing serious financial wounds from upkeep and maintenance regardless of the price rises in the market which barely offsets it. Sympathy violin anyone? not from me . very good points in your second para. One of the good things that ferrari offer and throw in is a 7 year service plan, helps a bit towards the upkeep. Maintenance is 4 years I believe. They have “scheduled maintenance†plans up to 12 years post purchase, but you have to swallow full dealer RRPs for everything from initial purchase cost to consumables. Lots of caveats in exchange for your $$$, but you certainly don’t buy these things for affordable 0-60 times. I’m sure for most buyers it’s a fly in the room, but for the marginal tifosi it can be extremely painful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynamic Turtle Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Without a doubt, but those speeds are intimidating for the occasional user and I borrow rather than own these cars and can’t take liberties with the paintwork. It takes a while for your brain to readjust and treat corners with the momentum and traction characteristics of something other than a 1500kg Zed, but you do eventually feel confident to dial it up…but only to a point. Likewise I doubt I’ll be given enough leeway to really chuck the Cali or 488 around (they’re accompanied test drives so the salesman can constantly harass you) but let’s see how linear Ferrari have managed to make a turbo torque plot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 You need a better salesman, my guy actively encouraged me to have a play See, I found myself far more comfortable driving the 458 quickly than I did, for example, the 991 T4S. Couldn't tell you why, it's almost intangible, but the whole package just oodles feedback and I guess that gives the confidence as much as anything. I'd hope the 488 to be more of the same chassis wise as it's pretty much the same car. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynamic Turtle Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 To be fair their salesman are actually very good (and extremely polite) - mostly former racers and works engineers used to giving it the full Heinz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TT350 Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Fabia IS better lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WINKJ Posted October 12, 2015 Author Share Posted October 12, 2015 Fabia IS better lol. ... Don't spam my only thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimboy2 Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 488 review from my favourite journalist. Such a pretty car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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