458 Going from 458 to 488, experience?

I see there have been no responses yet and I’ll guess why. This will turn into I went to a 488 from 458 and it was crap. 458 is the best. Then next will be, went to the 488 and it is the best and the 458 is crap compared to the 488.

So in the attempt of keeping this from turning into another which is better thread, if you are considering moving from a 458 to a 488 go drive a 488 and make your own mind about which you prefer. Both are great cars. The 458 will suit some people better and offer them a more rewarding experience and the 488 will suit some better offer them the more rewarding experience.
They are similar in some aspects and very different in others. Only you can decide which one is better for you.
I own a 458 and drove a 488 for only a few laps on a track. I decided the 458 was the better car for me. But again I’m not saying as a matter of fact that the 458 is a better car. It’s just better for what I’m looking for. And there are many on here who have found the 488 to be the better car for them.

 

As someone who has owned close to 500 cars I get asked a lot for car advise. I believe things need a purpose, and so every car I own or have owned fits some purpose. I just bought a white 458 spider, why because I always wanted to own a white Ferrari, that is all the purpose I have for it for now. It is in winter storage (I drove it for a week before it went in), but when it comes out in April I will see what other purpose I have for it. I see cars as nothing more than machines, some better machines than others, all can be made better. So you need to say to yourself, what is your purpose for owning a 458, and will the 488 have some other purpose that the 458 does not fulfill. I don't know what it is like where you live but in my little corner of the world you cannot use any sports car to its full potential, so my purposes for my cars have nothing to do with which is a better drivers car. I have cars that I drive when there is a valet, I have winter cars (they are all out now) and summer cars, even my dogs have a car. I have driven a 488 and there is nothing that it can do that the 458 cannot, at least on the street with the limitations my surroundings put on driving any car. Most people buy cars like these because of some emotional thing, I have no emotional connection to a machine, so if you see them as I do, maybe you can answer your question without a test drive. Good luck.

 

488 in all aspects is better than the 458. But it’s what you like that matters, some seem to have the hang up because the 488 isn’t NA, it’s the same argument the Porsche guys had in the 991.1 vs 991.2.

 

Having had both cars , I can honestly say there is a quickness value to the 488. I’m not going to debate sound because it’s different. I do not track my cars so I won’t comment on that either. The 458 was a 100pct better car than the 430 ( I had a 430 ). The 488 IMHO is maybe 40-50pct better ,faster and to my eyes better looking. Was it worth 150k more than my 458 ? I’m not so sure. At this point the delta may be 75k , which in my opinion is worth the difference. Remember this is only my experience , yours may be different. Best , Kirk

Ps. Either car is a winner , so whatever fits your budget.

 

458 has the sound and a different emotion. Car feels a bit fragile.
488 is a more competent, planted, confidence inspiring car. Also more rigid.
Depends what you want.

 

If you think you may like more power for your 458, the 488 could be considered; also it seems you have a spider, and the general feedback is that the 488 spider has more stiffness than the 458.
But apart from globally enhanced performance, you will not get much from a 488 compared to a 458 - and you'll lose the N/A sound and feeling that's important for some.
If you like the feeling of the N/A 458 and do not look for a quicker car, the 488 is probably of little (or no) value for you.

 

Funny this topic comes up every other week....the list:
NA vs Turbo
Linear power progression vs Instant Torque
F1 sound (modifies) vs quieter exhaust
Smooth side lines vs side vents
...(add here)
Take your pick


Sent from my 16M

 

who says a 488 is faster?
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my 991.2 TTS is faster than my 458 but not on the street, speed is not the determining factor

driving experience is another matter, I prefer NA over turbo

go drive it!

 

488 has Apple CarPlay as an option.

 

What is this Android thing you are talking about?

 

I personally didn't care for the 488. I had my 458 for 3 years and 10K+ miles and loved every second of it. After 800 miles with the 488, I just took it back to the dealer and told them to get rid of it. Even after the first 100 miles in the 488, I knew it wasn't what I wanted. Shifts at redline are god awful. The exhaust note sucks.

Ferrari has started to stray too far from their roots if you ask me. There seems to be an ever increasing number of people who are just going back to the 458. I know for me, after my experience with the 488 - and seeing all these new cars they have on offer - I will be most likely buying another 458 down the road. Stuff like the F8, SF90 and now this Roma thing just don't do it for me.

The 488 is fun in terms of having a bit more power, but to me it never felt like as pure of a Ferrari experience as say the 360 or the 458 did.

Ray

 

@Adamtensta , from your comments you seem pretty happy with your 458. So what is it your looking for. What would be the purpose of moving to the 488?
I get it though, sometimes you just get the itch for something new. I got that earlier this year after 4 years with the 458. I picked up a huracan performante. But I still have not been able to part with the 458 yet.

 

holy cow 500?? do you have pics of your collection???

 

Without beating the dead horse again. I can simplify my feelings about the two cars. If I want to drive fast, the 488 wins. If I want to drive slow, the 458 wins.

In other words, FOR ME, the 488 is a better tool and faster. The 458 has MUCH better sound and emotion. For street driving (ie. slow <140mph), I'll take my 458!
As others have said, you need to test drive it to see how you feel. People seem to be split 50/50 on what car is better for them.

 

I do - with similar drivers a 488 would run rings around a 458 on any track; even a Speciale would have a hard time against a 488. That's not really surprising given the power difference, the chassis of the 488 would need to be really bad to allow the 458 to compete (and there is no reason for a newer Ferrari to have a chassis not as good as the previous one).

 

Physics, math, eye sight....

 

Looks like that 458 is about to be lapped


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