long overdue: my 355 review and head-to-head comparisons v. 348, 360, and 430

So this is long overdue. I’ve been meaning to put together a write-up for months and months, and I've promised some of my friends on here I'd give them the lowdown on why everyone is jumping up and down about the 355.

I’ve had my 1995 red/tan F355 berlinetta for just under a year now. It had 14,000 miles when I bought it from a fellow F-Chatter. As preventative maintenance, I had the heads taken off for all new upgraded valves and valve guides. I had Fabspeed headers installed and had them wrapped them in heat shield material. I had Hyper-Flow catalytic converters installed. I had heat shields installed for the alternator, motor mounts, and fuel filter. I recently had Robbie (user 285ferrari) do his typical excellent work to make the interior of the car “sticky no more.” The car is in otherwise stock condition, and I am happy that all potential (major) issues have been addressed to ensure a trouble-free car for years (hopefully decades) to come. The car has been running great with no problems whatsoever, and I couldn’t be happier with the purchase and the car itself.

Now for the review of the car. As many of you know, when I went to the 355 for a two-seat V8 Ferrari, I came out of a 1992 348 Speciale tb, (which I sold to a fellow F-Chatter who I am happy to report absolutely loves the car). I must begin by saying that if I had not had a 348, I would never be able to appreciate the F355 for what it is as much as I currently do. The 348 is a great car that laid the foundation for not only the 355 but for all future Ferrari monocoque designs.

Before I get into the specifics, I’d like to jump right to the meat and potatoes and say that this is overall the most fun car I’ve ever driven -- and that goes for all Ferraris and all other brands of cars. I’ve been fortunate to have had a lot of seat time in a heck of a lot of Ferraris and other brands of sports cars. When I say overall, I mean to say that the 355 doesn’t knock the ball out of the park with power like a 599 GTB does or even a 512 TR does; it doesn’t knock the ball out of the park with technology and gadgets; it doesn’t knock the ball out of the park with handling as an F430 might; etcetera. However, the 355 excels in all these areas and more; and all its attributes give it (in my opinion) the perfect recipe that makes it the ideal Ferrari.

The first thing I noticed as I began getting seat time in the 355 is how easy it is to drive. You really can just get in this thing and go. To me this is one of the most appealing aspects of the car. Why? First, there’s power steering. Secondly, sitting on the 355 (berlinetta or GTS) seat is like sitting on a marshmallow (the Spiders have different, harder seats). Third, the clutch has a short pedal travel, and it’s mated to an awesome gearbox and transmission. Shifting the 355 is like spreading butter at room temperature onto your favorite dinner roll. Lastly -- and the 348 has the identical attribute -- the visibility all around is excellent. The 355 benefits from additional interior space over the 348 since there is a space between the dashboard and the floor, making the cockpit feel less enclosing.

The next thing I noticed was the ride. The ride is so comfortable -- so smooth. The car really irons out the bumps and has a modern ride to it. The 355 rides much more smoothly than the 360, which has a pretty harsh ride. Ferrari corrected this in the F430, which rides pretty smoothly but still I don’t think quite as comfortably as the 355. My buddy who recently drove my brother’s 360 right after my 355 commented immediately, “how come the ride in the 355 is so much smoother?”

Then there’s the power. The power is ample, and the car is fast -- and really fast at high speed. The 355 is not your modern-day 0-60 killer -- but over 100 MPH I say it’ll hang with just about anything (let’s say anything under 500 horsepower) because of the high redline and the way it’s geared (but who cares -- we don’t buy the 355 to be the fastest guy on the road). It’s not night-and-day faster than the 348 -- I dispute that claim; and even my friend who bought my 348 said he was right there with another fellow’s 355 in a very spirited day-long drive. The 355, though, does have a more flexible engine that screams all the way to 8500 RPMs, which of course is tremendously exhilarating. Going up there gives me a rush every time, and it’s so intense I don’t even do it that often.

So the 355 is not just an improved 348 -- it is an entirely different car. The 348 is great for what it is -- extremely sporty and raw. No power steering, a gearbox that makes you work and inspires you to get it right, a ferociously vicious engine sound, great handling, excellent looks, great value, and no expensive repair items lurking around like valve guides, exhaust manifolds, leaky shocks or shock actuators, etcetera. I have to stress that the 355 cannot really be compared to the 348 because doing so would put the 348 down a bit, and that’s unnecessary because we’d be sort of comparing fingerling potatoes to jumbo Idaho potatoes -- and that really isn’t fair. Let’s just say that the 348 is a great car and extremely fun, and that the 355 uses that great shape and basic design and takes the 348 to the modern world in terms of power, comfort, drivability, and technology. The 348 is tremendously rewarding.

But the 355 is also better and more fun than the 360 in my humble opinion. Here’s the head-to-head comparison and then just a little elaboration on some points.

-power: the 360 has 20 more horsepower, which isn’t all the much; but it’s a much more flexible engine that pulls from any RPM -- lots of low-end torque. The 355 gets going after, say, 3500 RPMs. I say: “Who cares.” The 360 really is just a few c*ck hairs faster.

