California review - a members view

I had the privilege to drive the California at today's Ferrari Owners Club Singapore event. My Scuderia battery died when I went to pick the car up from the office.. However the local dealer was graciously quick to offer me the California as a substitute which I gladly accepted.

The first thing I noticed when I slipped into the cockpit was how nicely engulfed I was by the smell of premium leather. Many cows were sacrificed for the interior. In shifting my seat, mirror adjustments and other necessities I noticed all the buttons and controls were finger tip and a short reach away. I felt wrapped in inside the car but was not suffocated. It just appeared that everything; switch, button or lever were closer than I expected.
The drive...
The California was surprisingly delightful to drive. A car that is compliant, fast albeit "quiet". Pressing the start button came a familiar low rumble. It sounded like it meant business - not like those wimpy high pitch start ups. This car has torque, linear torgue - pulling all the way through the band. Torque still kicked in at 3000 rpm in 7th gear - quite impressive. Gear changes were smooth and reasonably quick. There were only 3 settings on the manettino: "Comfort", "Sports" and "CST off". The main difference between Comfort and Sports was that the latter would pull longer and had more torque at the lower RPMs. Suspension was a tad soft for me but acceptable. Don't get me wrong, it's not like Bentley or Lexus soft... in meat speak it was more like medium rare when I prefer medium. There was body roll on banking corners but did not feel like it was going to tip over. I would have like to see a seperate suspension button to stiffen it up a little, similar to the Schumacher button in the Scuderia.
Steering was sharp and direct - something u would expect from a Ferrari. The front mounted engine must hv helped plant the nose during turning. This California had the S$15k rev LED limiter on the steering wheel. A must have option even on the California. Interior appointment was elegant and tasteful. Tan leather w brushed aluminium combination was distinct and sophisticated. It made the cabin feel fresh and lively. The Daytona electric Seats were very comfortable unlike the hard racing seats of the Scuderia. Aircon was strong and cold. The roof folded in less than 20sec. Operation was smooth and fast.
My only gripe was the dealer set 90kmph speed limit warning... Beep beep! Beep Beep. Very irritating!
Overall a very compliant and "gentle" Ferrari. Nothing too hardcore about this car. A Ferrari that can be used on a daily basis with no stress or drama. A car that I would be happy to have as my daily driver. A car that my wife would be comfortable driving too.
At S$800k this "baby" Ferrari has enough mix of class, subtlety and grunt that will cater to the gentlemen driver, the wife, and the sportif individual.

 

only about US$570k