Young family, Ferrari FF, 612 or Porsche 991.2 GTS Targa

[911Thrasher]

I have a young family, two little boys aged 4 and 6.
We currently have a late G55k AMG and an old Bentley T2...and want something with a bit more oomph, hence either the 991.2 GTS Targa, FF or 612 OTO. All in the 100k£ budget.

My wife will use it daily for school drops while I will use it for my solo (without kids, as they fly there) regular jaunts from London to the Bassin d’Arcachon in France.

Our choice (as it will be mainly my wife driving it) has been narrowed to these 3 cars only, and nothing else, it’s been very well thought of, they all have glass roofs, and I’ve had numerous Porsches (993, 993 turbo S, 964RS, 997 GT3RS) and Ferraris (360, CStradale x2, Scuderia, 575HGTC)...so know each brand very well, and wouldn’t buy anything else.

What are your thoughts? Has anyone here been here, how do you do with little ones?

Note: both my wife and I are 5’10”

Edited by 911Thrasher on Tuesday 2nd February 23:37

[LooneyTunes]

Wife also wanted a 911 but the problem you’re going to face is that kids grow... and they pick up ever more school clutter (start with a small bag but quickly end up with rucksack and games kit bag). If you’re never going to run four up then you might get away with the Porsche.

We’re a bit more flexible on brands but ended up with a Taycan and a Continental GTC as the wife’s cars. Both work well for school runs and the Conti would be ideal for a long drive through France. Could see an FF working for what you want.

[F355GTS]

FF would work but what's the route and access like to the school? car is huge and might be a struggle on narrow busy roads

[911Thrasher]

F355GTS said:

FF would work but what's the route and access like to the school? car is huge and might be a struggle on narrow busy roads

Chelsea/Fulham, indeed not the widest streets for school runs, my wife is used to her G55 (but it is now being moved permanently to France)

[andrew]

alpina b5

[WCZ]

FF .

[kith]

I'd go FF given your criteria. The 612 would be clunky in town with the single clutch transmission and the kids would grow out of the 911 in no time at all.

[anonymous-user]

The FF is great, but I'd worry about my wife parking it easily - no offence to women in general intended! The FF is a big car and you can't see the 4 corners very easily (even with a front and rear camera). Also I'd worry about speed bumps in London, some of them are super harsh - especially the 2 x bump ones. I can slow down and press the lift, but my wife would drive straight over them. As much as I love Ferrari, I'd go 911 until my kids were 11-12, by which time you'd have sold either car anyway.

[Buttmonkey]

612 Interior too fragile for the school run and daily London grind. You would be forever emptying your wallet just to fix the window switches, especially with kids

[ANOpax]

ThePackMan said:

The FF is great, but I'd worry about my wife parking it easily - no offence to women in general intended! The FF is a big car and you can't see the 4 corners very easily (even with a front and rear camera). Also I'd worry about speed bumps in London, some of them are super harsh - especially the 2 x bump ones. I can slow down and press the lift, but my wife would drive straight over them. As much as I love Ferrari, I'd go 911 until my kids were 11-12, by which time you'd have sold either car anyway.

As well as the cameras, the FF has parking sensors front and rear with zone readout so you can see where the obstruction is. The camera screen is a bit low res so it's easier to park by sensor than camera.

The FF also has good ground clearance (over 12cm) and the lift adds another 4cm on top.

The FF and 612 are the same size and the FF has more ground clearance than the 612. It also has nearly twice as much cargo volume and you can fold the back seats in the FF and load up a tremendous amount of stuff through the hatch. My wife and I have had 2 week holidays in europe with 2 road bikes and all our luggage. You won't manage that in the 612 or 911.

The FF is also a surprisingly comfortable cruiser (better than my 3 series GT) and eats up the miles while also being capable of a back road hoon (which the 612 isn't really set up to do).

When shopping for my FF, I also considered a 612 and was told by my indy not to bother. He was right.
The way I see it, the OP's choice boils down to FF or 911.

[911Thrasher]

thanks guys, really helpful to hear true stories...it's true our choice is really between Targa and FF.
And it's true most of the mileage would be done by my wife on her daily school runs/errands in Fulham/Chelsea.

Keep them coming.

She is used to her G55 (been her truck for the last 7years) and it only has rear sensors: never has she brought it home with the tiniest scratch. Flawless. So i cannot put her driving as a limiting factor to the car we will end up with choosing.

[911Thrasher]

Buttmonkey said:

612 Interior too fragile for the school run and daily London grind. You would be forever emptying your wallet just to fix the window switches, especially with kids

is that your experience? the switches are the same i had in the Stradale, yes tiny indeed, but i don't remember them braking down (as the electronics giving up)...and i have done at least 30kmiles between both Stradales i had.

and i would guess only the front windows operate, so really in the hands of the driver/front passenger...not the kids in the rear.

But good info

[astroarcadia]

Where do you go? Cap Ferret is heaven but more suited to a Porsche 365.

Chop the G55 in for a Moke and get a 992 Targa.

Edited by astroarcadia on Wednesday 3rd February 17:33

[hunter 66]

Buttmonkey said:

612 Interior too fragile for the school run and daily London grind. You would be forever emptying your wallet just to fix the window switches, especially with kids

Had one for 4 years with twin boys .... and yes had to replace the switches ....... but great car for your needs and style but need to spend on running costs

[sparta6]

911Thrasher said:

F355GTS said:

FF would work but what's the route and access like to the school? car is huge and might be a struggle on narrow busy roads

Chelsea/Fulham, indeed not the widest streets for school runs, my wife is used to her G55 (but it is now being moved permanently to France)

G55 is surprisingly adept on busy roads and easy to park

I would go FF

[911Thrasher]

astroarcadia said:

Where do you go? Cap Ferret is heaven but more suited to a Porsche 365.

Chop the G55 in for a Moke and get a 992 Targa.

Edited by astroarcadia on Wednesday 3rd February 17:33

Spot on
G55 now lives there
Moke is not an option: does not carry enough surfboards and is not an all year rounder

Edited by 911Thrasher on Thursday 4th February 11:08

[astroarcadia]

911Thrasher said:

Spot on
G55 now lives there
Moke is no option: does carry enough surfboards and is not an all year rounder

?

[anonymous-user]

911Thrasher said:

thanks guys, really helpful to hear true stories...it's true our choice is really between Targa and FF.
And it's true most of the mileage would be done by my wife on her daily school runs/errands in Fulham/Chelsea.

Keep them coming.

She is used to her G55 (been her truck for the last 7years) and it only has rear sensors: never has she brought it home with the tiniest scratch. Flawless. So i cannot put her driving as a limiting factor to the car we will end up with choosing.

My wife drives her G63 everyday, without any issues at all, but I wouldn't put her through the stress of driving my Lusso. It's a totally different proposition to the G63, which as someone else said you know where everything sits. If you're Mrs. is a confident driver then it would be OK though. In terms of ground clearance, I've scraped my way over plenty of aggressive speed bumps in London over the years in lots of different cars. The FF was absolutely no different.

[ANOpax]

ThePackMan said:

In terms of ground clearance, I've scraped my way over plenty of aggressive speed bumps in London over the years in lots of different cars. The FF was absolutely no different.

True. The FF has about as much ground clearance as an M-sport 3 series. Which is still 2cm more than the 911 Targa.

[911Thrasher]

astroarcadia said:

?

next to the skatepark i take my boys there every day in the summer while the wife is at the market