Drove the GTC4 Lusso!

eric,

Thanks for the reply.

I didn't mean to hijack the thread. So here's my briefest reply. We can always talk about it on another thread if you like.

Yeah, that's one popular definition, one that holds on to an unnecessary dichotomy we've all engaged in at one time or another, namely, reason v emotions. (Defined classically/properly, they're in synergy in the thinking person, not contradiction.)

 

+1

emotional - unemotional

rational - irrational

logical - illogical

intuition - logic?

Bought F12 intuitively with lots of emotion and rationalized it with logic

 

A car gets us from A to B ... it's how we feel while driving and when we arrive and when we look at it that we pay for. Nearly every car is a money hole, the question is ... do we enjoy the car enough to feed the hole? Is that emotional or intellectual? Both.

Stuff, cars, etc ... carries the energy of the designers and builders. Rubbing elbows with that energy is why we buy one thing over another. To get a piece of their mojo in our life.

Surrounding ourselves with the energy of other people is not materialism, and not emotional, it's smart and practical and real ... it's why we have families and stuff. Assuming it's all in balance with other energy, people and priorities, a car is a good thing for our energy.

There is no need to live in a polarity of emotion or intellect. Energy, covers all the bases.

 

Interesting perspective. Thanks.

 

Thank you. I know we're waaaaay off topic, but this energy transfer thing is what I do. Everything is energy, true fact. It's fascinating and important IMO. Fear and Love are the two main energies, but that's definitely OT.

 

Brian, I can't agree with you more!
That makes sense to me, allot of sense intact.

 

I'll give you my reasons for changing to a Lusso from an FF. If they're helpful, you decide.

I actually bought the FF to 'try out' the 4 seat V12 thing, in advance of a potential Lusso purchase. I had already considered the cost, but this being a highly irrational, 'rational' purchase I decided I wanted to go ahead anyway. Part of my thinking is to buy some cars that will go down well with Ferrari because I want the rarer cars in the future. Happily for me, a 4 seat V12 fills a hole in my garage that I had been looking to fill. I have 5 children, all full size (or near to it) and from time to time, a front engined car makes more sense than a mid engined V8, an example of which has been in my garage since I first owned one. Me and the FF? We seemed to be an ideal fit.

The FF has played its part; I love it. It's not perfect. I heard so many stories about how people were surprised with this car, and how it is far better than expected. In fact, so many that it didn't apply to me. To drive, the FF is great, exciting, but really quite flawed. I don't expect this to change with the Lusso but I think the flaws will be improved at least. From the early road tests, it looks like they wil.

Before I get to the interior that you asked about, I wil say that although it seems popular to say "a softer FF? Not for me thanks..." The fact that the Lusso seems to be a bit more GT like at lower speeds but still able to completely absorb and inspire you when pressing on, is exactly what the FF needs. I don't want the tramlining that the P Zeros give this car at lower speeds, I could see the value in the car being even more relaxing when I need it to be, at 7/10ths the interaction between the fast steering and the way the car weights up in bends could do with being more natural and a little less aggressive. And I don't want to lose an ounce of the sportiness when I want to drive that way.

If you want a 2 tonne, 4 seat V12 to drive like a mid V8, you don't want a 2 tonne, 4 seat V12. It shouldn't try to be something it isn't, but a pure celebration of all the good things that it is. The ever-widening breadth of ability that Ferrari is able to build into its cars suits this car brilliantly. Therefore, from a driving perspective, I fully expect this car to fill its brief even better than the already excellent FF does. Some will still feel that this is not enough to warrant a change, and that's fine. A new car doesn't make the old one any better or worse than it already was.

