Road test: 2010 Ferrari California

AT A GLANCE

FOR

• Fast
• Great handling
• Easy to drive

AGAINST

• Little storage space
• Fiddly cruise control
• Fuel thirsty

SUMMARY

Forget any sneers you’ve heard about the California being a girly Ferrari or a shuffling donkey rather than a prancing horse. It might have a folding hard-top roof, but the California is entirely worthy of the Ferrari badge. It’s very fast, sounds fantastic and boasts sublime handling, as well as being beautifully made. It might not be as pretty as Ferraris of decades past, but it has presence, grace and, above all, the performance that its name deserves.

PERFORMANCE

The California gets its grunt from a 4.3-litre V8 engine that pushes out 450bhp through the rear wheels. That’s a lot of power in anyone’s book and makes for rapid, intoxicating progress with 100kph coming along in less than four seconds.

The delivery isn’t screaming as in, say, the F430; it’s more mellow than that, but it’s still a aural treat as the engine climbs to more than 8,000rpm. Power is available pretty much anywhere in the rev range, but with such a sonic treat waiting just under the right foot, we found ourselves keeping the engine singing.

The gearbox is wonderful. You can quite happily drive it in auto mode but it’s at its best when using the wheel-mounted paddles to change gear manually. The twin-clutch transmission is lightning fast and silky smooth in its changes.

HANDLING AND RIDE

The steering feels slightly artificial in Comfort mode, if only because we expected it to feel heavier, but it does somehow maintain excellent feel to the front wheels and the road. While surprisingly light, it’s direct and never puts the driver ill at ease.

The handling really flatters the average driver – it’s so easy to pilot at speed thanks to its fantastic chassis. Turn in is crisp and the grip is amazing. This really is a fantastic car to drive enthusiastically.

The ride for a sports car and, indeed, any car, is very good thanks to the optional MagneRide suspension. There’s a speed bump in Dubai that we take most cars we test over and is usually a bone-cruncher in all but softly-sprung SUVs. The California took it with no problem, which is remarkable.

We also need to mention the carbon-ceramic brakes which are as good as modern brakes get, giving the car awesome stopping power even from very high speeds.

What’s particularly impressive about the California’s driving experience is that it’s perfectly at home being thrashed or pootling down to the shops. The light steering means it’s easy to manoeuvre and comfortable to sit in traffic in.

COMFORT

Sit in the driver’s seat and you look out between big front wings. The interior is all leather and suede with a beautifully sculpted dashboard housing turbine-like air vents wrapped in carbon fibre. The instrument cluster is dominated by a central yellow rev counter and also features various screens and gauges.

The steering wheel is a work of art; topped with carbon fibre and a built in shift indicator, with the engine start button on the bottom left and the manettino switch on the bottom right (more on that later). A bright yellow Ferrari logo sits in the middle.

The centre console, above the transmission tunnel, is also beautiful, dominated by a floating piece of sculpted carbon fibre housing an ashtray, window controls and various other buttons, including the folding roof and launch control.

The optional Daytona seats are really nicely sculpted too. Our test car has red and black suede and leather mix with red stitching that conjured up a suitably sporting atmosphere. Although the California is a grand tourer more than a flat out sports car, the seats are more than supportive enough for spirited cornering. However, after about three hours in the car we did experience a bit of lower backache, despite fiddling with the seat’s settings.

It’s not the quietest car for cruising in – there’s a fair bit of wind and road noise. Select Comfort mode on the manettino and everything is toned down, but don’t expect Lexus or Audi levels of insulation from the outside world. Part of this of course is due to to the folding hard top roof, which opens and closes quickly and efficiently, but only when the car is at a standstill, which is a shame in an age when other, cheaper cars can transform while on the move.

PRACTICALITY

Despite the California’s positioning as a grand tourer and its ease of driving every day, the California is not particularly practical, with little storage space.

The door pockets are mere flaps of material and the boot is pretty tiny. By the time Ferrari crammed in the roof mechanism and the spare wheel, there wasn’t not much space left. If you’re travelling, travel light.

Some Californias have rear seats, but they’re ridiculously tiny to the point of being pointless. Our test car had been specified without them and had a parcel shelf instead. In our view, that’s the way to go.

Other touches include tray in the centre console for a phone or iPod and a cup holder under the centre armrest.

FEATURES

Most of the features available in the California are things like different types of leather or suede on the upholstery. That said, there are a few toys worth talking about, chiefly the manettino switch on the steering wheel. This controls the car’s gearbox and stability control (CST) set up, allowing you to change between comfort and sport or track orientated settings with a quick twist.

Aside from the dual-zone air conditioning and the 19-inch alloys, most of the features on our test car were options that will easily ramp up the California’s 770,000AED base price. These include cruise control, which is operated via the indicator stalk and is a bit more fiddly to use than other cars we’ve tried recently. A USB iPod connection is available, as well as an auxiliary input socket for other MP3 players. Parking sensors are an optional extra, as is the rear view camera.

SAFETY

The California comes as standard with ABS and Ferrari’s CST electronic stability and traction control system as well as front and side airbags. No crash test data was available for the California at the time of writing.

COSTS

Be warned – the Ferrari badge pretty much guarantees that fuel economy is not a concern. Officially it will return a combined economy of 13.1 litre per 100km, giving it a theoretical range of around 600km from its 78-litre fuel tank. But drive the California like you should – with plenty of noise – and it will guzzle through fuel very fast. We got around 300km from a single tank, only half of which was spirited driving. You’ll be making a lot of trips to the petrol station.

Ferrari offers a three-year, unlimited mileage warranty on the California. Checks and minor services are due every  5,000km, with more in depth servicing at 10,000km intervals and major checks at 60,000km. The cost will depend on what needs doing, but it’s a Ferrari, so it won’t be cheap.

2010 Ferrari California

Engine: 4.3-litre V8
Max power (bhp/rpm): 450/7,750
Max torque (Nm/rpm): 485/5,000
Transmission: Seven-speed twin-clutch automatic
Driven wheels: Rear wheel drive
Kerb weight: 1,739kg
Price (AED): 770,000

Tags: 2010 Ferrari California, California, Convertible, Ferrari, Road Test