Ferrari for everyday drama

The California handles the rigours of day-to-day living in style - as long as you don't mind being the centre of attention. Photo / Jacqui Madelin

The California is billed as the only Ferrari you can live with in the real world. We've already sampled its high-speed skills here and overseas - the stories are on our website. So given a weekend with one, we treated it just like a normal car.

Okay, so a normal car wouldn't have the neighbours lined up to rubberneck, nor my man's teaching colleagues jostling for a picture when I collected him from work, but still.

So, fresh from the hand-over, it was out west -Outrageous Fortune country and not natural Ferrari territory. We tackled high-school gridlock; fortunately all-round vision is unexpectedly reasonable.

Then to a family dinner - Miss Two didn't have an isofix seat so couldn't come for a drive - and a late-night run home. This may be a knicker-shreddingly quick and rather shouty car, but the speed with which my Mister nodded off attests to how comfy these curvaceous leather-clad seats are, and how smoothly the double-clutch auto performs in "normal" mode.

Saturday brought the supermarket run and spectacles to collect. The California's ground clearance proved sufficient for the sharp angle from road to optometrist driveway, and the rear camera assisted when reversing around building materials.

Hmm, milk, cheese, bread, fruit - the 240-litre boot (roof down; you can fold the rear seatback for longer loads) swallows a lot of shopping.

Back home and the driveway was strewn with firewood, the line with wetsuit and washing. The Ferrari clambered the steep gravel access with ease - there's lots of low-down torque and plenty of grip - but failed to look at home amid the detritus.

Sunday, coffee and newspapers at Piha. This road is a demanding tarmac snarl with corrugations, off-cambers and plentiful tight, blind bends. Just reaching the speed limit is a challenge but the Ferrari mostly managed it, the angry shout of that 4.3-litre eight echoing from vertical banks and soaring over plunging valleys.

With sport selected, the magnaride suspension and the gearing sharpens, but for a truly involving drive use the steering-wheel-mounted paddles and change when the LED array in the after-market carbon-fibre steering wheel suggests you do.

My 1.8-metre Mister tried the deeply dished back seat for the return trip. He tucked his size 13s under the front seat, his knees accommodated by its curves, and held his hat on. You couldn't do this with the roof up. But two couples could go out together, if the rear passengers have a sense of humour and a tousle-resistant hairdo.

Monday, time to return the car via the iron-bending workshop, for there's a roll of roof flashing in the boot.

We'd tackled 400km of running around. The Ferrari provided its share of thrills, but surprised us with how well it managed everyday living.

You could use it as a daily driver - if you like being the centre of attention. That it also delivers the drama of a supercar is quite an achievement.

FERRARI CALIFORNIA

We like
Supercar that'll tackle the real world - and keep your sports car-hating spouse comfy; carbon ceramic brakes are standard

We don't like
Most of the options should be standard

Powertrain
4.3-litre, front, mid-mounted, fuel-injected V8, 338kW at 7750rpm, 485Nm at 5000rpm, seven-speed double-clutch auto drives rear wheels

Performance
0-100km/h in under four seconds, 310km/h top speed, 13.1l/100km (presumably driven gently - and who would?)

Safety
ABS brakes, stability control, four airbags, two isofix child seat fittings, auto pop-up roll bar

What it's got
Climate control air-con, very good sound system. But stuff like cruise control costs extra; add $7152 for the 20-inch wheels, add the magneride suspension, coloured safety belts, yellow-faced tacho, iPod interface, carbon fibre and LED steering wheel ($10,281 alone) and more, and our test car went from $442,750 to $510,036 ...

Vital stats
4563mm long, 340-litre boot, 78-litre tank