REVIEW: Purosangue is a family Ferrari for all seasons

PINZOLO, ITALY: Ferrari insists on not calling the new Purosangue an SUV, and it doesn’t really feel like one.

It may have an elevated 185mm ride height, weigh about two tonnes and have all-wheel drive and hill-descent control — which all sounds very SUV-like — but Maranello prefers to dub its new family-sized sports car a grand tourer.

The brand’s customers have been clamouring for an “adventure vehicle” for some time, and now that it’s arrived the €390,000 car already has an 18-month global waiting list. The local price in SA will be R9,728,300.

The final product isn’t considered a direct rival to fire-spitting SUVs like the Lamborghini Urus and Aston Martin DBX. Instead, the Purosangue (pronounced “pooro-sungway and meaning “thoroughbred” in Italian) is a practical family car that can tackle more adventurous roads than any other Ferrari but still delivers the driving prowess expected of the fabled prancing horse badge.

The latter is achieved by making the big V12 engine mid-front mounted with the gearbox at the rear to create a sporty transaxle layout, a setup that delivers a balanced 49:51% weight distribution.

The firm has also dipped deep into the technology bin to make this heavy high rider drive like a true Ferrari. The all-wheel drive powertrain is supported by a suite of electronics including rear-wheel steering and torque vectoring to keep the big car handling sharply and pointed in the right direction. Ferrari Active Suspension Technology (FAST) automatically stiffens to reduce body roll and pitching under respective cornering and braking.

An ABS “Evo” braking system maximises traction on low-grip surfaces. Torque vectoring on the front axle and distribution of torque to the rear tyres by an E-Diff, together with the electronic stability control, ensure maximum traction in all situations. An electronic power steering-based grip estimation system, originally developed for the Ferrari 296 GTB, has also been honed for driving in the snow or on other low-grip surfaces.

This all provided some comfort as I headed into northern Italy’s snowy Dolomite mountains on the Purosangue’s international media drive last week. Some sections of the twisty passes were slippery with snow melt, which can be daunting in a car that can scorch from 0-100km/h in 3.3 seconds.

With 533kW and 716Nm underfoot I started out gingerly on the slick road, but as the confidence grew the car’s sportier settings were selected. For all its power the car displayed less slithering than expected, and when the tail did playfully slide out, electronics safely brought it back into line.

Eventually the road dried completely, allowing more sustained hard-throttle efforts driving through the mountains. The 6.5l engine pulls like a racehorse and roars as only a normally-aspirated V12 can. Hearing it revving at 8,000rpm might alone be enough to convince many owners that it was R9,728,300 well spent.

In the cut and thrust of mountain-pass driving you can always feel the car’s weight, particularly when trying to be last of the late brakers into tight turns. But for its size and mass this Ferrari handles with impressive poise. There was little that ruffled the big car as it was driven with vigour through twisty roads, and nothing SUV-like about the way the body stayed level with the road instead of swaying.

But the Purosangue is a car of two characters. When high-adrenaline driving gave way to leisurely cruising through ski villages, it turned into a civilised commuter with a comfortable ride. There were no rough roads to fully test the suspension and low-profile tyres, but the Ferrari handled speed humps without jarring. Unlike most Ferraris, it’s not a one-trick horse that needs to be raced through a mountain pass to be appreciated, and makes a practical daily driver.

Except for the seats feeling a little hard, on-board comfort is impeccable. The spacious cabin accommodates four tall adults with ease, and the car has the expected luxury amenities including electrically adjustable and massaging seats.

Rear-opening back doors provide spacious egress into the cabin, and all four doors open and close automatically at the touch of a button. The 473l boot with electrical fold-down rear seats swallows copious Gucci bags. It is the rarest thing: a Ferrari for all seasons.

All this space is housed in a sleek and striking shape that looks more sportback-coupe than SUV, though contrast-coloured wheel arch covers deliver the required “adventure” look.

As "domesticated" and practical as it might be, it is a car that preserves the brand’s sporting heritage in its driving dynamics, sound and overall character.

Ferrari purists seeking maximum track-attack prowess will prefer one of the marque’s lighter steeds. The Purosangue is for those who want to take the family along for the thrill ride, even if it takes them into snowy mountains.