I would like to give my impressions after the first 1000 miles with my '01 456MGT which I covered in about 1 1/2 month of active service. First the bad: The car was out of commission for almost 1 month because of a silly electrical short that caused the instruments and suspension leveling to go out. Never exactly determined what was wrong but it appears that it was the aftermarket stereo install. The good: Simply the BEST GT 2+2 I have ever driven; the car has great power, great handling, and room for my two daughters. The ergonomics are excellent, perfect for the family on medium hauls. The color combo (ingrid grigio) is extremely non-descript, no one notices the car and you can park at the grocery store without attracting undue attention. I have been driving it almost everyday including to haul stuff from Home Depot, never had anyone give it a second look. The Ugly: I let my wife drive it, next thing I know she is doing all her shopping around town with the kids in tow - anyway I am now concerned that she will use it as her daily driver... only complaint I got from her was the car sometimes bogs down under hard acceleration and fast corners (had to explain that there is ASR disconnect if she wants to play Fast and Furious). In summary, after I followed my wife and got to see the car on the road driving and one word came to mind... "Perfect" (fans of the Fifth Element know what I mean!)
can't get my wife out of the 456 either. She takes it once a week.....shopping for 550 now ....... and I'm calling dibs. ya' 456, is AWSOME>
I think its a great car the 456, I'm seriously tempted by one as a daily driver, especially in black with modern 18" or 19" wheels. Awesome
"Perfect" I totally agree. I bought my '01 MGT last December and I am enjoying every minute of it. Unfortunately, we have been getting a lot of rain in the south so I haven't been driving it as much as I would like. I have taken the wife and two daughters in mine several times and they enjoy it also. As far as drawing attention, mine is Rosso Fiorano (Metallic Red) and it draws a lot of attention. I didn't think it would because it is not a flashy mid engine Ferrari, but it still gets a lot of looks. As far as my wife, she enjoys driving her Cayenne too much to worry about driving the Ferrari. Also, did you get the Stebro exhaust system yet? Kent
I have not received Stebro yet, but I am putting the Novitec rims next week. I am in Texas and the rain has been issue until recently but the car is great in the rain as long as you leave the ASR on otherwises it gets a little iffy in traffic. It's definitely a keeper, two other drawbacks the come to mind - valets never know how to remove the handbrake and my 348s have been sitting idle for the last two 2 months... once you get used to the torque, it's hard to go back to the peaky V8s
From simple observations on the board...it appears that the 456 is quite easily one of the most celebrated modern Ferrari's out there. Certainly don't hear this kind of praise for the 612.
have put nearly 3000 miles on my 456mgt since i bought it one month ago, and it has been faultless. great car! performance that belies its size and reputation. i highly recommend it.
