could it be that he doesn't know what he's talking about? I'm crying.

Hard to watch after that.

yea....ain't it a v8?

He must be thinking of the Dino, which had a V6 and was also maligned.

if i buy one id pull the engine get some low compression pistons and turbos. that would be my dream ferrari, and dont cost to much either. i have my eyes on a low milage one now

Same here. Drove Testarossa 308 348 355 458 but 348 is the purest "drivers car" of them all. Its not for those seeking luxury and effortless ride. Its work. Its fine.

Hi John, can you as an owner comment on the handling? I read somewhere that if you enter the corner slowly and add power through and out of it (similar in approach to a 911) the car would hold true to line. Is this true? I still like the look of them and when I was seriously considering one did take a TB on a gentle test drive, but ultimately felt put off by the reports of on the limit twitchiness.

Corran Helme yes that is true. I really haven’t pushed the car too much in a long time though. We’ve got cops everywhere up here in Vancouver, and they take your car away if they catch you. The fastest I ever got was 200 kilometres an hour and it was fine. I don’t know about above that.

​@@Fioravanti.80 : I am not John but i like to point out that a 911 (which i owned before) until 1989 G Model is a tail happy car which needs countersteering to go fast through corners; its engine is located behind the rear axle and so i swings like a pendulum if you enter a bend too fast, going into oversteer pretty much. You have to correct this by countersteering and this is what makes fun and is dangerous at the very same time. Its not a trick for beginners. You have to smoothly find out the limit and experience it step by step. This behaviour has been sorted out from 1989 onwards by intruducing the Carrera 2 models by presenting a totally modified rear axle and improved suspension. And the modern water cooled Porsche from 996 onwards are equipped with a PSM Porsche Stability Management System like an ESP to prevent this. So when you drive a modern 911 you dont need to be that expert behind the wheel as driving an older one. The Ferrari 348 on the other hand is a midengined car with the engine between frnt and rear axle. So it offers a more neutral behaviour but has a tendency to oversteer instantly if the tyres are losing grip. This goes as well for all older midengined cars like Toyota MR2 and explains that mid engine cars are for real drivers since instant reaction is required if the car goes into oversteer (by not hitting the gas pedal as you would do in a 911 but giving less (!) throttle and countersteer at the same time very mildly in a mid engined car for example.). Nowadays all cars are equipped with ESP etc to avoid this. After all, its a matter of personal taste. I could save my old 911 by countersteering several times, never lifting the foot of the gas pedal much when it oversteered (if you would do, the car turns into understeer more quickly than you would be able to countersteer and you most probably will loose the car). Above 250 km/h (155 mph) car felt too light on the front. But 911 also needed spoiler on front and rear so aerodynamics in the 90s wasnt that sophisticated as nowadays. I also had a better feel when running on Pirelli tyres isntead of Michelin (and i was much surprised). I once drove my mid engined Ferrarri 348 on a twisty road with a new model Mercedes SLK 350 (272hp) behind me and he did not had any chance to follow me as my corner speeds were significant higher. Would i have driven a Porsche 911 i would have needed to use a different driving style and so every concept (front engine, mid engine and rear engine) is behaving differently at the limit. You will see why most of the real supercars have a mid engine layout. Also modern cars -limousines- like Audio, Mercedes, Aston Martin etc. carry their "front" engine behind the front axle, because the more even weight distribution between front and rear axle is the most important fact when it comes to neutral handling. I hope i could help out a bit. There are much videos on youtube with old 911 oversteering....

As an owner I can say that it is a handful above 200 kmh/ 125 mph even in a straight line (autostrada in Italy). It gets too light and skittery. I have a 1991 with the rear-mounted battery.

@Over Opinionated Bogan I have not found this to be an issue for me; I think you may have a point for "everyday" street driving but since I do not daily this car, it is not an issue. I think for very spirited driving and track driving the gears ratios are pretty spot on.

Grab a number and get in line.

It's only for 20k dollars

Yep I agree!!

