Was I Wrong About the Ferrari FF? My Favourite Four Seater, Revisited 

I bought mine a year ago and I can honestly say its the best car ever. I actually did exactly what you recommended in this review. I bought from a dealer with a 2 year warranty, new discs fitted and the major service done. I've covered 3000 miles in 6 months, 10 times more than my previous Ferrari's. Immense power, speed, looks, practicality and style. Purosangue looks great but it started with the FF. As more realise that a v12 4 seater Ferrari is the way forward they will keep appreciating. Remember there's only 2200 FF in the whole world. Merry Christmas.

I wanted an FF for 5 years. I bought one in August this year - a 2014 with pano roof in Grigio Titanio over Sabbia. It is outstanding. Last week I drove it from Norfolk to Kent in a blizzard in ice/snow mode with PS4S tyres on. It was tense, but I was passing regular cars that were stuck and had given up. I've covered 4000 miles since August and it is my daily driver. There is nothing I can think of that I'd replace it with. I prefer the FF to the Lusso. Personally I think it's very underated and one of the most useable cars that has ever been built by Ferrari. These hustle down the road in a way that a 2000kg car the size of a Mercedes E class Estate has no right to. The fuel cosumption varies from pretty bad to absolutely horrendous. I managed a little over 300 miles on the last tank of fuel and I was mildly excited about it until I worked out that was 18mpg. So far so good. I changed the head unit (which is appalling) for a Kenwood unit with Android Auto. That was a game changer. My car has the lift system and I do use it. It also makes the suspension a little softer. I have the rear wiper which I rarley use. Unlike any other estate car I've ever owned, the aero on an FF is such that no road dirt is sucked back up onto the rear end. I've just drive 130 miles today in filthly weather and the rear screen is as clear as it was when I set off. I had it inspected by Joe Macari and bought a Power15 warranty after it passed with a clean sheet. I paid £125K for a car with 3 owners and 21,000 miles. Bad things - I wouldn't vountarily drive into the centre of London again in creeping traffic. DCT gearboxes just don't lend themselves to that. That wonderful V12 tone that James likes so much on the open road - that gets a little wearing in a 45 minute stop start queue at the Dartford tunnel. So I'm investigating fitting Lusso back boxes to my car to make it quieter when the valves are shut. I've also had Dynamat fitted to much of the boot floor to give a bit more soundproffing - it helped a lot. This is really only an issue if like me, you genuinely daily drive this car. If it's a garage queen or you drive something else in town it won't be an issue. If you can stomach the potential bills and the fuel consumption, there is genuinely nothng like it. I adore mine.

"...run away like a little girl to the F12!" That made me laugh out loud. Thanks for all the petrolhead, man maths absurdity that we enjoy so much.

I really admire your voicing the downsides such as reliability and costs to repair; so many other reviewers ignore these important facts.

Love your content jayemm, you have grown to be my most favorite car youtuber of them all. You never gloss over flaws of a car or use vague metaphors to describe handling, and you always give your true opinion even if some wont like to hear it. Keep up the great work, you've got yourself a big time fan!

Dear James, thank you for another review of the Ferrari FF. This is just a fantastic car. Two years ago, I was consindering either an F12 or an FF. I chose the FF. The design, the concept, the 4 seats, the combination of talents just convinced me completely. Actually I like it so much, I bought a second one in another colour. I have since been driving happyly without any problems. Just pure pleasure. The best car in my eyes. I have no more automotive wishes - the FF covers them all. I can only recommend it - every new owner will be surprised and impressed - with a big smile on the face. Cheers, Boris

Now if only I could order an FF with a 5 or 6 speed stick shift, it’s something I can’t live without in sports cars. I’ve owned a 365gtb/4, a 328gts, and a 246gts, and shifting all of those cars with the traditional gated chrome lever is one of lives great joys.

Still my favorite v12 ferrari, I really want one This and a 458 is hands down the best 2 car garage I could think of

Watched your FF video so many times. Actually preferred your review of the FF to the one you did of the GTC4 and was recently looking forward to seeing this review after this car was shown in one of your recent videos.

Hey probably been your best year yet for content Jay, particularly the ferrari stuff. Fantastic 🤗 Happy Christmas and to an even better 2023😎

Loving the content James. Took delivery of my FF last week and absolutely loving it - bought it for the reasons you highlighted! Got a fully loaded one and I can already see me having it for a long time.

