348 Wheels Magazine Archive: 348ts vs NSX vs Esprit S4 vs 993

It's a bit of a strange ending to the article - It just seems to peter out, as though there should have been another page to it.

"Back in the day", UK magazines, such as The Autocar, and Car magazine, ran pretty much the same comparison articles, between UK versions of the exact same cars, but at the end of every one of those articles, the writers would pick a "winner" from the group, the one car that out of the four, they'd choose to keep (which was pretty much always the 348).

In the posted article, there doesn't appear to be a conclusion to it, to decide which one comes out top overall, it's just a case of: "Here are four cars, here's what they're like - THE END"

One thing the UK tests all seemed to claim for the 348, was that the clutch pedal was heavy, whereas the posted article states that the clutch pedal isn't heavy - On my 348, I found the latter to be true, the clutch pedal was no issue at all, even in heavy traffic.

Which brings me onto something I can't agree with from the posted article:

"Visibility is good in all directions. If it weren't for the recalcitrant drive-train, the Ferrari would be a great supercar for doing the shopping."

I can't say I ever found the drive-train of my 348 "recalcitrant". Yes second gear was non-existent until the gearbox warmed up, but the engine was so flexible, the car would carry out a 1st to 3rd gear-shift without batting an eyelid. You didn't have to rev the nuts off 1st gear, before engaging 3rd, you simply pulled away, taking the engine up to 3,500~4,000rpm, pull the gear-lever round for third, and carry on driving as normal. The revs were low in 3rd, naturally, but the car didn't judder or complain, it just rolled along. Once the gearbox warmed up (which didn't take long), the car was even easier to drive in traffic.

I know for a fact that the 348 was fine for "doing the shopping" because on occasions, that's exactly what I did with my 348 - Took it shopping! (The only real issue was when parking the car - The lack of power steering really made itself apparent then, especially with my skinny arms! )

I also used to use my 348 to commute to and from work in traffic (on the sunny days), and again, the car didn't bat an eyelid. It didn't overheat, it didn't struggle, and the dog-leg gearbox, with it's supposedly awkward 1st to 2nd (once warm) shift, wasn't an issue at all.

There are only 4 real issues that can possibly make using a 348 everyday a bit of a pain:

1) The lack of power steering when parking the car (It's a pain, but hardly the end of the World)

2) The low and long front over hang that can snag on surprisingly low angled slopes, such as car park entrances (Most can be overcome with careful positioning of the car, but some can't )

3) Parking the car in spaces next to other cars (The doors need a fair bit of space to open enough to get in and out of, plus the concern of other drivers bashing the car with their doors)

4) Adverse weather (It's not that the 348 can't be used in adverse weather, but for the sake of the car, it's usually better to avoid using it in adverse weather where possible - Especially in winter where salt is used on the roads)

As I noted at the start of this post, it's an interesting article, I just wish there was some sort of conclusion to it, as to which car came out as the favourite (if any).