This car, the Ferrari Purosangue, has been the biggest surprise for me. Again, when most luxury and performance car makers were pursuing SUVs, Ferrari stood their ground and decided to buck the trend. Despite that, here we are with the Purosangue. Even then, Ferrari did buck the trend because I, and most people who drive it, won’t call it an SUV, not even of the hyper variety. Not because it is any less but because it is so much more that it might well be a new genre. 

In terms of form factor and such, the Purosangue might look like an SUV. For better (for some) or worse (for some), it is not. This is where I think the name might, as regal as it sounds, may not be on point. Purosangue translates to “Pure Blood” or pure breed if you might. It should have been called New Blood probably or something along those lines. Before this gets any more confusing, let me explain myself. The reason why I do not want to call the Purosangue an SUV is because of our skewed definition of the term and how different the Purosangue is from it.

The only things that remain that put it in the category of a “Ferrari SUV” is the fact that it rides higher than most Ferraris, has 4 doors, and proper spacious seating for four. It also has four-wheel drive but we know that is not exclusive to SUVs anymore. All of this is powered by a 6.5L V12. Yep… a V12. As far as I can tell, this engine configuration has not been an SUV configuration except maybe a couple of notable names and they too, succumbed to father time and passed on a long time ago. That already sets the Purosangue apart from the competition, if you consider it an SUV that is (do not). 

As I drove the Purosangue and went deeper in trying to understand it, I realized that the name was on point. If you consider ‘Sport’ in the acronym SUV, the Purosangue is perhaps the purest one out there, hence the name. Utility follows Sport and while it is the most practical Ferrari ever made, it is still a Ferrari and therefore, the drive is simply scintillating. Simply put, it has Sport at a much higher priority than utility. 

Now, I know that I have to talk about the looks and interior before this but the Purosangue has rubbed off on me and I am bucking the trend too. When it comes to the Purosngue’s performance, it is not just the engine either. Despite the powerplant being in the front, the layout is more like a front-mid and when you point it towards a corner, it behaves like the engine is further back. It has four-wheel drive but the sharp dynamics make it feel more like a RWD and that the power to the front wheels is there as a helper. 

The process of editing the photos on Acer Swift 5 was just as pleasant as photographing the Ferrari Purosangue thanks to the stellar performance and colour-accurate screen.

Starting with the engine, we have 715 horses and 716 torques. That is a ton of power on paper. In the real world, 0-60 mph in 3.3 seconds with a top speed of well over 300 kays an hour. More than that though, it is the character of the V12 that takes your breath away. The way it sings at higher revs and the way it just keeps pumping out grunt to be sent to the wheels is intoxicating. The throttle response is crisp and you get used to it very, very quickly. 

0-100 km/h: 3.3 seconds | Top Speed: 310+ km/h

Despite the almost terrifying figures, the Purosangue feels very benign. This is where it shows the utility a little. If you want to cruise, you cruise and it won’t overwhelm you at any point. But the comfort with which it can cruise on the highway like no other car is not just down to the engine. It is down to the chassis and suspension. The suspension on the Purosangue is very, very sophisticated and it can have a piece on its own but I will try to keep it simple. 

It is a very complex take on active suspension. So what it uses is a TrueActive spool valve (TASV) from Multimatic. Compression and rebound get individual spool valves and this is repeated on each wheel. The damper for each comes with its own control module that is connected to the main control unit on the Purosangue. It translates to individual and total control over the suspension of each wheel, which enables independent function based on not just the driving conditions but what each wheel is experiencing. 

It works in a manner that is not discernible. You do not sense it working. The only thing you feel is the otherworldly sense of poise and stability that the Purosangue radiates. It is simply stunning. Add to that the fantastic steering. It is not overly quick and nervy which requires racecar driver skill. There’s a sense of weight and rhythm that I have never felt before. It is obviously heavier than supercars but it is not unrealistic either. It does not feel fake and that means the sense of control you have over the car is almost deceiving. 

This uncanny ability of the whole package makes the Purosangue, frankly put, one of the best cars I have ever driven. High praise taken further, I am including some quite terrific supercars in that list. You have luggage space, the ride quality is exceptional, there’s space for 4 people and the engine never feels too much to handle. Yet, it is accurate, poised, and rushes through corners without feeling digital. Man, if there was ever a car that needed to feel like a Ferrari, the Purosangue has some serious lessons to impart. 

In terms of imaging, performance, and screen quality, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra hits it out of the park.

To put things into perspective, this SUV, unlike any other SUV out there, is one of the best cars out there that can serve the purpose of a grand tourer. And I will emphasize it again, the sense of connection that you have with feels nothing short of cosmic, the closest thing to Avatar people attaching themselves to Avatar horses and Avatar birds-of-prey. So in a sense, the Purosangue is, well, Purosangue or Pure Blood. Not in terms of the definition of a typical SUV but in terms of the Sport bit and the Ferrari ethos it sticks to. 

I almost forgot that we have to talk about looks too. In the Roma section, I wrote that the headlight might start a theme and here you are. The eyes chico… In terms of proportions, it looks like a more muscular and more modern GTC4 Lusso. To be honest, it looks much better. It has the right amount of muscle but it is not bare-chested and unruly. The design is more like a well-built person wearing a stellar set of clothes. 

On the inside, it is a tad bit more analogue than the Roma but still, it takes some getting used to. The real deal though is the space. You are in a Ferrari but you have space to move around and so do your three passengers. Also, the 473-litre boot means there’s space for luggage and you are still sitting in a Ferrari. In a way, this is the only daily Ferrari and that itself, should be a category or genre and in that sense, it is Purosangue.

Park Inn has become our go-to stay during our adventures in Dubai. During our experience on various editions of the PowerTour, Park Inn is the only place that can match the opulence and exclusivity of the vehicles we drive.