Get to drive the T next week

Sweet FoS has a few coming on a road show so I was given the pleasure to drive one. Can't wait to see the difference from the Cali. Probably will make my wait that much worse.

 

Wow ! give us all the details from sound to drive !

 

Awesome! Atlanta won't have the same roadshow until October. Can't wait to hear your impressions.

-Keith

 

Had the opportunity to test drive the Cali T today..
Ferrari is in Toronto with 5 cars for today and tomorrow.

I had a 2009 California and loved the car. Got it in 2012 with 1,500 miles and drove it for 2 years putting on another 8,000 miles. It was a second car with my DD being a 550xi.

Wanted to drive the 458 so I took the opportunity a couple of months ago to trade the Cail for a 2013 - 458 Italia.
The 458 is off the charts and much more "fun" than the "old" Cali. However it is not as "convenient" .. Sales guys at FOO indicated that the Cali T was great and I should try it so I did .. today ..... The new CALI is AWESOME! ... So much better than version one .

Observations.
The look of the new Cali is much more "edgy". Looks a little like a mini version of the F12. Interior is great and overall I was very impressed. I liked the first Cali (I bought one) but the new one looks much better.

The suspension is excellent, more refined and tighter that the original .. I didn't drive the Cali 30 so I cant compare it to that but the ride was extremely good. Steering response was also much tighter. Also the transmission was much smoother

The engine was great. Virtually no turbo lag and the low end torque really pulls the car. Remember we were NOT driving on the Autobahn or the twistys in Italy. Mundane back roads north of Toronto with an eye out for the bubble gum guys, so there was only so much we could do with the car but overall .... very very nice engine!!

Yes the sound.. we all want to know about the sound. It was very good, but not as good as the naturally aspirated engine. I would give it an 8 out of 10 in comparison.

Verdict .. Ferrari did a fabulous job redesigning this car and every Cali owner if they drive the new one will want it .. It is that much better ..

But it is not a 458 ... closer for sure ... Do I want the GT convenience or the 458 thrills.. Ferrari just made the decision (for me) a little more difficult ..

 

The sound is not as good as the NA. This is what I call disaster. Ferrari manages to limit the boost on low rpm to avoid the turbo sensation, but there is no way to cover that vacuum cleaner sound sensation. And if we look at the history, when they launched 430 which was much faster and better than 360, still 360CS is one of the best Ferrari today, not 430, because of it's sound. So sound is still a very important factor when people pay top $$$ for a car.
I don't know about California, but for 458, it's already very sharp and fun. For the successor to be sharper and more fun, I think you can only feel it by pushing hard in a race track. For road driving with bubble gum guys around looking for illegal tax, what you care about the successor are only the look and the sound. If it sounds worse, then better keep the 458 which also looks very good.

 

Hey Tireman, I was there too. What time was your drive, mine was at 1:30 PM. I was the guy in the Bermuda shorts and Ray Bans .

BTW, the 5th car is a second black car that FoO put on display-only in the middle of the circular drive of the golf club. Only 4 cars were in use.

As for my impressions, I'm biased of course but if you went for a drive with me in my Cali30 you'd be curious about the Cali30 for sure. The Cali30 is very different from the "version one" as you called the original Cali. You can easily coax a Cali30 to be very raucous, which is something you unfortunately cannot do with the Cali T. I'm not sure you realize that.

I drove the Cali T at full engine RPM and rapid downshifts for stops. It's quite docile. I discussed the matter with my young FNA co-pilot who is apparently a racing driver. There is no "bang-pop" in COMFORT mode and almost no "bang-pop" in SPORT mode manual downshifts. I suspect my Cali30 in SPORT-manual is as loud as a 458. The Cali30 is very loud. The 458 probably only feels louder because the engine is closer to the occupants' ears but I think both cars are as loud to external observers.

The Cali T does look more sleek from several angles whereas the "old Cali" looks chunky in comparison and a bit awkward from some angles. However, some of the chunky angles also look good on the old Cali, which is why I opted for white, to accentuate the chunky look.

