Ferrari Portofino Convertible (2018-2020) boot space, practicality and safety

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Practicality rating: 3.4 out of 53.4

Written by Gareth Evans Published: 6 June 2019

Hasn’t been tested by Euro NCAP
Stiffer body than California should help safety
No driver assistance tech available

Ferrari cars aren’t tested by Euro NCAP, so there’s no star rating to base the Portofino’s safety performance on.

However, all cars get the following kit as standard:

Carbon-ceramic brakes
Advanced stability and traction control systems
Front airbags for driver and passenger
Side airbags
Tyre repair kit (no spare)
Tracker
Front and rear parking sensors
Alarm and immobiliser

Ferrari Portofino driver assistance technology

You don’t get anything past standard cruise control here, and that’s hardly surprising: Ferraris are about you driving, not the car.

Boot isn’t exactly what you’d call huge
Ski hatch useful, as are parking aids
Rear seats have Isofix but adults won’t fit

The Portofino has more than enough space for two 6ft-tall adults in the front, but while Ferrari claims there’s 5cm more legroom in the rear compared with the older California, we found the front seat backs were far too close to the back perches to accommodate another pair of humans – they’re very upright and you’d need a small person in the front to free up some legroom.

Ferrari Portofino size and manoeuvring

It might be a 600hp sports car but the Portofino is an approachable vehicle that is simple to park, but only once you’ve mastered the driving controls. These are unusual if you’re used to cars from other companies, because reverse is selected using a button on the central console and you need to use a shift paddle to select first gear again afterwards.

However, standard front and rear acoustic sensors and a reversing camera make manoeuvring easy work, and once you get used to the Ferrari’s quirks, it’s actually quite intuitive.

Will my luggage fit in the Ferrari Portofino?

You don’t buy a Ferrari for its practicality, but the Portofino’s billing as an ‘Everyday Ferrari’ means it needs to be able to accommodate a couple of bags for a weekend away. With the roof up this is easily doable, but take the top down and this hampers luggage room considerably, as it would in any convertible where the roof is stowed in the boot.

Also be wary of operating the roof on the move if you’re carrying loose items in the boot, as these could get blown about by turbulence and potentially even lost. There’s a hatch in the rear seats to enable loading of longer items such as skis, but we’re not convinced you’ll squeeze the rest of your kit for a trip to the mountains in the boot. It’ll have to occupy the back seats instead.