Positively surprised and delighted that the 296 sounds better than the prior failed versions of V8 after the 458. Exterior visuals are more cohesive and dare I say pretty relative to current F and Mc and Lambo offerings. Interior is a disaster, and if we take the review at face value, then a deal killer. Perhaps long term use will prove otherwise? I’m still in, for now, and excited to get one.
The interior is bad in terms of usability and I don’t like it, but not a dealbreaker. All I really need it for is 10 seconds to connect my phone with bluetooth when I first sit in the car, then I never touch it again save for the eManettino.
Honestly this review kind of threw cold water on the whole thing for me... I don't love the UIS on my Roma and these guys make it sound like the 296 is even worse.
Unfortunately you have to work around the UI. I would imagine Ferrari will come up with an improvement. Thats what I do with my car. Bluetooth music and phone, cup holder mount. Leave waze active. Dont touch the UI - just leave it at the standard screen. With that out of the way, the car itself is brilliant. IMHO its a 458 moment, where the Ferrari rewrites the rules of the segment. Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat
Thats what worries me most…the Roma review for UI are terrible and 296 does seem worse. How big of a deal is it? IDK, but a seemingly better system in DBX has me likely trading that suv in as it’s just not usable IMO.
Just have to say Throttle House is the best. I love their reviews. I like that they it seems they did an honest review of the 296; both the good and the bad.
It is quite frustrating in the sense that the best way to use these Ferraris with the new infotainment (Roma, SF90 and now the 296) is to basically not use it at all, just connect your phone and use that instead. This was a refreshing review, most other reviews briefly mentioned that the "infotainment" is a slight annoyance etc. but didn't go further as to probably not ruin their relationship with Ferrari. Almost every other aspect of the 296 has received universal praise except the infotainment, that should indicate how bad it really is.
The car is a marvel. But.. I wonder whether Ferrari does any focus groups or UI design tests with the people who actually drive their cars. Preferably in a real-life situation of driving at say 150+ km/h on a German highway. Even better, on a race track - where some of these cars do end up, even if a minuscule percentage among the Instagram/TikTok elite… Say, you have racing gloves on. Can you even start the car then, never mind about changing the driving mode (the electric part of that, not the manettino controlled one)? There is just one lesson Ferrari needs to re-learn from Porsche - and that is - PHYSICAL BUTTONS on the wheel, as few as possible, TOUCH SCREEN - on the side.
I do like how the cabin doesn't have a center console. Feels old-school to me. I haven't been behind the wheel yet, but I don't like the idea of capacitive touch, despite not having a solution for what they could do since that's your only infotainment. If they didn't make it so laggy, I bet I'd be more comfortable with it. So it's not a dealbreaker, but definitely going to sigh everytime I look at the dashboard thinking all this money for the laggiest screen I've experienced next to touchscreen CRTs.
