Driving comparison .. 488 and 296
Discussion
I was invited to a Ferrari event recently on the IOM and was fortunate to get a chance of a drive of a 296, Roma and 12 Cilindri.
First time driving a Ferrari and loved the 296. The 12 was great but just felt it took up a bit too much space and more than I would like to spend. The Roma was less impressive and felt like everything was a compromise. It was a convertible and the boots a joke.
We have no speed limits on some great roads so I was allowed to drive them pretty rapidly. For reference my quick car is currently an M3 Touring so we drove a route I regularly use and know.
I really liked the 296 and it regens very quickly so you pretty much always have the full power when you want it. But it’s hybrid and like others I’m concerned about the longer term reliability.
Long intro to get the the main question which is how would you compare a 296 to a 488 from a driving perspective? I drive my cars and will put miles on it.
Would love to hear from those that have driven or owned both. Thx
First time driving a Ferrari and loved the 296. The 12 was great but just felt it took up a bit too much space and more than I would like to spend. The Roma was less impressive and felt like everything was a compromise. It was a convertible and the boots a joke.
We have no speed limits on some great roads so I was allowed to drive them pretty rapidly. For reference my quick car is currently an M3 Touring so we drove a route I regularly use and know.
I really liked the 296 and it regens very quickly so you pretty much always have the full power when you want it. But it’s hybrid and like others I’m concerned about the longer term reliability.
Long intro to get the the main question which is how would you compare a 296 to a 488 from a driving perspective? I drive my cars and will put miles on it.
Would love to hear from those that have driven or owned both. Thx
I own a 488 and have test-driven a 296.
The performance of the 296 is other-worldly. The 488 is fast by any reasonable metric, but the 296 is on another level. Steering was slightly lighter than the 488's, at least to me. The noise inside the cabin of the 296 was glorious, albeit you have to realise it is largely synthetic (watch SCD's trip to Spain on youtube to hear 296 flyby to see what I mean). As a former 458 owner, I thought the 488 was muted. I've come to change my views (don't we all when we buy something...?) on the basis that the n/a V8 in the 458 only really started to sing north of 7k, not a part of the rev-range occupied more than 10% of the time in my hands. The 488 sounds gruff and vocal from low down.
You then have to consider the 'hands on' aspects of the 296. The haptics feel dim-witted. Nothing works even half as fast as you will expect it to. I found myself accidentally toggling through dash displays whilst 'pushing on' from tacho/speedo to full-screen map. It was distracting, to say the least - not something you want to happen at the speed the 296 is capable of. The gear selector (fake H gate) was chintzy. The external door handles are horrible.
If (and its a big if) the 296 was available without haptics I might have been more convinced. Add to that the worries everyone has about battery life in hybrids, and the jaw-dropping depreciation, and I was happy to stay in a 488.
The performance of the 296 is other-worldly. The 488 is fast by any reasonable metric, but the 296 is on another level. Steering was slightly lighter than the 488's, at least to me. The noise inside the cabin of the 296 was glorious, albeit you have to realise it is largely synthetic (watch SCD's trip to Spain on youtube to hear 296 flyby to see what I mean). As a former 458 owner, I thought the 488 was muted. I've come to change my views (don't we all when we buy something...?) on the basis that the n/a V8 in the 458 only really started to sing north of 7k, not a part of the rev-range occupied more than 10% of the time in my hands. The 488 sounds gruff and vocal from low down.
You then have to consider the 'hands on' aspects of the 296. The haptics feel dim-witted. Nothing works even half as fast as you will expect it to. I found myself accidentally toggling through dash displays whilst 'pushing on' from tacho/speedo to full-screen map. It was distracting, to say the least - not something you want to happen at the speed the 296 is capable of. The gear selector (fake H gate) was chintzy. The external door handles are horrible.
If (and its a big if) the 296 was available without haptics I might have been more convinced. Add to that the worries everyone has about battery life in hybrids, and the jaw-dropping depreciation, and I was happy to stay in a 488.
bennno said:
Worth noting the Roma and 488 both use the F154 engine. Lots of grunt but a-bit flatulent sounding until you wind up the revs.
A 296 will depreciate more, but to balance that it’s under warranty and will have 6-7 free services left, the 488 won’t.
I know but the 296 will likely fall off a cliff once reaches 7. I was advised that there’s not even a power warranty available for 296’s past the end of year 7 (when the ability to extend the original warranty ceases). You would have thought they'll have to revise this or going to be sellable.A 296 will depreciate more, but to balance that it’s under warranty and will have 6-7 free services left, the 488 won’t.