Well that's 2022 almost over.. but thanks to Jay for his tremendous content and variety of cars he reviews its been a good year. 👍 Always enjoy his commentary. Without doubt he's one of the best reviewers and this video is excellent. Always loved the FF. Great shirt too, Jay. Merry Xmas to everyone.

Who knew having 2 ferraris would be an issue...Good to know price knows no bounds.As usual super film James

Without doubt THE BEST four seater car in the world with total excitement….. nothing comes close …. Great content….

Awesome video. That panoramic roof is a must. Keep up the good work.

Hey Jay, love your channel. I’d like you to consider driving an Aston Martin Rapide. I recall your video where you looked one over but you didn’t give it you usually complete test. I know you like Astons and I really think you’ll enjoy it. I have one and, for me, I think it is the best all around vehicle ever built. Cheers, Larry I considered the FF but decided I could live without the sneers 😊

What a channel. Pure entertainment and teaches us also. Win, win.

Excellent review. Coincidence but i saw an identical one the Deal in Kent at the weekend - haven’t seen one for years…

Not car related but Have a great Christmas and Fab New Year. May your channel continue to grow 🎉

I'd be curious to get your thoughts on the LussoT. Loses the NA V12 (yes, a big loss) but lighter, simplifies away the PTU issues & weight by being RWD, and there's a bunch of them out there for half-decent money (indeed cheaper than a Portofino). Maybe because here in Australia everyone seemed to order one they didn't actually want just to get the loyalty points for a Pista. I've yet to drive one but seems a compelling proposition on paper

Man I love this car channel and jay is awesome!! I have a 997 tt coming in next week can’t wait!!

I have had my FF 2011 for over a year now and have had no issues at all. I have had the full race exhaust with switched valves from novitec and is even more amazing sounding. And the ECU remapped by them which is now 770whp and 800nm torque! And they speeded up the gear change as well. I can agree is amazing to drive, and clearly going to be more dynamic than a electric steering rack in the GTC4 Lusso, and the new 4x4 due to lower weight. Is hard to beat as a usable decent car. I had a warranty when I bought it and never claimed on it so have not bothered to retain it. Brakes are expensive (like 25K a full set of discs and pads), but again there are companies that can refinish the original discs for a lot cheaper and the pads are 1K each for front and rear, which is fine for a high performance Ferrari. Or some change to steel discs for track use but I wouldn't.

Must’ve been in a mood today, you’re always funny and clever, but it was up two notches today, the one liners kept coming.

Hello, it’s a perfect car and the PTU’s fix solution change the approach. The sun roof add a better experience for the passenger seat for children. A little problem: The white stitching reflected on the windscreen and some times it’s annoying. Best regards !

I've liked these since they launched. Opinions on the looks are very polarized, but i'm firmly in the yes please camp (and compared to the 458, i prefer the FF). To me, this is the last of the Ferraris i love the most; the elegant and sophisticated GT. A line that, besides this, ended wih the 550/575 for me. Sadly i can't afford one, and it's way too big for many of the road i drive, but a great Ferrari? Absolutely! Great seeing one on this channel again, and since i've only known FFs that actually work (non-issue tiny problems aside), i also appreciate hearing that there are problems with them. Good job, as always :)

I absolutely love the FF beautiful car , that one sounds magnificent too Gorgeous machine .❤

Thanks J, very capable, great looking & sounding car! 🙏🙏

Always loved these, thanks guys

Damn! You have just sold it to me all over again. And that sound track is simply mad!

I've always lusted for an f12 but I'd definitely go for these first. I don't like driving at more than 7/10ths, good looking and I've found myself enjoying practical cars I can enjoy with many friends much more

Still remember whee Shmee150 had his blue/purple FF. Those videos definitely made me fall in love with the car.

Another great summer video.

Such cars are intended to be great for the first 3-5 years. Owners don't buy them, they finance the depreciation. After that, they don't care. They get palmed off onto the grasping aspirational ambitious classes.

Hit the nail on the head as they say in the states. I agree it is criminally underrated…good for me 😉

Thank you JayEmm (and Number 27 too) for perhaps unintentionally persuading me to stay clear of any Ferrari. I'll stick with my nice, sensible Porsche.

If I could only even own one Ferrari, this would be tight up there. Beautiful van!

Throw away the PTU, reprogram ECU to RWD mode and forget about this issue. It doesn't need AWD at all.