The exterior appearance, to me, is much nice on the Lusso. It's easy to argue that the FF is more 'original', and that's ok, I enjoy that about the FF. But it's not essential. The 4 seat V12 needs to look muscular, hide its bulk, fast, attractive. For me, the Lusso exterior does this better than the FF, even though the FF is a more interesting/challenging design. The Lusso has the kind of looks I dreamed of when I was younger; hitting the sweet-spot, screams big, powerful and fast, not 'marmite'. As you get older, 'marmite' becomes more interesting and appealing. But not really on a 4 seat V12, which I want as an additional car, and one that is not as 'in your face'. The Lusso simply hits the spot for me, and I love its look. It doesn't photograph too well (but then neither does the FF) but in person, I feel good about driving a car that looks like this. Good? No. Great.

The interior is more modern. Quite a strong statement but I dare say no-one would challenge this, it's another 5 years newer. Question is, better? To me, yes. Starting with the obvious, the old sat nav versus the new infotainment. The new module is not slotted in to a double DIN slot, supplied from some ICE producer supplying branded units to Chrysler, FIAT, whoever else, and the high street. It is properly built in, integrated, thought about. This reinforces what I want to feel in this car; that I am buying the pinnacle in terms of sporting, 4 seat GT, that has also not been neglected by the designers in other areas. Not crucial to my enjoyment but enhancing of it, certainly. I prefer the bigger screen, more interactive, more informative, looks more like my current iPhone than my original iPod. If the logic in the SATNAV is more up-to-date and more intuitive, then that's exactly as it should be. If it's not, then I might feel a little disappointed. Not crucial to my enjoyment, but not enhancing of it either.

Sitting in the car, the ambience is excellent. To some degree, lots of what feels good is related to the overall impression I get because I know it is a car I want to be in - same as for the FF, just that the Lusso is more modern, so should look that way on the outside and the inside. I think it does. More up-to-date. What you want to know is why though.

The infotainment helps, but so does the dash layout - the two vent centre with diffuser slat seems less fussy and better than three central vents, which emphasise the size and width of the car (I've never owned a car with three central vents before). The diffuser is a neat idea too, avoiding that 'I want to be cool, but not only on my left ear' feeling.

The 'two bay' effect of the driver's zone plus the added information for the passenger zone, a bit gimmicky some might feel, but to me it means that my passengers feel that they are in something a bit different, and quite special. After all, they can hear the sound but not feel the way it drives. I think it wil get used in my car, even though it is not a piece of essential equipment. But then neither is a SATNAV, or a stereo system for that matter. It does reinforce the modernity of the car though. A bit like, "if you've taken some care and thought for the parts I can see, I could assume you've done that for the parts I don't see too". Maybe flawed logic, maybe not.

I also like the feel and look of the two bay effect dashboard. It gives a focused yet open feel to the interior. The design and feel of the materials is particularly nice too. Nice leather is nice leather, same in the FF. The metal parts are shaped a little nicer in the Lusso (subjective, but it feels like an improvement), the door cards are done more nicely, with the way the leather, metal and alcantara pieces combining together providing a more satisfactory and substantial appearance.

The seat design, aesthetically, is nicer. I don't mean the coverings, but the actual design. They are more sporty looking and the rear shell of the seat incorporates a flush fitting latch. Not exactly ground-breaking, but an example of a little detail that contributes to the overal effect that this car is more 'finished' than the last one. People often say that some cars have that 'hewn from a single piece' feeling. Well, the Lusso has it more than the FF. And it's an amalgam of all those little details that make it feel that way, plus some clearly very expensive new interfaces that lend further credence to the feeling.

The Lusso is a beautiful, nicely pitched, satisfying car to both look at and sit in. The road tests say that it is more of a GT and yet no less of a sports car. I'm very much looking forward to mine, despite the cost.

 

Wonderful!

 

Awesome, and just what I was looking for. Thank you for taking the time to explain your thoughts and impressions!

 

Thank, Roman! Nice to see some detailed expressions of thought and opinions.

 

It's interesting to read such a positive review of the GTC4. I spent many hours with it today and will write up something comprehensive as soon as I can ... some aspects were worse than expected, some were better than expected.

 

Hmm, so why are you buying a Lusso given these comments? Used FFs for 175-225 are a bargain and you can buy a warranty for 12 years from new for less than the hit on your new car.