I'd rather have a Mondial, and a QV or 3.2 at that. Family friendly, plenty of speed to get in trouble on the highway, and easy to do my own work / belt service. 😎

OFC, the Mondial isn't a real Ferrari :P

@@BlatentlyFakeName Neither was the Dino, but I'd be happy to take either of them. Heck, I might even "make do" with a 348. :) lol

The evolution of the Mondial T had the same 3.4L engine dry sump and setup of longitudinal to transverse hence the name. That configuration of the Mondial is what all mid engine V8 Ferraris to this day are based on. Mondial T gave you all the power and great handling of the 348. Styling of the Mondial T IMO was much better than the 348 especially in the cabriolet since the tall roofline of the Mondial goes away. Cleaner Pininfarina body without the overdone cheese grater sides and back of the 348. Trying to style a mini Testarossa was a mistake on the 348 and wish they had toned it all down. The Mondial was also the only mid engine 2+2 cabriolet ever. Mondial haters regurgitate criticism from 40years ago about the first Mondial 8. Have no real clue. Both cars are Ferrari's like it or not. These reviewers though clearly know almost nothing about Ferrari's. The one bloke thought it and the 308 were V-6's for goodness sake and he owned a 355. Also you can't compare cars of different eras in terms of horsepower and torque. It's not the point, its a more analog driving experience of the manual gated shifter, period tires, road feel and engine noise. Modern cars are superior in every way as expected but they are not the same experience and raw driving emotion. Just about everyone driving these classics loves them for the experience. Not to show off a badge or to race a Tesla at a stoplight or track. It's like sailing a classic you get it or you don't.

No no no... the F355 is miles ahead of the 348, a testament to how important setup and balancing is. Around a track, the 355 is much more composed, controllable and easier to access that performance. There isn't much difference between the two cars, but the finishing touches on the 355 make ALL the difference.

@@Nemoticon I drove 7 differenz 348 and 2 different 355 (also a tuned one) and i know them inside out. 355 is faster but very soft in terms of handling. Each to his own, for a convertible i choosed that 348 is quite a more raw experience. It depends whats more important for you.

@@mk2007al The 355 is softer, yes, better road manners... but also more composed and accessible on track. I've not driven any tuned Ferrari's but I've spent some time with a handful of models (nothing newer than a 360), the 348 was obviously much better than anything I've owned, but the 355 was significantly better to me. I've heard the 360 is a better driver's car than the 430, the latter apparently being a little too civilised and not as raw. But hey, if you like 348s, cool! They're still sexy, awesome cars, lol

@@mk2007al 348 is a more raw experience than 355. But 355 is hardly 'refined'. 355 IS still a go-kart, but with a big dose of more power and much better handling. The 348 gives fun from the very slowest speeds because of no power steering and also a more demanding handling setup. the 348 lacks the 355 high rev scream which most people absolutely love. But I personally think a 348 is a cool car. Its real, and it gives a lot of fun for little money (in Ferrari terms!)

@HeavyDutyTraining The 348 tops out lower and doesn't reach the same scream / wail pitch of a 355. Ask 100 people who have owned both, and fitted various decats, and sports exhausts, and then come back to me on it.......

Daniel Thomas And Harry is a true expert and Petrolhead! To for the comment

As nice as it is the NSX is still just a Honda / Accura, I mean theres no real racing heritage and that is the difference to a Ferrari, hence the cliche whats in a name and thats it right there in a nutshell

Donald Garver no real racing heritage??? Ever heard of arton senna???

@@danielthomas2621 sure I have ever hear of John Surtees,my bad Clarke drove for Lotus

Donald Garver well done

I absolutely love the rear of this car with its grils. I don't know why many people dislike it

Amen brother

Simeon o for me as well, fucking moron like him get paid well to talk about cars. 346 hahahaha

Agree, that was an odd thing to hear. I own a 348, and believe me, I researched (although I already knew) all the important details of every other Ferrari model near mine before I purchased.

....yep and didn't point out that the 348 was a 5 speed vs 355 6 spd when asked about the gearbox. If you are going to take someone along as an expert then they had better know a few basics....engine and gearbox is a bit fundamental 😜

I'm sorry but not knowing what ferrari's naming policy meant back in the day is a bit lame

Karl Shaw I’m sorry to sound like an asshole but I feel if you put the effort into creating a video with the intention of being informative would stand to reason you would know this. Thank you for your response.

So THAT'S what all the rattling was.......😜

Right on! If you want to magazine race look elsewhere, but if you value a real experience, the 348 is a hell of a car. It makes everyday, mundane tasks much more interesting even at sub superhuman speeds :-) I can confidently say that, citing my own experience in the last 8.5 years of ownership, maintenance is definitely not as horrible as you have (probably) heard. Dropping the subframe for the major makes things fairly easy for the skilled, and a good, honest independent tech will go faaaaar easier on you than a dealership. Aftermarket and parts cross references on Ferrarichat are very helpful for keeping parts costs reasonable.

...and the 355 is everything the 348 should have been from the start.

@HeavyDutyTraining 355 is on fire more often

Didn't like honest albeit negative comments about his new Italian girlfriend😂 -that soyboy couldn't even pronounce Porsche correctly so yeah😐

He really doesn't come across well in this video!