Howdy from San Antonio Texas. We appreciate y’all. The car hobby is strong here including exotics and stretching back all the way to classics (like 1920’s). Except for the coastal cities like Houston there is very little rust. And ice or snow happens occasionally but not often enough to justify salting the roads. Imagine an original MGB with zero rust. By the way, are you concerned about the “little girls” who you say run away when scared? Well bless your heart Jay we know you don’t mean any offense.

Totally agree. Still miss mine!

Thanks for introducing me to a wonderful car and simultaneously putting me off buying it. I can enjoy it through your videos instead.

Very accurate assessment. My next Chris Harris without the over steer

Very timely Quality Street esque shirt

Great video as usual! 🥰🥰 I like the FF but still prefere the old classy 456GT ❤❤

Ive just noticed that the front lights look like an old polaroid tower of flash bulbs. Still a nice car tho

My Scud was in at DL and I had the customary look around the workshop. There was an FF in for work and the gearbox was out for a failure. It wasn’t an old car but scared me away from the FF as a daily.

Thank you so very much for this video. I drive a 911 C4S and was considering a FF. Now I think I’ll stick with Porsche 😅

Great analysis, could hear the struggle in your mind. Its great, it's bad, love, hate I think.

Bentley Flying Spur W12 is another option or the Continental GT Speed W12 as they were designed in conjunction with Porsche Panemera engineers. The Porsche Panemera Turbo S Sport Turismo is the Estate/ Station Wagon version and has 650is BHP with new pistons/ connecting rods/ crank/ fuel injectors/ timing chain and the steering and suspension will be up to Porsche’s standards. Could get used through Bentley (Continental GT/ GTC and Flying Spur) or Porsche dealerships (Panemara Turbo S Sport Turismo.)

Great car for the Canadian market as it is AWD. Cheers mate.😆

“… for keeping thermics out” well done.

some interesting observations, my days of owning exotics are long gone and in truth I only had 2 and they were roughly the same vintage, although one was approaching cl;assic status when i had it and one was a classic. The first a BMW 3.0CSI, which I loved and never should have parted with, the second a 1970 Maserati Ghibli which although beautiful was a monumental pile of excrement. Lesson learned, the Germand make better cars than the Italians every day of the week and twice on Fridays! The Ghibli had a higher top speed but whether you wanted to go there was another matter, in real world driving the BMW was faster, more sure footed and more comfortable and it never broke down once in my ownership. The Ghibli broke down if you looked at it! The FF seems to be in the Ghibli mould, the Panamera and perhaps an M6 are slower but in comparison they can do galactic mileage probably aren't much slower in the real world and won't muller your bank account every couple of months or every 2000 miles! As for the cool parent bit you haven't got there yet but kids often find such cars a bit embarrassing and one friend's offspring repeatedly asked to be collected from school in his rather humdrum RS6 rather than his 430 or Bentley Continental. One parent at my kid's school was a certain Tiff Needell, who often appeared in something exotic which sometimes caused us dads a pang of jealousy, the kids verdict was a more damning "bit of a knob" but the mums' verdict; not on the cars, was a much more concerning cause for a pang of jealousy!

Jay, great FF videos. Always informative and fun to watch. I am looking to buy an FF after much research (including watching all your FF videos). Question on your "proper warranty" comment. What do you recommend i search for here in the USA in regards to warranty? All i seem to be able to find is a warranty backed by Ferrari if i purchase through their "Ferrari Approved" program. Any thoughts/comments would be greatly appreciated.

A modern Ferrari that ticks nearly every box for me 😍

FF is my first car I buy when I'm not poor anymore 😪 my 2boys would love it for sure...

Given the problems manifested themselves so quickly, how come it took so long for this update to come out? SO glad I looked but did not leap after your first reviews.

Great car for the money but I do prefer the look of the Lusso it looks more sleek and love the more up to date interior and technology.

Jay, as always, great informative video, sadly there are lots of IFs in it, so my suggestion to anyone is that if you want to have less IFs and sleep like a baby at night not worrying about the next day is to buy a Lexus, KAUPOOT done you'll be forever free of headache lol Jay is the best

To be honest, I’ve always preferred the GTC4 Lusso. The FF looks a bit like if an F12 and a 5 Series had a baby.

That thing sounds incredible.

