Originally posted by AsianBond:
everyday charm and capabilities to turn it up a notch on weekends, but for me, I prefer not to compromise, I like the real deal
Sorry, but the "real deal" is a matter of opinion. Either way, there are a few points where I think you are a bit off.
Andretti saying that the front of the NSX wants to "step out" is NOT the same as you saying that the front feels "floaty". You feeling a floaty front end while barely pushing the car (how far could you have really been pushing it?) is really bad.
Andretti, driving the car at 9-10/10ths and pointing out a handling characteristic is completely different.
I believe that something was wrong with that NSX you drove, but it doesn't matter. You are happy with your F car and that's all that matters. Believe me, you obviously wanted the Ferrari for your own reasons, nothing would have made the NSX work for you.
As far as the "daily driver" analogy goes, that's WAY off. I choose to drive a BMW over a Lexus because the cost of the car is nearly identical and I feel the BMW is better. Lexus/BMW/Benz/Acura are all way too close in terms of up front and maintenance costs these days.
Ferrari, on the other hand, is a different story. Ferrari maintenance and reliability is many times higher than the NSX. If you're really expecting that your 348 isn't going to cost you 10x more than the NSX, you're in for a big surprise, hate to tell you.
30k service for the 348/355 is around 6 grand. People that say "F car maintenance is not too bad", are really not driving the car all that much. I put 15k per year on BOTH my BMW AND the NSX.
Last point... When you say "Honda should be a daily driver, and not the other way around" it demonstrates a clear bias.
Japan will never be able to compete against Ferrari in the minds of folks who aren't even willing to accept them trying.
In the end, you definitely made the right decision for yourself on the F348.
Me personally, I'd take the NSX over certain Ferraris even if I *could* afford the cost of ownership; not ALL of them, but definitely some of them. To me, it isn't automatically in a different league because it's a Ferrari and the NSX is "just a Honda".