Test Driving the Ferrari California!

 Over the past weekend I was SO happy to be in possession of an absolutely FABULOUS ride.. the Ferrari California!! Being a huge fan of sports cars I've toyed with the idea of owning a Ferrari for a while now, but always stuck to Porsches. I currently own a zippy little Turbo Cabriolet as well as a Cayeanne Turbo if that gives you any indication of exactly how much of a Porsche girl I am! I guess the guys at Al Tayer motors got wind of my wanting to test drive a California and before I knew it I had someone coming over to my house and handing me the keys to a gorgeous white one.. talk about service! I had the car for a little over 4 days and decided to do a review of it for my blog as almost all my friends wanted to know what I thought and whether I was going to get one. Car lovers reading this blog, here is my disclaimer- do not expect any figures over here or any statistics on how fast it does 0 to 60.. I am a girl reviewing a sports car. Enough said? :)

So let me get straight into it- Turning on the engine is like listening to a perfect symphony only sports car lovers will quite understand. You really have got to love the "vroom vroom" as I call it to quite appreciate the sound this car makes. I probably looked a bit nutty while driving the car as I'd go really slow and then step on the gas just so I could hear the car growl as it ate up the road. Let's just put it this way- it made my Porsche sound like it was singing a silent nursery rhyme in comparison. A friend of mine sat in the car and asked me why the car was so noisy and whether it would eventually begin to irritate me over time. If I could have recorded the sound just to have it playback in my car, I would!!

To drive, this car reminds me of a thoroughbred racehorse. It is happiest when it is racing forward at high speeds (or the highest I could go in between radars on Sheikh Zayed road) and for that, it is a dream come true. Ever seen a racehorse trying to be contained into a walk though? It is agitated and jerky and difficult to control, and the same held true for the Cali. I had heard the California was an every day car and was much easier to control and maintain than the other Ferrari's before it. While I've only driven one once (raced it on the track in fact, so that doesn't count) and never owned one, I don't quite know how the others handle, but at slow speeds this car was positively jerky. It usually takes me a few minutes to get to Sheikh Zayed road from my house, and it pretty much jerked all the way till I got there- the kind of jerking that cars make when you're learning how to drive a stick shift and the car begins to jerk right before it shuts down? That, without the shutting down part. While I use my Turbo to run errands, go to the gym, pick up groceries and everything, I cannot dream of having to use this car to do any of those things. Of course you kind of KNOW that nobody uses a Ferrari to pick up groceries, but I'd at least like the option of being ABLE to if you're stuck in one. Any one of the Porsche sports models would very easily be able to be driven as a single persons only car, and as I mentioned I use mine almost daily. With the Ferrari, that wouldn't even be an option.

If I am making comparisons to my Porsche however, it is only fair for me to highlight the positive differences between the two as well. Going over 120 in my Porsche makes it feel a little jumpy and I have to be very careful with there being no or slight bumps in the road while driving it. Going past any construction site or any place that's being dug up also makes me feel like the vibration of the car is going through to my brain- it is an extremely rough drive. Surprisingly enough, the Ferrari glides through the roads and feels like a luxury sedan even over gravelly bits in the road. Speed bumps weren't as bad and I noticed that the usual spots on Sh Zayed that make my car feel like it's jumping off the ground, made no difference to the ride of the Cali. This car was super smooth and was a dream to drive, especially on turns.

As you can see in the pictures, there was no gear box in the car and the gears had to be controlled by the paddles on the side of the steering wheel. I can't imagine the kind of heart attacks I'd have while even thinking of handing the car over to a valet if I owned it. Think it would just not happen. The car can be driven in automatic mode as well as manual, but since I pretty much drove it on Auto the entire time, I really can't elaborate too much on that (again.. remember the disclaimer!).

Ok so here is when I go a bit girly on you and give you the more practical aspects that I felt were missing about the car. Most guys wouldn't care and would be like, "but it's a Ferrari!!" well yes, but not having a mirror on the sun shade flap REALLY inconveniences my life! Of course, it's not a deal breaker, but it would be SO nice if they'd decided to include one!! Same for parking sensors.. not a deal breaker, but it would have been nice if they had given me some visual parking aids than just a beeping sound (keep re-reading my disclaimer if you must!!) The stereo included in the car was just TERRIBLE but the guy dropping the car off said most people like listening to the sound of the car rather than the radio.. but that an upgrade was available while custom ordering the car. Considering I like bopping my head to music while driving, I'd definitely take the upgrade.. but the stereo system was just shockingly bad. I also didn't like that your car had to be parked to operate the roof and I'm so used to just going really slow while driving while doing and undoing my Turbo's roof that this again just seemed so inconvenient! Same for having to turn off the engine to be able to get the little gas door on the side to open while at the gas station. Fine for a few days in November.. I would NOT be wanting to fill gas in the car over the summer!

I finally found the cup holder for my daily Starbucks run

Overall, the car was an absolute beauty and I miss it so now that it's gone. My Porsche just isn't as smooth, as fast or as ubercool! And to answer the million dollar question- would I think of getting one? Not just yet. While most importantly I need to figure out the situation with my college next year (will I? Won't I?) I also would need to seriously consider that I will be having to use my Cayeanne or some other car as my primary car and would be able to take the California out only on times when I know I'm going to be driving mostly on the highway. But really.. what a drive it is!
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