296 Test Drive

I'll be quite honest I was not sure what to expect having watched a few of the videos and read the odd article but I would perhaps say the view of the normal car guy is perhaps always a bit different so maybe my observations need to be taken in that context.

Styling and Overall Look
Very subjective but I really like it. In pictures the car can appear to be quite odd from some angles but in person the overall styling comes together quite nicely. Lots of historic inspiration here which I really liked, 250 LM, 248P, Dino and 308 Rainbow are some of the inspirations I noted.
Lots of lovely details like the intakes below the lights which do not show up on photographs too well in my opinion.
The engine lid is also a work of art in my opinion, best appreciated when it is closed.

Getting into the car and Cabin
Small thing, the door handle is somewhat different to the F8 and similar to the Roma, there is a certain sense of occasion here which reminded me a bit of a 355, the shape of the door and the way it curves is also stunning and I noticed this immediately.
Getting into the car is fairly easy but I am happy to report it does seem to be a bit lower than the 488 and F8 but I may be imagining this, again sense of occasion.
The cabin itself is roomy without feeling huge, I am fairly tall and was able to find a comfortable seating position very quickly and the seats themselves seem to mounted a bit lower than I remember then being in the 488. Basic cabin architecture is something between a F8 and a Roma with hints of SF90. I feared the steering wheel would be another Roma type affair where I ended up pushing buttons I did not intend to but this was not the case.

View out of the car is very good in all directions especially the back, the view of the rear reminding me of a 246 Dino.

The cabin materials seem good though I was not particularly taken with the paddles which just did not feel that good, I think carbon paddles would be a must. These seats were the standard seats look good and provide good support.

Driving
This is the important part right! Thumb the engine start button and you can either go into hybrid mode, ev mode, race mode or qualifying mode. I had never driven an EV before so thought out well why not try this out (I promise I will keep this part brief), what an eerie feeling, a Ferrari that does not make a sound. This lasted for all of 500 metres and then it was hybrid mode when allows the engine to run when needed but this did not last long either I went to qualifying mode which gives all 819 bhp.

I also took it out of auto because I do not enjoy driving Ferrari's in auto mode.

Engine response is superb, event short shifting a low rpm the car feels very quick, the V6 is musical even low down the rev range and there is zero turbo lag at all, the hybrid system contributing to superb tractability.

Flex the right foot and response is instant and the acceleration vivid, even changing at 5000 rpm, its a constant challenge to manage gaps to traffic because such is a ferocity that it accelerates that gaps which appeared large disappear fast!

The engine sounds superb, a howl that changed pitch noticeably the higher one gets in the rev range, when there was enough space I did take it to just short of 8000 rpm and to me it sounds fantastic, on lift off you get some gurgling and a few pops, in this respect it reminded me of early 458's.

Gear changes are lightening fast both up and down the box, I did put in 8th gear at around 90 km/h and accelerate and it accelerated well. Brakes are very good, hard braking and down changing did not seem to upset the balance of the car. How fast did I go, well lets just say driving a 296 will be an exercise in restraint! Fast enough to say stability at higher speeds seems to be very good.

I did not get to take too many corners but the go cart like agility is present here and the steering to me has good weight so its easy to place the car where you want it, like most Ferrari's now the steering rack is very fast but I like this.

I did not use too much of the tech but its all there and the steering wheel controls seem to work very well. One particular thing stood out was how much of an experience this car was, whether chasing 8000 rpm or sitting in traffic accelerating into gap or cruising.

One thing to add the Heads Up Display works very well!

Conclusion
This is such a different car to the F8 and 488 that in my view it cannot be compared to either but rather seen as a new alternative, I thought I'd miss the V8 and part of me does but I love the sound and response of this new V6 and Ferrari have worked hard to make this an emotive engine, to me they have truly delivered in this respect.

As a package the 296 is really superb, I can imagine over a mountain pass or on a track this car would really deliver a thrill but having said that, fire up that V6 and that too is a thrill.

I'd go as far as to say the 296 would compliment any of the V8 engine cars.

 

Thanks for the kind words. I do write about cars as a bit of a hobby and its fun to try and touch on the things I think really matter. One thing I left out which perhaps does not matter for some but is a big departure is the interior door handle, these handles have been a variation of the the same thing since the 308 and the 296 does away with that rather chunky and solid handle in favour of a button, a bit of a pity but I guess it does mean a very clean inner door panel design.

Another thing I was able to try, was to see how the car worked when it came to driveways and what we call here speed bumps, raised sections of road designed to apparently calm traffic. I'd say unless one has a very steep driveway the front lift may not be needed at all, the genius here is that the front overhang is very short so grounding is likely to be less of an issue.

 

What I liked about it was it was very unobtrusive but having said that the instrument display is so crisp that the HUD to me falls into the "nice to have" rather than needed. Another interesting thing about the 296 was the cabin, there is a lot of space to somehow it feels more like it "fits" the driver, the best comparison I can think of is a 355 where everything feels like it falls to hand nicely.

Will post some picture.

I am hoping to try and get some more seat time!

 

Some pics
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