The one thing I’m not entirely convinced about is the FF’s four-wheel drive. Ferrari has sort of reinvented the wheel with the four-wheel-drive tech in the FF (see box). But I don’t see the point of such a system if it doesn’t work above fourth gear. Surely, the FF isn’t primarily going to visit slush fields. What the 4WD will help with is over frozen lakes and slippery roads on the way to your skiing holiday. Why does Ferrari think nobody cruises in fifth gear or higher over such surfaces and that they wouldn’t want all-wheel-drive grip at those speeds over a slippery road?

Personally, I’m not a big fan of the new LED lamps-laden look of Ferraris. And apart from the profile, the FF looks awkward from most angles. The nose begins well, the lines move on gracefully over the sides and just as you think they’ll travel all the way back over a sumptuous rear, they suddenly end and fall flat. But the FF looks like the sign of a confident carmaker. A carmaker willing to try something different, break a few rules along the way, and still have the confidence to know that beyond the oddities, beyond all the unconventional, non-conforming thinking, is a car that’s ferociously capable, incredibly fun and mind-numbingly practical.

The next time a two-door GT comes along and tells you to make compromises with space and sportiness, just bury it behind a lot of tyre smoke from the FF. You’ll feel good about yourself.

(Words: Sriram Narayanan, Photos: Nitin Rose)