-engine sound: it’s conventional to say that the 355 has the best engine sound of any Ferrari ever, and the 360 is sort of given the cold shoulder in this area. I have to reject that analysis. The 360 has a ferocious engine sound with all kinds of noises that the 355 does not have. They’re just a little different. But the 360 engine sound is definitely awesome, and with a Tubi it’s incredible. I don’t think I need to elaborate on how awesome the 355 engine and exhaust sounds are. Even the 348 engine sound is amazing.

-gearbox, transmission, and clutch: the 355 is a clear winner here. The 360 has a very lengthy clutch pedal travel, while that of the 355 is short and just about half the distance. The 360 transmission is very tricky because the driver needs to get everything just perfect to execute a good or perfect shift. For what it is, the 360 transmission is an engineering masterpiece. Shifting one perfectly is very rewarding. Practically speaking, though, it’s annoying because it doesn’t forgive you at all if you haven’t calculated perfectly the timing of your left foot, your right hand, and the force with which you transmit through the gears. The 355 shifter is a bit easier to handle since the lever is substantially lengthier. (On a side note, the 355 gearbox benefits from being a mechanical gearbox as opposed to the 360’s indirect cable system.) Shifting the 355 is easier than shifting a 360 and in my opinion smoother most of the time because it’s somewhat forgiving. The clutch on the 355 forgives you if you’re slightly off by not jerking the car around. The 360 (and I’m afraid more modern Ferraris that have followed it) will penalize you every time you don’t do it perfectly.

seats: the 355 is a winner here. The 360 seats are much harder, and for some reason they don’t have lumbar support whereas those of the 355 do. Also, the front of the 355 adjust forward for thigh support. And as I said, the cushion of the 355 seat is so soft -- like sitting on a cloud.

interior space: while I’m not the tallest guy around at 6’, my head always hits the pillar in the 360 just surrounding the driver window. Also, in the 360 my knee hits the center dashboard, which for whatever reason has been designed to droop down unnecessarily low.

visibility: of course, there is no lateral visibility whatsoever in the 360. Look to your right or left, and you see a wall (the black enclosure in the engine compartment). Look to your right or left in the 355, and you’ll see outside.

climate control: the 355 is still a little old school in this area, but not bad. The system can have a mind of its own sometimes. The 360’s is fully modern and is a hand’s down better system.

steering: the 360 is a winner here. The 355 steering is too light, and the steering wheel is a little on the large side. The 360 steering is lightning quick, and it allows for a little more road feel.

handling: the 360 of course handles better. However, I’ve already mentioned the rough ride. You’ll feel every bump in the 360. Not the case in the 355. I say the 355 handles well enough for me and I prefer the smooth ride in the 355 which is an otherwise tremendously exotic and raw machine.

looks: looks are even more subjective than the rest of this writeup. I think the 355 will go down like the 328 as a classic because it’s just the epitome of Ferrari -- the Ferrari of the 20th century. I don’t see the 360 going there (and I think the F430 looks somewhat of a Japanese-inspired body kit version of the 360 {sorry F430 guys} -- a little overdone).

I suppose I should now state how I could possibly prefer the 355 to the F430 besides styling. Well, the F430 is an awesome beast and an incredible machine to drive. The thing is, though, the F430 doesn’t really make the driver do anything. The car is almost a bit ridiculous! A guy doesn’t need to do anything to get the power because it’s always there -- indeed, the F430 is just ridiculously powerful and fast. But the required driver input has been reduced down so that basically anybody can get behind the wheel. The 355 still requires some skill and some driver input, and to me that rewards me when I drive it. Two other issues I have with the F430. While the engine sound is cool, more often than not I regard it as a sort of Folger’s coffee can farting machine. Again, the sound is ferocious and cool at times, but it’s just weird. It certainly doesn’t give a guy that high-pitched, small Ferrari legendary V8 sound.

So in conclusion, to me, the 355 is the perfect V8 Ferrari because it still has that old-school raw Ferrari character and soul yet affords the driver some bit of comfort, convenience, and modern technology. I loved the 348, and I (somewhat) love my brother’s 360 (the ride is so harsh though), and I love my Dad’s F430 -- I just love the 355 more because the driving experience is just better and more rewarding. There’s more emotion when I’m behind the wheel of the 355.

I could go on and on, but as I am wordy enough I’ll stop here.

 

This is a tough call, John.

I'd say overall that a later 348 (like a 92, 93, 94) would probably present less overall financial risk than a 355. And then there are different 355s -- 2.7 Motronic versus 5.2 Motronic; and then theres the valve guide potential. The 355 has more things that could go wrong with the 348 to begin with. And the 5.2 Motronic has more things that could break than the 2.7 Motronic. However, the 355 has better (and newer) style electrical connectors, so there's that variable.

It's a tough call. Outside of the reserves you keep for scheduled maintenance like annual oil changes and belt services, keep about $3,000 per year on tap to fix any suprise problems with either car. I'm not saying that in three years you'll blow through $10,000, but the money should be there every year.

In my opinion, having the 355 is worth the heightened risk. I've been lucky, so therefore I have my bias.