The new car is also much more rigid than the old car, feels like a vault. Acceleration is effortless. When they asked me for my opinion I said it was like "water flowing". It feels like a much bigger engine and "glass smooth" in torque delivery. Steering is about the same as the Cali30. The CCM 3 brakes are excellent in feel, progressive and stop on a dime without any noise. These cars have been driven around quite a bit because they are being taken around the continent city-to-city. So they are no longer "new".

However, the new car does not feel like a race car because it is so quiet and smooth. The new car is definitely more refined than the older Calis. When I got back in my Cali30 and bang-popped my way down the road, my car felt several times more raw and even just idling it felt like it was loud like a race car at the starting grid. The old car is nowhere as rigid and insulated but then it feels much more raw. So inevitably, I prefer the Cali30's feel and sound because it makes the car more of an occasion to drive. The Cali30 may feel rough compared to the Cali T but that may well be closer to what FCars traditionally feel.

My co-pilot says it may be difficult to put the bang-pop back in because of emissions and the nature of the turbo setup. He said there is no backfire in COMFORT mode whereas in my car, the backfire in COMFORT mode is sometimes so extreme that the whole rear end feels like it literally jumped off the ground and the backfires can happen 2 or 3 in rapid sequence.

The CaliT will appeal to buyers new to Ferrari but as for existing FCar owners, those buyers really need to understand what the car is. The power comes on much more smoothly than the Cali30's but because you work the Cali30 like you would in any Ferrari flat-plane NA engine, it howls and the power comes on as you increase engine RPM. It encourages you to rev the engine and make noise. Whereas the Cali T develops high torque at relatively low RPM for everyday driving. Ironically, where the Cali T sounds really, really good is when you rev the engine in neutral while stationary. I'll see if I can upload a sound clip I made.

There was a problem in the test drive - I wasn't able to test the car at high speed when the torque in 7th gear kicks in. Couldn't throw it into a corner because we were on public roads. Those attributes of the Cali T are worth considering to test for if you intend to do high speed runs and perhaps a bit of tracking.

Anyway, the red car with the black roof is absolutely gorgeous… I'm thinking, 2 years down the road, if I stay with just one FCar, if they brought back the noise and raw feel of the Cali30 in the Cali T; that would be a very nice upgrade for me.

 

I think 458 is double louder than stock Cali30. All you need to do is just turn the Manettino to Race Mode and downshift from 6,000 rpm.

 

Will be interesting to see what happens to the sound of the 458 replacement when they also move to the twin turbo technology.....it wont be the same as the naturally aspirated engines but hopefully will be something special in the Ferrari way.

 

I drove the Cali T at my dealer's place instead of meeting up at a country club event. Needless to say, esp coming from a 2010 model I thought the new Cali was significantly better in every way. Steering, throttle response, rigidity and sound. I did not detect the turbos at all for how I was driving it. But I guess like many things that are new they are usually better out of the gate.

Better pictures have been posted but here is what I took...
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Interesting to hear that you like the sound better than your normally aspirated 2010. Very encouraging!

 

I have two mp4 clips with some revs, I just don't know to attach them.

 

The Calofornia has more storage than the 458. All you need to do is open the trunk (in the back) and check out the back seats.

 

Thanks for posting the great photos of the interiors and storage. I was hoping someone would fill in the gaps.

As for the MP4 clips, should be able to upload them so long as they are no larger than 488.3 KB as stipulated by the FChat upload requirements.

 

Yes, none of the Calis have RACE mode as the cars are not design for the track and the 458 should be louder under RACE mode.

However, RACE mode is exclusively (repeatedly emphasized by Ferrari) for track work. F1 Trac would be reduced to a minimum while VDC brake control is maximized, relegating it for high-grip conditions only. Since you live in Vancouver, one of the wettest cities in Canada, I don't think RACE mode would be a safe option for street use.

 

Thanks for all the input. Michael, fear not. I have seen this pattern over the years with Ferrari. New model is better in every way but not as visceral as the special model you have of the prior model. Wait for the "30" version of the T and you'll be in business.

 

So true! Each car has its own special place.