Ferrari California T 2016 Review

Ferrari California T
Road Test

Performance or presentation? Acceleration or aesthetics? These are the crucial questions facing Ferrari California T buyers. Although the $409,888 (plus on-road costs) exotic looks amazing, it's certainly not the fastest nor most engaging Italian drop-top you can order. That title belongs to the 488 Spider at $526,888 (plus ORCs). But the California T is not without merit. It's fast, it's fun, and it screams "look at me". But is that enough to convince buyers?

Phrases like "everyday sports car" and "entry-level" are seldom bandied about when talk turns to the likes of a V8 machine built at an artisan factory in Maranello, Italy. But these are some of the terms being levelled – both externally and internally – at the Ferrari California T.

The talk around the water cooler doesn't get much better for the world's most famous exotic car maker, as robust discussions about whether the California T is a 'true' Ferrari continue unabated. Indeed, Ferrari fanatics – the Tifosi – will insist a front-engine, rear-drive Ferrari's beating heart must have 12-cylinders. No ifs, buts or maybes.

The California T tested here has just eight-cylinders… So is it four-cylinders short of greatness? Not on your life!

Take a quick walk around the Cali T and it's clear that Ferrari has improved the exterior design of the car, which looks like a bona fide coupe with its metal roof secured. The black roof gives it a sinister look when matched to the 'rosso' body colour, delivering an extra dash of machismo. And it turns heads, big-time!

At the touch of the button the metal roof folds neatly into the boot, a rather balletic procedure that never fails to delight onlookers young and old.

And the moment you hunker down in the gorgeously contoured, comfortable and supportive hand-stitched leather sports seats, it would seem that Ferrari has (perhaps) focussed more on the touchy-feely bits than the melt-you-face bits.

The dashboard looks – and feels – incredible. If you thought Ferrari was only about performance, think again because the interior design impresses as much as the arresting exterior. It feels far more premium than the previous non-turbo California too and the little touches like the bright yellow rev counter and lack of steering wheel stalks work beautifully.

Everything from headlight, wiper, indicator and of course the adaptive suspension toggle are all located on the face of steering wheel, and, for me, it works brilliantly making city driving as seamless as coastal road cruising.

Inside and out this new California T looks more menacing and, crucially, it's gained a couple of turbochargers that give it enough propulsion to squeeze you firmly into your sumptuous leather-lined sports seat.

Indeed, it's by no means a dull vehicle – it attracts attention like a beard on a lady – and it's ludicrously fast, accelerating from 0-100km/h in just 3.6sec with launch control. That said, our test car's launch system was disabled, so it's impossible to convey the sensation...

Hoofing it from standstill results in serious thrust, a maximum of 755Nm of torque hitting the skids at 4750rpm, pinning bodies firmly in plush leather pews. Keep the throttle pinned and peak power at 7500rpm intensifies the acceleratory assault, the 412kW turbo V8 gleeful in its purist of speed.

Except for turbo lag low in the rev range, it a responsive engine that provides the Ferrari with grin-inducing propulsion when firing out of corners, but there's something missing… That's right, it's the sound.

Okay, that came out wrong. The sound isn't missing, it's just wrong. When a $410,000 Ferrari sounds like a four-cylinder Golf GTI with a slip-on exhaust, something's gone terribly, awfully wrong.

The Ferrari California T is a screamer, it's loud, but the acoustic is without the soulfulness expected of a Ferrari. There's a lovely burble on the overrun when engine-braking but it cannot redeem the overall tone.

It's not the only acoustic fail either. The stereo is rubbish. On a car costing more than some inner-city apartments, you'd think some effort would have gone into making the tunes crisp and clear. Sadly it's not the case.

In its defence, the Ferrari Cali T's driving dynamics are much improved compared to its non-turbo predecessor, thanks to chassis recalibrations that make it more amenable to diving into corners and dealing with rough surfaces once committed. For a drop-top it handles mid-corner bumps surprisingly deftly – just watch out for bigger bumps and pot holes because there's not a huge amount of vertical give in the suspension.

The taut, responsive chassis delivers high levels of grip and there's plenty of scope for cranking up the tempo. The F1-derived E-diff is very effective at apportioning torque at the rear axle too; although just when you start to get a feel for the car the electronic nannies tend to rein everything somewhat prematurely.

The steering is rather tidy, if a little light, and the brakes are excellent both in feel and execution, providing breathtaking deceleration should you need to flat-spot your ultra-wide 19-inch tyres.

Gear changes via the Getrag-built seven-speed dual-clutch are astonishingly fast, and using the paddle shifters on the steering wheel feels instinctive. That's a good thing because there's no traditional gear knob – just a trio of beautifully styled buttons served up on a fashionable spine.

Okay, so it's fast and fun, but the Cali T is a very good cruiser too. Happy to slot into seventh gear at any time, it generates enough torque to lope along at 1000rpm and roof up or down it's a pleasant place to be at highway speeds.

Although the stereo is a letdown the rest of the entertainment system is good, the reasonably-sized touchscreen system incorporating decent satellite navigation, a reversing camera (with lots of sensors, thankfully!), and native support for Apple CarPlay. Just plug in your iPhone and everything works well, so you can listen to Sound Cloud or Spotify through the car stereo.

There are some issues with the Ferrari California T. It's acoustically challenged, and if you listen to the die-hards it's not even a true Ferrari. Ultimately, however, I don't really care if this car isn't a proper Ferrari. The automotive illuminati may, but they're holier-than-thou jerks anyway.

This car attracts loads of attention. It looks stunning and although it sounds a bit like a vacuum cleaner it now goes, stops and turns like a proper sports car.

2016 Ferrari California T pricing and specifications:
Price: $409,888 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.9-litre eight-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 412kW/755Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch
Fuel: 10.5L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 250g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: N/A

Also consider:
>> Mercedes-AMG SL 63 (from $398,610 plus ORCs)
>> Aston Martin DB9 (from $399,500 plus ORCs)
>> Audi R8 Spyder (from $395,410 plus ORCs)