Back to the question…. Owned a 488 Spider for a couple of years and absolutely loved it. Think great value at current prices and I’d rather be in a 7 year old one of these with £70k in the bank than a 3 year old 296 (never owned but had on loan for 5 days). Again, totally agree with earlier summary above. Also think the 296 looks a little bland and toy like, obviously subjective.
I have a 488 spider and often wonder whether a 296 would be the next "step up"
Having seen them side by side in a showroom, I do like the 296 but it looks small and compact, whereas the 488 has a better stance and is more of a classic ferrari shape (all subjective I know)
Also I wasnt even remotely impressed by the standard 296 seats which just look so plain and boring compared to my goldrake seats....Ive not seen the carbon equivalent of the 296 seats
To "upgrade" Id have to spend £100k to get a similarly high specd spider which simply does not add up for me
488....absolutely love it so I concluded keep it !
Having seen them side by side in a showroom, I do like the 296 but it looks small and compact, whereas the 488 has a better stance and is more of a classic ferrari shape (all subjective I know)
Also I wasnt even remotely impressed by the standard 296 seats which just look so plain and boring compared to my goldrake seats....Ive not seen the carbon equivalent of the 296 seats
To "upgrade" Id have to spend £100k to get a similarly high specd spider which simply does not add up for me
488....absolutely love it so I concluded keep it !
I had a 458 and changed it for a 296 GTS. I drove the 488 and the F8 and (just my opinion) neither of them were as much actual fun as the 458. So I never made the move to one of them. This is mostly about the n/a V8 sound as the 488 is a "better", faster car on track for example and it certainly has better brakes. I didn't drive the F8 much but it just seemed like a faster, more muted 488. I drove the 488 at Fiorano and my conclusion was that if I wanted the car for track use I'd pick a 488 over a 458 but for mostly road use, the 458 wins hands down.
It isn't that the 458 suddenly became not good enough. In some ways, it is actually a better car. I do think it is better looking. However, I have had trouble with it, happily dealt with under the very expensive Ferrari extended warranty. Also, I had the 458 from 2015 to 2024. It is never that you have had a car that perfect for too long, but I have done everything I wanted to, except a lap or two of the Nurburgring, in that car. I have done a few (not many) decent track days, I have had epic epic hoons. I have watched the leds all go red and upshifted from 6th. Where that happened is not something I want to talk about. I drove it at 9000 rpm all the time. It made my hair stand on end every time it is so exhilarating. I won't say I mastered it, because the truth is the Ferrari engineers created a masterpiece finely tuned for its clienti who mostly have less talent than their cars, but I had literally done so so much in this car that I was ready to move on. It is the car I owned for longest. And I had a once off chunk of change which allowed me to move on. I had to also sell my Ariel Atom 4 but I wasn't using it that much.
I decided that I wasn't going to worry about the initial depreciation and I would just get it exactly as I wanted it. There is a battery replacement included all of drivetrain warranty available after the initial warranty expires and I intend to keep it for a long time.
My take is that it is as much fun as the 458 and of course much faster and it even sounds very nice. Not 458 nice, but really better than one has a right to expect in the current emissions environment. I also drove it at Varano and it is an epic track weapon, but its too expensive to use in that way very much for me anyway.
I actually have got used to the haptics now. Basically I try and get the more complex stuff set up before I leave and don't use the sat nav (waze on phone). It has a physical mannetino and physical volume button and track advance button and cruise control adjustment button and I can manage to change AV sources on the move. So when you get used to it all, its actually fine.
So for me, leaving aside the financial aspects, there was no competition between the 296 GTS and the 488 Spider (or F8 Spider). I had a 458 coupe so wanted a Spider.
Apart from the haptics, one thing I don't like is the size - it is longer and wider than the 458 (nearly as wide as one of the newest model Defenders) and very low, which doesn't make for a comfortable drive on narrow twisties. Also, being so low, access or egress with the roof up is not dignified and I speculate that a taller or more well upholstered gentleman would find it pretty cramped, particularly with comfort seats. Mine has the race ones. There is less space in the cabin also, you could have got a set of golf clubs in behind the seats in the 458 (if you play golf, which I don't) but not a chance in the 296.
Do I regret it? Not a chance. It is an epic epic thing.
.
