F8 vs 296gtb

Drove one a couple weeks ago and was surprised how much I enjoyed.
Sound also was very pleasant.
Of course extremely quick.
I still have an F8s on order so I’m hopeful it’ll go into production in Jan.
16 month wait so far.
I prefer looks of F8 but my F8 vs 296 comparison I would say 296 wins for the drive.
Just slightly. At the performance level we are at the difference is minimal.
I drove them back to back about 20 mins each.
Either is a fantastic choice.


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really not sure what you are trying to say...that the F8 interior is better than the 296....Ferrari interiors are as lackluster as cayman interiors....

the 296 interior is pretty high quality, not on the same level but close to the V12 interiors and certainly an upgrade to the F8

Porsche interior are already quite decent...so your moaning is unwarranted...unless you want to show what a big shot you are

Italian mid engine cars are usually quite tight insight, that's the whole point...if you look for space then these are not the cars for you...SF90 feels bigger but taller people fit better into the 296 given how the dash is set up...812 has more room...or just go Urus, which probably fits your image better anyways

this is a pointless discussion, I would suggest the mod deletes it

 

Don't be fanatical, that's a disservice to passion...the interior of the 296 is a cheap playstation-style screen recycler, with haptic controls to match...
The only novelty are the racing seats which cost 5 million to develop !

 

Although it may not be that clear on the road, I would argue that the 296 is actually a lot faster than the F8 (by comparison, the difference between the F8 and 488 - although noticeable - is minimal).
Only drawback of the 296 is its instability under (very) hard braking, mentioned in other threads and which I'm glad I'm not the only one to have noted. Previous cars (488, Pista, F8) may have had less braking power but they did not show such behavior.

 

After driving a 296 for about half an hour I can say that even beyond the known poor ergonomics and frustrating interface, I was also surprised by the 'cheap lookingness' of the interior, and the car I drove was full cf everywhere including the display surrounds. When I went back to the dealership they had a display 296 GTS so I just sat in it for about 45m trying to absorb everything, understand what was a really going on, and the thought process behind the materials, and see if it was actually cheap or if just looked that way for some practical reason. I came away with the following theory, which may obviously be way off.

I think what happened is that once they decided to make everything haptic and touch controlled, they looked at how other manufacturers executed that, and found that the main complaint of all of us who have interacted with similar systems in Porsches and other cars, is the endless smudging and fingerprints all over those gloss black surfaces, so my guess is that with so many surfaces in these new Ferraris subject to that effect, they decided to make the touch surfaces matte black. Matte black plastic just looks cheap even if there is a ton of expensive technology in the module behind it. I sat in an SF90 and it has that a little bit as well in the little plastic module bottom left of the steering wheel for the E modes, but it's a lot less present in the rest of the car's interior than on the 296 where those matte black plastic surfaces seem to be everywhere. They get slightly better when the lights behind them are lit up, but when they're off it just looks like some weird cheap plastic trim piece out of an 80s Mitsubishi. Heck, it might actually be more expensive to do the haptic surfaces in matte than gloss, but it still looks cheaper. If I'm right about the thought process of why they decided to use that finish then imo it would probably have been better to have all of it gloss black like any phone screen and just deal with the skin oils and smudging. Or even better, have a lot less stuff haptic and remove the problem completely, and by doing so also solve many of the ergonomic issues as well with more analog inputs.

All of that said, the car is just so bonkers to drive that none of this bothers me enough to pass on it. If it were my dd I'd maybe give it more thought ... and living with a Ferrari has always been about living with some quirks, some adorable some maddening. It makes sense that the more problems they solve the more they create. I'd have preferred a mild design update over the F8 interior over the completely reimagined weird mess of the 296, but I'd take the 296 over the F8 on every driving level that maters over the F8, even if the 296 had cardboard finishes.

 

I will be following this thread closely….as I have an allocation for a 296 GTS…..and very likely a Purosangue…..and a Z06 when my dealer gets the allocation…
I will have some difficult decisions to make…eventually….I have a 2020 F8 Tributo, 2018 991.2 Porsche GT3 Touring and a 2021 C8 now….and they are all very different cars for sure…
I am torn between which to let go just to make room….or keep the 296 and sell it after 6 months or so…
I keep thinking ….would I really want two mid engine Ferraris? Which is really going to be more of a classic to keep…the F8 ( the last V8) or the 296….?
The GT3 is so different I feel like it is a keeper…
The C8 will go if and when I get the Z06….
Hopefully things will become clearer as the 296 gets delivered and we get more reviews…

 

Presumably your 296GTS will be delivered in 2025, should have lots of feedback on the 296 in-general by then...2+ years from now, maybe even longer before yours is delivered

 

Thanks for this essay.
The more problems they solve the more they create:
This also seems to be the situation when it comes to the F1 championship…
Thus, not a surprise!

