Ferrari Purosangue review

Up front there’s a twinned cockpit. The passenger gets their own screen to play with – and you don't even have to pay extra for it. There’s a new user interface and many threads of haptic annoyance. Everything looks very neat without buttons, but is that really the most intuitive user-experience?

Is that a rhetorical question?

Yes. The information screen ahead of the driver is configurable using the swipeable pad on the right-hand side of the steering wheel, and the rest is controlled on the rotary knob in the middle of the dash. Tap the top and it rises up, tap again to select a function, rotate to adjust.

Sounds simple, and it works. Standing still. Once moving, the whole set up is fiddly and the haptics inconsistent in reaction. And the car’s screen mirroring (which brings Apple CarPlay up in the dash) is built for touchscreen. Which this isn’t. Cue much swiping, looking down and general faff. In a car as fast and reactive as this, it’s not brilliant.

Put it this way: the Ferrari’s screen control thumb pad is even more irritating to operate than the DBX’s not-a-touchscreen. We don’t say this lightly: it often threatens to undermine your enjoyment of the whole car. In a daily driver the UX is a big deal and we don’t think Ferrari has nailed it at all.

In a car as fast as this, you don’t necessarily want to be looking down all the time to check you’re in the correct setting and place. Even the engine start is now a haptic pad at the base of the steering wheel. Firing the V12 should at least warrant something tactile you can push.

Ok, talk to me about practicality.

There’s enough space in the two rear seats and getting in and out via the rear-hinged doors is easy enough. And it’s not like an original Mini Clubman, you don’t have to open the front door first, nor put much effort in. The doors are electric. Pull a little tab on the outside and the door whirrs open for you. Once you’re in there’s a button to reverse the process.

It feels very sophisticated, and the rear seats are more spacious than you might imagine. They might not feel it as there’s not a lot of light coming in. So instead focus on the quality. It feels expensive and special in here. Even the 473-litre boot is beautifully trimmed. And yeah, it’s well judged for space – you will get four people’s luggage for a weekend away in the boot. Well, provided one of them isn’t Beyonce.

Unclip the luggage cover and rear bulkhead and they both stow in the boot floor, and from there you can drop the rear seats. It’s not a flat area, but certainly enough to carry a significant amount of stuff. Or a really big dog with excellent balance.