355 or 360 for possible first Ferrari?

[leemarkadams]

Hello all,

Am possibly looking at a very good promotion in work in about a year and if so the wife is happy for me to get myself a proper weekend toy. I have always loved Ferraris and could spend up to £45K on the toy car....

So, what one would be best for:

Ease of use (As she would want to drive it too!).
Performance
Track Day usage

At present I have a TVR Cerbera and a R1 powered Caterham thingy in the garage, so I am used to fast cars.

Thanks

Lee

[stats007]

Planning anything around even having a job in a year is a bit brave given the current climate!

355 would be my choice. Solid values and a Ferrari everyone should own at some point in their life.

[sone]

For the three reasons you list, sensible choice would be a 360 not because it's a better car but because the 360 is a more sorted modern car and would probably stand the track days better. Both are great cars to own tho!.

[bertie]

I'd have to say 360 as it is much more modern and usable, but for heavens sake don't bother taking it on track, it'll feel like a bus after the Caterham.

Just keep the Caterham for track duties and the Ferrari for the road.

[ferrari spider]

If your wife wants to drive it to the nail salon, then i say the 360 with out a doubt.
Leave the hard core 355s to the men

[phib]

I have both the 355 and a caterham, very very different cars.

My Mrs wont drive the 355 but she will drive the caterham, I would check that your is happy with either Ferrari.

Neither the 355 or 360 compare to the caterham both are like driving a bus in comparison, the 355 is quite old school where as the 360 feels far more modern.

I would drive both and then decide, I am not a fan of 360's ( really dont like the looks or drive) but probably beceause I prefer old school manual cars and I just love the look of the 355.

Re the track bit there is no way in hell you would get me near the track in either ( if they were my cars) they are great on the track but a cost a fortune to maintain on the track and I hate to think about the costs of pranging one, hence the caterham.

I am happy that if I write off the caterham I have only lost circa 12k but the 355 would scare the hell out of me ( cost wise)

Phib

Edited by phib on Tuesday 22 December 13:17

[Harsh]

would agree completely with the above....

for everyday use the 360 is the car to go for, for a fun drive, you'd be happy in either the 355 or the 360.

for track work, use something else. I used my 360 on track once and i hated it hence why i now have an Atom.

drive them both and buy the one you think about that night.

[SpeedYellow]

Being in the lucky position of having both, all I can say is they are both great, similar but completely different in how they go about it.

The 355 is much smaller, feels more chuckable but is trickier on the limit, has a classic Italian driving position (short legs and long arms) where as the 360 feels much more modern, feels a bit heavier and more refined experience. Both are amazing cars (for the road) wouldn't recommend either as a track car...

Go drive and find out which you love!

[S1M VP]

The first time I drove a 360 I was not that impressed, one was a rental car the second was on a test drive, both were F1.

I recently had a similar dilema and wanted to scratch the Ferrari itch, so started looking at cars of similar budget ... Picked up my manual 360 2 weeks ago ... and I absolutely love it ... Enough said.

Heart will decide which model, heart & sense will select the right car, but try a few, they are all a little different.
Good luck !!

[lambo_xx]

leemarkadams said:

Hello all,

Am possibly looking at a very good promotion in work in about a year and if so the wife is happy for me to get myself a proper weekend toy. I have always loved Ferraris and could spend up to £45K on the toy car....

So, what one would be best for:

Ease of use (As she would want to drive it too!).
Performance
Track Day usage

At present I have a TVR Cerbera and a R1 powered Caterham thingy in the garage, so I am used to fast cars.

Thanks

Lee

This question pops up quite a lot on these forums and it's a bit tricky to answer to be honest. The 360 is realistically going to be a better car. It will be marginally quicker and probably will feel more modern, but it doesn't have the looks of a 355.

I have a 355 and a 430 spider so hopefully I can help. I bought my 355 in May this year, after about a year of searching and I don't regret it for a second. I'd always loved the 355 it just "did it" for me. Every time I though about one or ever saw one I got stupidly excited, where as the 360 never did this for me. Personally I also think the 355 is absolutely stunning to look at where as the 360 isn't. The 355 will cost a bit more to run. It has a bit less space behind the seats than the 360, but who cares. For me, the 355 is by far the best car I have ever owned or driven and I'm lucky enough to have driven a lot of nice cars. It isn't the fastest or the best handling, or the cheapest to run, but as I said earlier it just "does it" for me. I can't see myself getting rid of it any time soon.

I've never driven a 360 so I can't comment on what they're like, the do have a reputation for being a bit "twitchy" on the limit, where as the 355 doesn't have that problem. The 430 in comparison to the 355 does feel more modern, it is MUCH faster and so far seems to get more attention, however it's a bit trickier to park as it is wider.

As for tracking them, I wouldn't bother. The brakes on the 355 aren't amazing (they're fine, but you'll notice their weaknesses on a track. Your Caterham will be much more fun and to be honest you probably won't be so concerned that you prang it, whereas you WILL be in a Ferrari.
I recommend you get a test drive of both and see which you prefer. If your after an F1 gearbox then the 360 one is better (although early 360s still aren't great). The 355 is a great car and has fantastic handling,

As for ease of use, the 355 steering is very light (slightly too light to be honest) if you go for the GTS or Berlinetta then it has pretty good all round visibility. The ground clearance isn't horrendous either. You just have to watch going over speed bumps etc but other than that I haven't had any problems. The 360 has a bit more luggage space but not a lot more.

