My thoughts on driving a Mondial vs 348

All,

I've been driving both my Mondial t coupe and 348TB as much as possible over the last few months, and always in succession, alternating which one I take out first. I was also lucky enough to have a good friend from the Netherlands drive my Mondial while I was driving my 348 along with him for a nice long weekend through the north GA mountains, and have him drive the 348, albeit briefly due to his size, 6'8". I'm 5'10" so take these height differences into account when reading.

Exterior Looks: While viewing the the Mondial from the 348, it struck me how subtly pretty the Mondial is from almost all angles. Not that I'm not a fan already, but it did make me like it even more when viewed from a similar driving height of the 348. It's one 'odd' look is the view out the rear mirror of the 348 head on to the Mondial behind me. It looked less stylish and more angled and aggressive in an abrupt sort of way, not quite the smooth transition you see when standing in front of it.

The 348 on the other hand is more subtle and attractive at all angles except the view when from directly behind at the same seated level in the Mondial. It's just really fat and the lines of the grate over the rear lights doesn't look like it belongs on the car. This was remedied with the 355 rear valence for the lights and some have modified there 348 rear to match.

Driving Position: The Mondial as we all love or hate has a distinctive driving position. I've always found it somewhat difficult to the get just the right position front or back to be able to operate the pedals easily and recline just enough to not feel like I wanted to slide forward and down into the foot well. My friend was very comfortable in the Mondial, but no one but a 3 years old could sit behind him in that case. The drivers seat has lost some of it's front lower support due to age and mileage (100k +) and this accounts for some of the sliding feel I have. Once I'm driving and use the dead pedel foot rest it feels just fine and overall comfortable.

The 348 position is much more compact. The seats are very nice and provide excellent support all round, especially the side bolsters. You feel very comfortable and close enough to the pedals and steering wheel with the seat almost fully back and slightly reclined. My knees are bent more than in the Mondial, and the dead pedal is much closer and provides a larger surface area and is more secure feeling. The position in the 348 is more like being in a Kart (go kart) and I find it more reassuring than the in the Mondial. If I could have the same seats in the Mondial I would do it if not unreasonable cost wise and it would greatly improve it's driving position feel. My friend was not comfortable at all in the 348. With the seats all the way back and reclined as much as possible his knees where beside the mid point on the steering wheel. Very challenging to drive like that for more than an hour.

Interior: The Mondial is more open and more spread out for obvious reasons being a 2+2. It's less refined but in a good sort of retro '80's way to me. I like all the gauges being in front of me and within a single glance knowing the operating condition. The A/C has always looked like an afterthought in the dash. The toggle switches mainly due to age and use have a less than solid feel. Also, as we all know, once warmed up, in cool weather you almost never need to turn on the heat once moving. The rear view mirror feels too close sometimes and takes more effort to glance at than a typical car.

The interior and controls of the 348 is more typical of today's cars. The oil temp and fuel gauges being in the lower center console rather than in the cluster is an annoyance. The A/C and vent layout is superior and provides better all round airflow than the Mondial. Of course, unlike the Mondial, in cool weather you do need to use the heat since the radiators are in the rear and there is no natural convection. The buttons have a more natural solid feel that toggle switches. The 348 has no radio and the compartment where it would normally go provides a great place to store my phone while driving. The car also has a center pop up storage between the seats providing better storage than the Mondial tray.

Luggage Space: This one is obvious to me at least. The Mondial has more storage options but only if you never have anyone in the back seat. The front trunk in the Mondial is taken up by the spare, even the small doughnut spare I have with the 348 wheel, and is basically useless. The rear trunk provides a little room for small bags but nothing larger than a carry-on for the airplane. The rear seats, when folded down, do provide adequate room for larger suitcases, but be careful, if to larger you block the rear view.

The 348 being a berlinetta, has a small shelf behind the seats that is good for a jacket and gloves but not much else. The front trunk is larger than it looks and can store a decent size bag, but not much larger that the largest carry-on. The major drawback is accessing anything on the floor of the front trunk without falling in. It's just awkward.

Sound: My Mondial has high flow cats and a Stebro after market exhaust. It just sounds perfect. At high RPM's in tunnels, underpasses the sound makes you feel like your in an older F1 car. Did I say I've never once turned on the radio once driving ? I do turn it on to check it still works now and then, but never ever with the engine running. Just makes the driving so enjoyable!

The 348 has after market resonators rather than cats (no emissions in my state for cars over 25 years) and a 348 spider single can OEM exhaust, as I replaced the stock two can exhaust. This was done when we found out that one of the cats had failed, probably due to shipping vibrations - it came from Germany. Overall it's a completely different sound. It's a low rumble at idle and sounds closer to a typical V8 sound at higher RPM's. I'm not quite sure I like it as much as the sound the Mondial makes. I think I may swap out the resonators for straight pipes just to see what difference that makes to the sound. But I've had the Mondial for over two years now and the 348 for only a few months. Time will tell.

Driving Feel/Handling: I've been lucky to have taken the Mondial to two different race tracks that I'm very familiar with. As I've stated before in other posts, it's one of the best handling cars on the track I've ever driven. Not the fastest or best, but it's just sublime in how it feels and handles, plenty of power and it just loves corners. I'm torn to wanting better seats and belts for when I'm on the track and for leaving them as they are for daily driving; except as noted above.

I can't really comment yet on the 348 other than to say it feels more like a Go Kart and is very solid feeling in the turns on twisty mountain roads. A lot of this solid feel is due to the seats and how snug you feel in the car. I plan on taking it to the track in January, weather permitting, and am anxious to see how it behaves. The 348 seems to have more power and torque than the Mondial and some of this is due to age and it being a euro spec and not having cats I think.


Do I have a preference - I'm sure you're all wondering. It's really hard to say. I love the Mondial and would never part with it and enjoy driving her a lot and do all the time. I'm leaning toward the 348. It's just more refined and feels more solid overall.

That's it for now...