Our Ferrari 308 made its longest one-way trip yet last week since we've owned it: 250 miles of freeway driving. It made it just fine. I emailed Scott Oldham after arrival and he wrote back, "Told you. Runs like a Camry."
The actual driving experience, however, was all Ferrari 308. And this isn't necessarily a good thing.
Departing the office was a mildly amusing affair. This was my first time with the 308, and I'd be keeping it for two weeks. Besides giving me a 20-minute verbal checklist of car's idiosyncrasies, Vehicle Testing Assistant Mike Magrath demonstrated the multi-step procedure needed to deal with the car's on-going coolant system issue.
He also gave me supplies: A gallon of water, two quarts of oil, pliers, a fire extinguisher and a Rosary (kidding!). I just threw everything on the passenger seat along with the rest of my gear. The 308's trunks aren't really useable. Then again, neither is a Pontiac Sostice's.
It was a very nice day, so in order to savor the driving experience, I thought I'd take a relaxed and 1980s-era pace – you know, drive the speed limit, keep the radio off and not use the air-conditioning.
In hindsight, this was a mistake.
After being in the 308 for about an hour, I was ready for a break. The driver seat is simply uncomfortable for long durations, and it's compounded by the awkward driving position. Not using A/C meant I had to keep the windows down. Result? Extra wind noise. Oh, and I was driving north in the late afternoon, so I was exposed to the setting sun without any sunscreen. Good times.
Meanwhile, I was getting passed by everything with two or four wheels. Everything. You know you're in California when second-gen Toyota Priuses whiz by you at 80 mph. How are your green credentials now, pal?
The speed limit was 70 mph for most of the way. I wonder now how fast I was actually going. I just noticed yesterday that even when idling, the 308's speedo reads 20 mph.
Five hours and a couple of stops later, I finally got home (I work remotely from our Santa Monica office). To its credit, the Ferrari took on a 250-mile trip without a hiccup. But I have to say, it was a bit of a relief to finally park it.
Next week, I'll be doing it all over again. But I'm bringing earplugs. And I'm certainly not staying at an indicated 70 mph.
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor @ 52,860 miles
txmatt1 says:
12:16 PM, 03/31/08
Just for grins, since you were in max-efficiency mode, have you figured your gas mileage for the trip?
louiswei says:
12:31 PM, 03/31/08
250 miles... you've got to be kidding me. Drive it to Michigan and back like you guys did with the Camry then I'll rest my case.
tmanz says:
12:47 PM, 03/31/08
"250 miles... you've got to be kidding me. Drive it to Michigan and back like you guys did with the Camry then I'll rest my case."
Aside from the mention of "a Ferrari for Camry money" in the first post about the car does anyone really think the two cars are designed for the same thing?
I guess they could also try the trip in a 24 year old Toyota with a questionable maintenance history
louiswei says:
12:49 PM, 03/31/08
Apparently Scott Oldham thinks the two are pretty comparable...
Also, good luck on finding a 24-year-old Camry that has such a low mileage like the 308.
aps2 says:
12:56 PM, 03/31/08
You know, for once Louis is onto something. Someone should take the 308 on a cross country trip. Though not really what the car is designed for; it should prove to be an interesting experience!
Brent,
By your description, it is clear that you still prefer the Ford Focus. Out of curiosity, why did you agree to take the car as it clearly is not your cup of tea?
ewilfong says:
01:12 PM, 03/31/08
Who needs a speedometer? An inexpensive portable GPS unit will tell you your speed. :)
As for the driving experience, it sounds like going windows up, A/C on will improve your comfort a good deal. Maybe you need one of the taxicab bead things to deal with the less-than-wonderful seats.
bromans says:
02:39 PM, 03/31/08
I don't have the mileage from the whole trip calculated yet. But for about the first 100 miles, I averaged 19.5 mpg. Interestingly, www.fueleconomy.gov starts at 1985. An '85 308 is listed at 9 mpg city/15 mpg highway. -- Brent
joefrompa says:
03:04 PM, 03/31/08
Goodness people. Don't you know the rules of road-tripping?
Never take an italian car on a road trip unless you have a chase car with an even higher likelihood of failing.
Joe
billymay says:
06:57 PM, 03/31/08
I wouldn't worry about a trip - my Ferrari 328 hasn't missed a beat. The A/C on the 308s isn't great (1980s European cars had crappy A/C).
I guess poking along on an Interstate isn't real Ferrari driving though. I usually just take mine on the fun roads.
tryan says:
04:02 AM, 04/ 1/08
I just think it's funny that people are ecstatic that the car made it 250 miles without a problem....speaks volumes about the temperamental nature of these old exotics.
firstwagon says:
08:05 AM, 04/ 1/08
Any old car. If you did a 250 mile road trip in an 84 Camry without a problem you be proud of that too.
daytona_500 says:
09:16 PM, 04/ 1/08
What I would like to see hopefully is a long, long road trip done with the Ferrari to test how well it handles the task of long distance driving. Obviously the Ferrari cant hold a lot of stuff, so thats why I suggest taking a chase vehicle, like the Veracruz, CX-9, Edge, pretty much anything really. I'd love to see on the spot blogs and the pictures from such a trip.