My advice is to go and drive both. See which you prefer, one of them should jump out at you. Just remember to buy the car with your heart not you head.

Hopefully that's helped. If you have any other questions feel free to PM me and I'll be happy to help.

[Mario149]

SpeedYellow said:

Both are amazing cars (for the road) wouldn't recommend either as a track car...

Haha! I almost have the complete opposite opinion! When I get my 355 I fully intend to use it on the track, after all, it's raison d'etre is to be properly thrashed. There's no way I could ever hope to explore it's limits on a road to see exactly how well it drives, so not taking it on a track at least a couple of times seems almost criminal! I've spoken to a couple of dealers now ref track days and there don't seem to be any issues so long as you perform normal checks before hand and keep the car up to date on its servicing Oh, and meet any required noise limits :P

[SpeedYellow]

You'll run out of brakes on both cars quite quickly, they are road brakes and both are not setup for track really. If you want to track it look out for a 355 Challenge where the suspension and steering rack is much tighter and quicker.

I guess it depends what you are used to but having raced in the past, compared to at GT3 or the like or especially an Atom or Caterham they are not great... also means you can't have a nice loud exhaust which makes the road drive of the cars... IMHO of course

By all means have a couple of goes on track and see what the limits are like, but don't expect it to be the best track experience in the world, but pounding up a mountain road hearing the exhaust note bouncing off the rock face... now that is special!

Edited by SpeedYellow on Wednesday 23 December 23:40

[bertie]

Mario149 said:

SpeedYellow said:

Both are amazing cars (for the road) wouldn't recommend either as a track car...

Haha! I almost have the complete opposite opinion! When I get my 355 I fully intend to use it on the track, after all, it's raison d'etre is to be properly thrashed. There's no way I could ever hope to explore it's limits on a road to see exactly how well it drives, so not taking it on a track at least a couple of times seems almost criminal! I've spoken to a couple of dealers now ref track days and there don't seem to be any issues so long as you perform normal checks before hand and keep the car up to date on its servicing Oh, and meet any required noise limits :P

Hmmmmm, you've not tried this have you.

Try a 355 or 360 on track, then try a Caterham and see what you think then.

[Mroad]

bertie said:

Mario149 said:

SpeedYellow said:

Both are amazing cars (for the road) wouldn't recommend either as a track car...

Haha! I almost have the complete opposite opinion! When I get my 355 I fully intend to use it on the track, after all, it's raison d'etre is to be properly thrashed. There's no way I could ever hope to explore it's limits on a road to see exactly how well it drives, so not taking it on a track at least a couple of times seems almost criminal! I've spoken to a couple of dealers now ref track days and there don't seem to be any issues so long as you perform normal checks before hand and keep the car up to date on its servicing Oh, and meet any required noise limits :P

Hmmmmm, you've not tried this have you.

Try a 355 or 360 on track, then try a Caterham and see what you think then.

I don't think Mario149 is debating about which would be better on track, a decent spec Caterham clone would win hands down, it's a no brainer.
The point he is making and which I totally agree with is, is that it's a good idea to try the 355 on track to know how it handles on and over the limit, something you can't do on the road safely.
I have run dedicated track cars for a good few years now but I always take my performance road cars on track or airfield days at least once to see how they perform. It gives a much better understanding of the car.
I intend to track my 355 next year (exhaust permitting) even though I have a dedicated track car which I know would be better.

By the way you don't have to have the best set up or most track orientated car to get fun out of track days. I think the must fun car I have had on track was with my old road set up E34 M5, bit of a barge and hardly quick but so much RWD fun, very predictable and easy to handle on and over the limits.

[Mario149]

Mroad said:

I don't think Mario149 is debating about which would be better on track, a decent spec Caterham clone would win hands down, it's a no brainer.
The point he is making and which I totally agree with is, is that it's a good idea to try the 355 on track to know how it handles on and over the limit, something you can't do on the road safely.

Exactly

[SonnyM]

Let the dude track it - maybe he can drive like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmLtZJBPFCI

Or even keep up with the F50 and F40 like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geLNHK4noww

[Harsh]

absolutely, have a go on track...
but if you do a full day you WILL run out of brakes,
you will find yourself being slightly tentative about pushing it to the limit, simply because it's your pride and joy.

and you will find it costs in terms of tyres, brake pads and anything that isn't nailed down!

in short, it will be a bit of fun, but you will have a lot more fun on track in something cheaper, lighter and more suited to the purpose.

A modern Ferrari (apart from the challenge cars , CS or Scud) is a road car not a track car. they are built to be driven fast and fun, but doing so on track and on the road is a completely different proposition.

[bertie]

OK try it on track, jst don't sell the Caterham if you enjoy track days.

[stats007]

SonnyM said:

Or even keep up with the F50 and F40 like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geLNHK4noww

A bit of an optimistic description!