Purosangue as a family car?

Hi all,

I’m relatively new to Ferrari, have been mainly a Porsche guy & used to daily my 992s since 2019 & use a base Cayenne as the family car.

Earlier this year I finally pulled the trigger on a 296GTB. Excitement aside, the daily driveability of this car shocked me. It very quickly became my daily driver and my 992 was rarely touched.

As my daughter is 2+ now I’ve been using the Cayenne more and more to ferry the family around & as fine as the Cayenne is as a point A to B vehicle driving it was a rather mundane experience, especially ok longer road trips.

I’ve been thinking of swapping it along with the 992 out for a fun ‘suv’ & after watching online videos & reviews of performance suvs I lean strongly towards the Purosangue mainly due to the sound, the NA V12 sounds amazing!

Here’s my dilemmet & I would appreciate some feedback from owners of the Puro:

Purchasing cars of this level is rather expensive in my country due to duties, whereby bringing in a pre owned 2 year old Puro from the UK would cost me 180k£ on top of list price.

It also loses its warranty so maintenance & repairs will be entirely out of my own pocket.

I intend to own the Puro long term (more than 5 years) just as I would drive my 296GTB, hence the need to consider long term maintenance for both vehicles.

As I cant test drive a Puro, it’s a gamble as to how comfortable the back seats are. I’m not expecting the comfort of a Bentayga/Cullinan but I’m hoping it is on par with the current Cayenne as any firmer will be a deal breaker for my wife.

Looking forward to inputs from Puro owners. Thank you very much!

 

What country are you in? How are the road conditions?

I think Puro may be a risky choice versus a Cayenne or similar.

First, I would not want to own one without warranty. They are too new and complicated system-wise and any problems are going to be major money. Mine has been reliable so far (since replacing original battery early on) but I’m not sure I’d want to count on it yet as my most practical car in the garage if getting dealer service/support will be difficult.

Second, the rear seating isn’t bad but I’d say less than a Cayenne and also lower to the ground which may be difficult when leaning over for car seats. Maybe not an issue, could depend on how tall your family is. Also maybe just too nice for the messes that a 2 year old can make. A Cayenne is just more practical.

Finally….i ask about the roads because the ride is very stiff even in the soft mode, more so than I would expect. In my experience the ride on rough roads is rougher than some of the modern sports cars in my garage like F8 Spider, 992 C4S Cab, etc. If you are in a country with rough roads I’m not sure you’d like that.


So…if you actually do have dealer support, don’t mind potential major repair expenses due to lack of warranty, have a backup plan if she’s down for a while, have a small (not tall) family, have a kid that doesn’t spill stuff, and have smooth roads….then it could all be fine

If not then perhaps a Bentayga (or sportier Cayenne model) would be a better and safer choice. Bigger, more proven, great sound, great ride, less money, overall less risky, etc.

 

I think you can do it, but, all the obvious stuff. In essence the trade offs are almost the typical Ferrari trade offs: higher costs, perhaps more limited parts availability, just more of a sports car…. So, I agree about warranty and daily type issues- how about parts availability, especially tires. What happens if you get a flat somewhere. I suggest a way to combat this is to have a second set of wheels and tires- it could be winter tires, if you had to, you could at least put one on and run it to get you to safety. Even if left at home, you could always go fetch one.

I disagree on ride. I think The PS rides very nicely. It is much more of a sports car ride than a plush modern Range Rover. I did not like the ride in the Bentley SUV, which I would call shockingly fidgety at low speed and floaty at high speed, so it just goes to show you there is a level of subjectivity here. There is an initial firmness in how the Purosangue rides some smaller repeating bumps, but I find the ride quite good, and my roads are fairly terrible (north east USA). The PS feels SOLID (at least after a few hundred miles). No squeaks or rattles. Great camera system, fairly easy to get used to, relatively easy to maneuver. The other side of the ledger is: The Purosangue is expensive. Also you will be more conspicuous vs even the Bentley SUV. It’s also a truly unique vehicle.

Probably the biggest criticism I have is with the brake pedal calibration, it is VERY touchy. The brakes are firm, like what you get on the 296, because of brake by wire, but just a slight brush is all you need to activate and it goes very quickly to full grab. Familiarity has brought me a much better level of smoothness, and also, I have been breaking in the car including the brakes, and they are very impressive. The whole vehicle is extremely well done. They made a daily useable Ferrari for our modern world.

My own take is Ferrari got it so right on the Purosangue, I am beyond thrilled with mine, and so is everyone in my household and anyone Ive shown it to or taken for a ride has LOVED it. I think they nailed it!

The PS is now my semi-daily driver (except for going into the city- I worry about potholes). For the record my daily is a Merc S class with the smallest wheels they offered, which is wonderful, so I do appreciate a traditional luxury car ride.

My summary is once again Ferrari asks a big price, but they delivered.

 

Don't care for the doors and the four seat configuration. Not to mention the trunk is also small. You'd be spending a lot of money and gambling whether you'd like it or not. Odds are in favor of it breaking and needing a dealer to fix it. You might want to consider a Urus Performante. It doesn't have any of the issues I just mentioned. Of course, not a V12 but it has a great sound as the Performante comes with the Akrapovic exhaust. It's a fantastic SUV.

 

E

Well said across the board. I will use mine as the weekend and summer daily. Ferrari has factory run flats as an option if concerned about being stranded could be worth exploring.