 

Agree with most of that as I too have sharper tools at my disposal but my 2015 FF was and still is a wonderful car but as you say, flawed.

In the FF the fit and finish was not perfect I fact far from it. Of the 20 used examples on sale in the UK 9 of them suffer from the dash stitching not lining up with the door stitching as mine didn't. The leather headlining looks like it was just stuck on the underside of the tin roof and showed the ribs. The standard seats were, to me, uncomfortable. The DAB radio in the 2015 model was total cr4p and mastered in static most of the time. The panel gaps were a great source of amusement as it was described to me at the factory that the uneven gaps proved it was handmade. Total tosh in my opinion. The low speed indecision from the gearbox was annoying, the tram lining with Pzeros was cured with Michellins. The noisey start up wasn't always welcome at 4 am when I normally set off for Italy from an extremely quiet base.

But I still loved the car and thought it the best Ferrari had made, for me anyway.

The Lusso has fixed all the above and more plus a sharper appearance, better driveability via the 90% power to the slipping wheel, 4 wheel steer which I didn't want and didn't initially like but now think will definitely improve my enjoyment of the car.

Not having a pano as probably only the dog will notice it and not having the passenger screen as I see that as just a gimmick to entertain/impress the odd passenger, just my view as I can see others may think it as a bit of fun. Definitely the lifter, moveable headlights, cameras and carbon wheel. All in all not perfect but as you say less imperfect than the FF.

 

Brian,
We are all waiting to hear a diehard FF fan's impression.

 

I drove it this morning. it's more refined and docile than the FF. needs an exhaust for my taste. interior is sweet/functional. doesn't feel much faster than my FF with novitec goodies.

 

If I had FF I wouldn't upgrade, that's my point. But I didn't like the FF design when it first came out and only got the point at the end of the lifecycle.

So now it makes sense to get the newer generation, especially that I want a softer practical ferrari next to F12.

Looking forward to your test drive impressions?

 

the lusso will fit that bill perfectly! its exactly what you want next to the f12

 

The problem with a softer, practical Ferrari is that it's $350,000-400,000 and worth 250,000 at best in 3 years. You can get a 2 year old car for say 190,000 and pay 6500 a year in warranty for 3 years, a little maintenance money ... and be way ahead on both money and enjoyment ... I had no joy with the new car in nearly any category, although the design was better up close. The quality of materials from plastics to leathers, to metal weighting is less. The driving dynamics are too tame to crazy land. It's a disaster of integrity. But the screen is great and there are 2 cup holders not 1.

I spent 5 hours with it Friday, will write up a long review soon.

 

guys who want a chance at LEs will have to buy one new

 

Sure. And they are selling well. Local dealer has sold 2 years of allocations.

I would not take one for an even swap. it would have to be plus cash, and maybe not then either. It's a disposable product, no hand made feeling to the materials and workmanship. Features galore, yet no joy in driving ... from sedate to squirrelly. Should have a TT8 and be 250,000 max.

 

Exactly the point. And if not limited editions soon, early allocation of new models will be more likely.

 

Life is too short Brian, I do the math every day on business deals, this one doesn't have to add up.

 

Fair enough. Yet I would drive and touch and get to know both cars. It's only better if you want infotainment, two cup holders, the passenger screen, and a more boring/quiet ride for most of your day. I did not find it to be a Ferrari in 80% of the ways I do the FF.

Oh, 1st gear at low speeds is more smooth. But you have to mash the gas to get it to go, and Sport is never stiff.

 

If in 3 years a Lusso will be worth $250k what will a 5 year old previous generation FF that costs $190k today be worth maybe $140k? So on the new Lusso you lose $100k and on the FF you lose $50k and spend another $20 on warranty or $70k. It costs $10k a year to drive the newer car. I'll take the Lusso, it may be the last naturally aspirated 4 seater GT and new is new.

 

New platform is coming in 3-4years.
One will lose more with Lusso than ever!