I just saw one on the interstate loaded down with a roof rack....so cool to see on cruising along and not parked in a garage.

Shmee 150 spec for me please, dark blue with magnolia interior.

Legend!!

You gotta review Aston Martin Rapide S 8spd! I have one and I am honestly not lusting over FF/GTC4 Lusso.

Was the red FF the ex press car? Not sure if it was the same car someone recently had problems with bought from Tom Hartley.

So what is now the best daily drivable sort of supercar (or less) that will carry 4 people for under £100K?

Very nice content im looking for a ferrari ff or a bentley gt supersport , if you have opportunity please do a rewiew. With bentley gt supersport 2017 is very rare car and is not any good content on youtube about this car .

are the V12s still grand tourers, or are they all trying to be front engined race cars?

I wonder when this video was shot. Right now on Autotrader, there are no FF's on sale for more than £125k. 4 of the 13 are under £100k.

Seems like rather than fixing the PTU it would be better to just do a delete and run it RWD....

The maintenance is frightening

It’s a car I just cannot find an angle that I like to look at it from.

Before watching: I agree, the FF is tremendous. After watching: Oh! 🔧💸

Bugger here’s me thinking they would have plummeted to my £25k budget

I’m amazed not just that the cars seem to have so many issues but also the terrifying cost of maintenance. And not just Ferrari - mclaren and Bentley are hardly world leaders - yet residuals would surely benefit from having achievable maintenance prices - it would allow a greater number of people to run the cars supporting residuals and the first customers finances surely. While faults may occur on low volume cars and we might forgive that, the cost of fixing these faults makes these cars a none starter for many! I can’t afford - so I’m moaning 😂

After your last video, i went and got one. It was a lemon and cost me a fortune after shoddy dealer (GVE) failed in every way possible. And then a gearbox rebuild which was the final straw. It was a great machine, but its put me off every getting another suoercar.

First! 😂 Great video!

Speaking of the Purosangue, any plans to review that one? 🤔

I really like the FF

I almost bought one of these in 2013. But I’m just not wealthy enough for the maintenance and insurance.

one of the best ferraris ever made

I'm definitely in the 612 camp.

FF without PTU would of been gold

Well said James, you remind me of the old Top Gear before it was transformed into a poorly attempted comedy show, who cares if a car gets somewhere faster than a train ? Info for dummies I want a car programme to be about cars, not 3 middle-aged rich guys spouting BS at a rapid rete. Can't suffer Top Gear now.

Was that a stock Exhaust?

Its ALL about SUVs now. I'm actually surprised there are still normal sized cars being sold these days still. There's no money in them now. Even supercars don't sell as well as they used to, especially when Ferrari, Lambourghini and Porsche are pushing SUVs.

The FF is every bit as quick as the 599 GTO, and more practical.

I Love All the Four Seat Ferrari’s!!!!

I haven't wanted a new car from Ferrari since they got away from manual transmissions. What a shame. Not that I could ever afford it.

In your GTC4 Lusso video you described it as a "masterpiece" and "a proper Ferrari". Why do motoring journos rave about a car, only later to announce that they didn't gel with it or that the later model fixed all the problems the old one had?

One day I hope to get one. Its a marmite car and fortunately for me I like marmite.

finally something we agree on, best 4 seater out there!

🔥😍

Annual cost of maintenance, including tires? My rule of thumb for these cars would be that you cannot afford these cars if you cannot afford 5%-10% of the (new) catalogue price per year. If you want to, need to, stick to brand certified dealers/workshops.

Lol its has a howling v12, whats to dislike or consider

Supercars are becoming too complex and are not everyday cars in any sense with one exception. Porsches! JAGUAR XJR-8 & XJR-9 V12 sounds at Le Mans 2022 come very near. Jaguar could have made a Ferrari rival!

FF stands for Flipping Fast 💨 👍🏻

They will be 40/50 k post warranty..like the 456

7th December 2022 Belfast, Northern Ireland. Assembly Speaker Alex Maskey (Sinn Fein/ira) has written to Members of the Local Assembly to warn them about their behaviour in Wednesday’s recall debate. "A remark by Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie accusing rivals of screaming and whining “like a girl” fell well short of the standards expected in the Assembly, Stormont’s Speaker has said. 'Ran away in terror like a little girl'. God bless RU-vid for the freedoms we have.

The sound alone...

So the GTC 4Lusso is the 1 to get