My dad has one He bought it in 1992 (a 1990 model) The handling wasn't that great when you were pushing hard in the corners Ferrari after some time, released some parameters (?) to regulate the suspensions and some other stuffs He said that after this work, the car was much better. In the corners, it was more stable and that you could join corners at a much more speed without the fear of losing tracion One day i was with my dad in the 348. He started pushing and i was a little bit scaried because we were going fast. The car was stable af in the corners and after some corners i felt safer because the car was stick to the road It is easy to drive, but when you undestand how to drive the 348 is a pleasure

I don’t I’m afraid!! I thought it was standard. I’ll try and ask the owner

Thanks for the reply , it def doesn’t sound standard to me but maybe just the way the mic picked it up but it sounded fantastic . If you can ask that would be fantastic. Ask if it’s forsale too as I’m looking one at the moment thanks .

WoW, scary story Mario. Thanks for sharing!!

Thank you for the info!

Damn right! 👍

Yes he’s a good guy! I’ll pass on your regards

@@Number27 Cheers

Thanks for posting again, missed your uploads recently, great vid!

Time to test a ZR-1.

😃 love your roundup of your 348!!

I just love Ferraris evolution. Your 348 doesn’t like 1st gear with a cold gearbox. They fixed that on my F355 but mine won’t go into 2nd when the gearbox is cold! I know the Porsche fans laugh at such things but to me it’s just another character trait that makes these wonderful cars and the best in my eyes.

Might even be one of the shrewdest sports car purchases of any kind, period, new or used. It will check all the boxes for putting a smile on your face far better than a new car, it doesn't especially break the bank (especially not when you can finance it on a collector loan with today's cheap money), and it is extremely likely to be a rapidly appreciating asset as Youngtimer and Radwood era prices soar. Second place might go to the FD RX7 or 240Z, I think, but there is certainly no shortage of models that are all but certain to appreciate significantly in the next 5-10 years.

Thanks!! Comparison with Evora would have been interesting!

Yeah, comparing an almost as new Lotus to an almost 30 year old Ferrari, that will be an epic win for the Lotus....

Both second hand mid engined with a badge. How much do you want to pay up for the Ferrari badge, if you consider the Evora to be perhaps, a better car to drive and own?

A lot, to be honest.

That seems to be a very popular thing to say these days.

Me neither... I did really like it. Flawed though for sure! Thanks for watching!

It seems the second series Toyota MR2 was modelled on this Ferrari.

Best sound was from the 360

Same issue that you mention.. my garage not even big enough to get car in at all!! But kind of do fancy one of these!!

The geometry differences between the tb/ts and gtb/gts aren't that big. Ferrari improved the suspension of 348 during the course of its life.

I don't really get your comment.. I liked the 348, just pointed out some of the failings. Plus a standard 964 is a really boring car to drive, they feel soft and heavy and respond extremely well to some well judged modifications.

I do love an SM but to be fair not all is as you describe.. the brakes were very over servoed which made them feel strong but not actually that good under repeated use. I had the same gearbox in my Lotus Esprit and you be fair I loved it. Slow but very mechanical in feel

Number 27 Like a lot of people I think you may have misunderstood the braking power of Citroens’ system. There is no servo in the system, the brake button, or mushroom as some call it, is actually a pressure sensitive valve which only requires minimal input to effect braking. The actual power behind the brakes is supplied by the hydraulics which is operating at somewhere around 2500 lbs. p.s.i. If you’re unused to this( as anyone driving it for the first time would be) the normal pedal pressure which they would be used to would be enough to admit that full pressure to the callipers resulting in the well known description of sending anyone in the car through the windscreen. As with the incredibly quick steering, only 2 turns lock to lock, the brakes require a level of finesse which has to be acquired over a little time. Unfortunately I can’t afford an SM so have to make do with its more staid relative, a CX. A very common saying about these cars is “ Drive one for 10 minutes and you’ll never want to drive one again. Drive one for two hours and you won’t want to drive anything else again “. There’s a certain amount of truth in that as when you first drive the CX you go up the road swerving from side to side punctuated by a series of violent stops. It does take an hour or two to come to terms with but after that the ease with which you coax one of these machines along the road is extremely relaxing. That is what I was trying to say, all these over horsepowered, wide, low Italian and German ( predominantly) aggressively styled and stiffly suspended cars lack, the ability to eat up miles just as quickly but in a relaxed and comfortable manner. I do understand that you can get pleasure from one of these flamboyant and ruinously expensive machines, but to me they’re just a large Scalextric for very rich afficianados, they aren’t meant as a serious form of transport. On a track day, without doubt they would leave an SM in the dust but that’s playing not travelling. Or, could I be a little envious?

I owned one. You wont be disappointed