It isn't that the 458 suddenly became not good enough. In some ways, it is actually a better car. I do think it is better looking. However, I have had trouble with it, happily dealt with under the very expensive Ferrari extended warranty. Also, I had the 458 from 2015 to 2024. It is never that you have had a car that perfect for too long, but I have done everything I wanted to, except a lap or two of the Nurburgring, in that car. I have done a few (not many) decent track days, I have had epic epic hoons. I have watched the leds all go red and upshifted from 6th. Where that happened is not something I want to talk about. I drove it at 9000 rpm all the time. It made my hair stand on end every time it is so exhilarating. I won't say I mastered it, because the truth is the Ferrari engineers created a masterpiece finely tuned for its clienti who mostly have less talent than their cars, but I had literally done so so much in this car that I was ready to move on. It is the car I owned for longest. And I had a once off chunk of change which allowed me to move on. I had to also sell my Ariel Atom 4 but I wasn't using it that much.
I decided that I wasn't going to worry about the initial depreciation and I would just get it exactly as I wanted it. There is a battery replacement included all of drivetrain warranty available after the initial warranty expires and I intend to keep it for a long time.
My take is that it is as much fun as the 458 and of course much faster and it even sounds very nice. Not 458 nice, but really better than one has a right to expect in the current emissions environment. I also drove it at Varano and it is an epic track weapon, but its too expensive to use in that way very much for me anyway.
I actually have got used to the haptics now. Basically I try and get the more complex stuff set up before I leave and don't use the sat nav (waze on phone). It has a physical mannetino and physical volume button and track advance button and cruise control adjustment button and I can manage to change AV sources on the move. So when you get used to it all, its actually fine.
So for me, leaving aside the financial aspects, there was no competition between the 296 GTS and the 488 Spider (or F8 Spider). I had a 458 coupe so wanted a Spider.
Apart from the haptics, one thing I don't like is the size - it is longer and wider than the 458 (nearly as wide as one of the newest model Defenders) and very low, which doesn't make for a comfortable drive on narrow twisties. Also, being so low, access or egress with the roof up is not dignified and I speculate that a taller or more well upholstered gentleman would find it pretty cramped, particularly with comfort seats. Mine has the race ones. There is less space in the cabin also, you could have got a set of golf clubs in behind the seats in the 458 (if you play golf, which I don't) but not a chance in the 296.
Do I regret it? Not a chance. It is an epic epic thing.
.
Stonic said:
I was invited to a Ferrari event recently on the IOM and was fortunate to get a chance of a drive of a 296, Roma and 12 Cilindri.
First time driving a Ferrari and loved the 296. The 12 was great but just felt it took up a bit too much space and more than I would like to spend. The Roma was less impressive and felt like everything was a compromise. It was a convertible and the boots a joke.
We have no speed limits on some great roads so I was allowed to drive them pretty rapidly. For reference my quick car is currently an M3 Touring so we drove a route I regularly use and know.
I really liked the 296 and it regens very quickly so you pretty much always have the full power when you want it. But it’s hybrid and like others I’m concerned about the longer term reliability.
Long intro to get the the main question which is how would you compare a 296 to a 488 from a driving perspective? I drive my cars and will put miles on it.
Would love to hear from those that have driven or owned both. Thx
Had a 488 - still a great car and great value for money. A bit bigger inside than the 296. First time driving a Ferrari and loved the 296. The 12 was great but just felt it took up a bit too much space and more than I would like to spend. The Roma was less impressive and felt like everything was a compromise. It was a convertible and the boots a joke.
We have no speed limits on some great roads so I was allowed to drive them pretty rapidly. For reference my quick car is currently an M3 Touring so we drove a route I regularly use and know.
I really liked the 296 and it regens very quickly so you pretty much always have the full power when you want it. But it’s hybrid and like others I’m concerned about the longer term reliability.
Long intro to get the the main question which is how would you compare a 296 to a 488 from a driving perspective? I drive my cars and will put miles on it.
Would love to hear from those that have driven or owned both. Thx
The 296 is imo prettier, far easier to drive fast, really playful and friendly but much, much faster. It's phenomanally easy to drive the 296 even very, very fast (I've spent some time on track with them).
If you're a big lad then 488 has more space, the 296 though is a prettier, faster, easier to drive car that I think moves the game on and is the best car under £300k (maybe under £500k), available on the market today.
I am not worried about the hybrid system. Toyota Prius' have been on the market for 20 year. There's a 4 year warranty and you can extend to 15 years. Its not rare technology.
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