Just test drove the 458 Italia!

The demo cars have now been delivered to the Swiss dealers and I couldn't wait to see, feel and hear this new 458 for real. And what an experience! I never ever heared such an exhaust sound (except maybe the Enzo). It's just crazy how loud this new engine screams. I always regretted my 355 which had the best exhaust sound even if I like my F430 with unplugged valves. But the 458, that's really something!!! Put her in Race mode, and the valves seem to be permanently open. I drove through a tunnel (motorway), launched her from the third gear all the way up to 7.500, oufffff what a sound. I didn't dare to go up to 9.000 revs. The blips when retro-gearing create like an explosing in the exhaust. Many of us complainted about the missing scream on the F430, well, I can tell you that Ferrari gave it back with the 458. The new F1 gearbox is also very impressive with very very fast gearing.

The only thing I found a bit weird is when you launch the car in the first gear after a full stop. Even with minimum acceleration, the car just jumps forward. Better keep some extra space with the car in front of you. On the cons side, I didn't like too much the interior especially compared to the F430 where everything has rounded shapes. The 458 is very different with sharper shapes. Also, it takes time to get used to the indicator switches which are integrated in the steering wheel. Not easy to use them when you want to get out of a round about. I couldn't find out neither how to display the odometer on the screens in full size which is so important because it's just impossible to not overspeed with such a car. The seats tough are excellent. The car I've tested was black and I would not advise to take it in such color.

All in all, it's a brillant car, with very impressive torque and an engine which overpassed everything I could dream of...

 

Regarding the throttle response, that’s right, it is very sensitive and launching the car needs some practice. It tried to launch it with the fewest amount of throttle but couldn’t avoid her to jump forward quite aggressively. So for city driving, it may need some attention but such car anyway isn’t made for city driving. Compared to other sports cars like Gallardo or Porsche, the 458 is not comparable. Ferrari puts the level so so high. An LP560 or GT3 will never procure such strong sensations. The 458 pushes hard, very hard. I was even surprised how good it was able to get all that power on the road because the outside temperature was max 2C, approx the same for the road temp and running with summer tires. I never had the feeling the Ediff had to come in. I drove the 458 for a good hour in different conditions, motorway, tunnels, city and busy roads. The handling was just perfect. One of the things I noticed immediately, is that the 458 with a cold start and turning the wheels at maximum, was not “jumping” on it’s tires as my F430 does all the time. I haven’t noticed any issues with the engine revs when gearing down. As for the F430, the engine can drop his revolutions very fast but with a F1 and double clutch, it isn’t an issue. Probably, if a manual tranny was available for the 458, that would be much trickier.

Regarding the black color, you’re right, it totally hides the very complex shades of the car. IMHO, such color can suite quite well a F430 or Scud but not the Italia. But again, it’s quite subjective. The best is to see it for real because I found out that there is a huge difference between photos and the reality. Honestly, in real, I found the design a bit too complex, somehow a bit hard to get it. It doesn’t speak to you on itself. It needs to be studied and watched over and over before you get it…The design gives you somehow a very different sensation compared to the F355-F360-F430. It’s a new world and I’m maybe not ready for it…not yet

But Ferrari can be very surprising in terms of quality of some components…we knew that already since the previous models. For instance, I remembered how cheap the plastic window switches are. The good point is that now, they are in the middle. The bad is that they are in very light plastic and when I wanted to lift up the switch to close my window, it tore off the whole damp thing and got the entire switch in my hand…And, upsettingly, the passenger window is still not opening or closing automatically. Details, for sure, but at 300K, it’s a bit upsetting isn’t it?

Sorry for the USA market but I believe this happened already before? Ferrari gets the Europe market first, then get the car ready depending on the specific US regulations before the demo cars can be delivered…

 

Thanks MalibuGuy, I know how fustrating it must be for many of you not living in EUR, so it's my pleasure to share this. I haven't seen the Italia in any other colors than black but my dealer has also a red one (but can be seen in another city). I'll go there in the next couple of weeks and will tell you my impressions. I'm quite confident that in red it's gonna be "love at the first sight"

 

To clarify some doubts about the exhaust bypass valves of the 458, the center pipe is permanently open (the center pipe has a smaller diameter of 1cm). The side pipes open only when the ECU decides to open them which depends mainly on the throttle load and selected gear. In Sport mode, this happens quite late while in Race mode, you’ve the feeling the side pipes are open all the time. The system is identical to the F430, vacuum controlled bypass valves and all open when you start the car. As I did with my 430, it can be unplugged very easily but it will be LOUD !!! Much louder than an unplugged 430

Although the system seems to be technicaly identical to the 430, I found that there is still a big difference how it operates on the 458. On the 430, when you accelerate up to the point the valves are opening, you can feel a small kick at this stage. Also, at least on mine, with the valves closed, the power and torque is quite average and you've the feeling the engine can't breathe. With unplugged valves, the difference is very noticeable and it releases all the power and available torque. On the 458 tough, I did not feel any power or torque loss between valves in open and closed position. Everything felt very progressive. This was also a very good surprise.

 

No doubt the scud is loud especially with unplugged exhaust valves. But as I wrote before, with the 458, with have to deal with something totally different. The sound pitch is uncomparable. From 6.000 revs, this engine starts really screaming and in tunnels, I can tell that everybody give way so scared they got. Hell of a noice! Not comparable to the LP560 neither.

Gearing is very very fast. I have no real experiencing in F1 to compare coz mine is a manual. The Italia is such toy, maybe too much, too easy. After the test drive, I loved to drive back with my manual geared 430...because on street, it's still the best way to get some drive pleasure. For those who mainly track, I can imagine the new dual-clutch must be a real improved race experience.

No it's not. I don't agree with the journalists. You really have a very strong contact with the road. Maybe the journalists pressed the suspension button (softer)

 

Thanks very much for all your nice comments. I will test drive the 458 again in a couple of weeks (as soon as the weather is getting better coz since a while now, we've too much snow here). There are a couple of things I would like to check, and I want to get a bit in deeper details in how the car is driving (especially after the first excitements of the first drive -D ).

If anyone is interested to get some specific info or impressions or detailed pics of some specific parts, please don't hesitate to ask, I'll bring it back here.

Cheers,
Stef