 

I have heard, and it may be total rumor mill stuff, that Ferrari is listening and there will be a move to less haptic and more physical buttons in the near future. You can even see a bit of it in the PS w the climate control systems. I sat in a 296 the other night while picking up my f8 and didn’t walk away with the same feeling of cheap but it was dark and quick. I did fire it up and it sounded fantastic. When I have time I will go back and drive and spend some time around the interior. I actually liked the size. It felt like a slightly smaller version of the f8. I do agree the f8 has more of an “exotic” presence but I also loved the look of the 296…more of a modern design. I too will struggle with the decision of keeping or selling my f8 but as noted above, plenty of time to figure that out. I also have am 812 GTS so the the two compliment other really well…such different cars..and I love both of them

 

I am not, if you want to get stuck in the 1980s and don't like the modern world be my guest, I like the interior and many others too, it's certainly an upgrade to the F8/ 488

so what's the best interior currently according to your distinguished taste?

 

that would be a step back, to listen to old people (old in mind not necessarily physically) that are struggling to get to grips with modern technology...it's like going back to buttons on a mobile phone...

 

I just wanted to explain to you that they recycle as much as possible, at the lowest manufacturing cost.
The current best interior at Ferrari: none !
Those who do best are the cars of the Icona series

 

I like the Roma interior.

 

IMHO I disagree. I think you can blend the two and have a very effective design. I have both and the ergonomics on the Roma is less than ideal. My dad has an Audi etron gt, I have a Porsche taycan. The interior of the Audi is head and shoulders better than the Porsche. I have to literally go several levels deep into the touch screen menus to adjust where my vents blow…he does his with a flip of a finger at the vent. Mine is dumb and his is logical. I don’t think Ferrari should roll back to old models but there is a happy medium between an iPhone and a flip phone

 

As a Porsche Taycan DD, I agree. Great car while driving. Just a lack of tactile feedback. In a vehicle like the Taycan for DD, it's not performance critical. But enjoyment is more important. In a Ferrari, where high-performance driving is vital, not good things can happen fast by taking your eyes off the road because you are not sure what you really pushed. Take a look at an F1 steering wheel. That gives you all the answers. https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/40976/how-does-an-f1-steering-wheel-work I drive my F cars for performance in tricky situations where keeping your eyes on the road is critical for every second. Half of the other time, I am exhausted from the performance driving and go mellow. So there is a role for both. But not solely slide-your-finger-around-hope-you-touched-the-right-button-oops-a-tree.

BTW and IMO, the 296 does show some improvement over the SF90 driver interaction. I believe they will get it right. The first sign to me is the pop-up turn dial for temperature shown in the Purosangue video.

 

As somebody who has owned mid engined Ferraris since the 360 the 296 fails, for me, in only one way – its haptic controls. As Ferrari inbtroduced more controls onto the steering wheel to keep the driver's eyes focused on the road the 296 fails in this regard.

I would be surprised if they do not revert at least some of the haptic controls back to buttons, dials or wheels and/or add more of the feedback to the heads up display. In particular having some of the controls "disappear" at speed and then having to tap the trackpad to get them to re-appear is paradoxical to a driver focused car. I have been in the 296 for a few months and still find myself distracted and looking away from the road to perform standard tasks.

The biggest issue is using the trackpad and not getting any feedback, other than visual on the dash and thus taking your eyes off the road, to if you have selected/moved to what/where you want.

That having been said I am keeping my 296 and not hankering for anything other than the non-haptic controls of my F8.

 

This all reads like somebody who couldn’t get an allocation and is projecting as a low level defense mechanism. It’s sad.

 

That would be for the best - even if just a few knobs and buttons for climate, mirrors and radio. The best compromise I've seen on this is the new VW electric car - touchscreens yes, but also enough clicky haptics to use them confidently and consistently:

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The singular frustration with my 296 test drive was that on a 20 min drive me and my salesman could not get the radio controls working correctly.

I also get super grossed out by greasy, oily touchscreens.

 

Look on the bright side folks.

With haptic buttons, no one ever has to worry about the famous Ferrari "sticky button" feature ...

 

Thankfully, no manufacturer has moved to using a mouse interface. lol!

 

Hmmm. Trackball?