Huge let down after 348 drive

I don't think age has anything to do with it - I'm 29 and seem drawn to raw cars. Different strokes for different folks is all.

If you like the overall dimensions of the car but want something with a few more refinements, perhaps you would like the feel of a 355. I'm just curious as to why the jump over the 355 in the models you're considering.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

It's your money. You should buy whatever you're happy with. I love the rawness of my car. My wife . . . not so much. I would've suggested that you drive a 355 as it's definitely quicker than a 348 and not that much slower than a 360. But if the 348 is too raw, the 355 is likely to be so as well. I completely get why you might prefer the refinement of the 360. I've had my car for 5 yrs and my wife has been in it twice. It's simply too raw for her tastes. This has been my only regret with the car.

 

I felt the same way, but I made the mistake of driving a 355 first. The power of the 348 was underwhelming by comparison and the shifter was 'rubbery.' The suspension, however, felt substantially the same. In the end, I didn't consider the 348 as I was underwhelmed. Plus, I like the 355 styling better. If I could have found a GTC I may have felt differently, but I don't think there are many (any?) in the US.

 

Weird thing is that you did not exactly jump out of a Corvette ZO6 with 505 HP or a bmw M3. I would think that you should have been impressed with the engine and the beautiful sound of the small displacement V8. That V8 in the 348 is a jewel.

 

I love 911s as well and hope to buy one soon. I think they are special cars as well.

 

The CRX comparison is completely appropriate in my opinion. One of the best cars I ever owned was an '87 CRX SI. I still miss it. The way it feels like a go-kart and needs to be revved to build power is completely analogous to my 355. Of course, the Ferrari is a little heavier (the CRX was 2200lb I think!), a little stiffer, and a lot more powerful, but the feel is amazingly close (flame suit on).

And, as a newb to the 355 (and Ferraris in general) and coming from a lightly modded '93 RX-7 I am also slightly underwhelemed by the Ferrari's power. But the RX-7 is the one that's currently for sale, not the Ferrari...
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Maybe you should stick to your Beetle, sounds to me you don't get what having Ferrari is all about.

 

Well, it is understandable that you upset a lot of 348 owners when you compared the car with a Honda CRX.

The reactions were predictable.


Kai

 

Thought my comment was quite useful

If you prefer the newer model why waste time driving an older one, buy the one you prefer.
Or do you just like taking cars for test drives.........hmmm

 

I some people's mind you comment was ****...

Kai

 

Guys, cut the guy some slack -- a few years ago I drove a F355 after getting out of a Porsche Boxster S and at low speeds and around town, the Porsche felt like it had a more linear power curve/pickup than the F...

However, I'm looking to get a F355 now so the reason for getting one vs the other is totally different. For me the F355 was the last design before the wind tunnels and other aerodynamic-based engineering took over Ferrari....

 

I might have missed it on the thread, but what did you mean by "it felt like driving a Honda CRX"?

Did you mean the performance, handling, ride quality, build quality, steering feel, chick pulling power or something else?

The last person who drove my car said it reminded him of a 430 Scuderia so comparing it to a CRX is a bit odd to be honest.
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I think it's funny when people get bent out of shape if their precious Ferrari is compared to a CRX.

My 308 and CRX are both fantastic cars with a few similarities (age, "rawness", grip, unconventional layout/shape, not much different acceleration up to 60 or so) and a TON of differences (weight of clutch, shifter, steering at low speeds, balance, fact that every single thing - except the exhaust and tires - on the CRX is original and still works with 3x the mileage and *cough* not quite everything on the Ferrari works despite costing ~4x as much when new, I don't get a woody when washing the CRX, as much as I love it I don't dream about driving the CRX through a tunnel at redline).

Never driven any other Ferrari than mine and a few other 308s but it's in many ways terrible to drive compared to newer cars. Wouldn't trade it for any of them (except maybe a new replica D-Type or GT40 spyder).
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Road and Track is also guilty of heresey (in fairness that CRX was supercharged by Jackson Racing for about 175hp I seem to remember)
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I had two CRXs in my younger days a 1984 and a 1991 loved them both.

 

Got to say, at least in some cases, I think you misunderstand. I don't care if the OP compares a 348 to a CRX, or any other car for that matter. I'm with Sy (Angelis) - I just find it odd is all. You've compared your 308 to a CRX and come up with precious few things that are similar. With a 348 you can obviously cross out grip, layout and acceleration. So that leaves age and "rawness". As the OP specifically said it felt like everything was kind of loose, kind of disconnected I guess, I'd say we can cross off rawness which implies the opposite. So that just leaves age.

I don't mind, I just think it's comparing too totally different cars, and I mean totally different. It'd be like me saying my Wrangler drives a bit like my mate's Merc, which is surprisingly similar to my old MGB roadster.

I don't care, I just don't get it. He said it felt kind of loose but said it was more responsive. Said it was obviously much faster but felt sluggish. My experience of driving a 348 is that it tends to feel faster than it is as it's a bit 'live-wire' and has nothing getting in the way. A Cayman S would "smoke it". Absolutely, it'd get to 60 mph about half a second quicker, 0.3 seconds or so if we're talking 2011's model or before. Other than this year's model it'd trade that back, obviously, as the 348 gets to 100 mph 0.2 seconds quicker than pre 2011's Cayman S. 1/4 mile they're much of a muchness. Thing is, be awfully surprised if the Cayman S felt quicker doing it. If it does I'd say Porsche are loosing their knack.

Igor, I don't mind, as I said, and hope you don't mind these observations. I just don't get it. Was it loose or responsive? Was it sluggish in comparison to ..... well to anything you've mentioned. If it felt really sluggish when compared to a Porsche with all the gizmos that get in the way...... sorry meant assist the driver, when the Porsche is only slightly quicker, I would find that very odd.

 

No Igor, I wasn't. I was comparing it to the Cayman S from different years, which year do you drive? Guessing it was about 2009 as after that it was 320 bhp and performance wise is similar to the 348 GTB/GTS which is also 320 BHP. 2012 one is pretty nippy mind.

Porsche Cayman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari_348#cite_note-QV500-5

The 348 should feel pretty similar to the 300 BHP Cayman S in power coz they both have the same power. Sorry for pointing out the obvious, just messing with you . Weight wise they are also pretty similar so there really shouldn't have been that much difference in performance though the Cayman S clearly does a better job of getting that power down. Like I said, though, chances are the 348 is going to feel faster if you go for it. I've had mine up to about 155 mph - trust me they feel fast.

If what you didn't like about the 348 was the steering feel, stiff suspension and the age, then you may be a tad stuck but we'll see if you try another one. The steering feel is generally pretty good and the stiff suspension is, well, stiff. Age wise, and I guess we're talking inside, mine's a little spruced up, different wheel etc, but here's a shot or two of her. They maybe don't look altogether modern, but I don't think they look too bad either and can look quite classic if they're looked after.
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