I was charmed more than I was impressed by the new ‘Black Horse’ Mustang and I guess the same can be said for the Ineos Grenadier, while the Audi RS6 and RS7 provided precisely the opposite experience.
There were a couple of decent surprises: I had precisely zero expectations of the Maserati Grecale but discovered a car that got closer to knocking the Porsche Macan off its class-best perch than anything else I’ve driven. And I was completely bowled over by the Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato – a slightly off-road acclimatised version of a car for which I have never cared. But its handling, feel and the confidence it inspires made it the new best new Lambo I’ve driven in 35 years in this job.
What, then of the Ferrari Purosangue, the car I am asked about more than any other? I think it is brilliantly positioned, understand entirely why people are falling over themselves to spend a third of a million quid on it, but until they drop an engine with some proper low down torque (which, despite having both V6 and V8 engines that deliver precisely that, Ferrari says it will not do) I’ll continue to consider both the car and its V12 motor as fine achievements in their own rights, which happen not to belong together.