Now that I’ve had the Ferrari 458 Italia for about 2 weeks, I’ve determined that the radio is absolutely crap. Not that it’s quality is bad or that it doesn’t sound good. It’s just the control interface is terrible. I’m not sure they designed it for humans. It seems like they tried too hard to over simplify the controls.

By comparison the controls in the Ferrari F430 are very simple and intuitive. I compare the dashboards, buttons, switches, quirks and features (thanks Doug DeMuro) of the Ferrari 458 and Ferrari F430.

The F430 is still a very analog car with classic dial gauges and a very simple interface. The 458 has a modern dash with digital gauges but still has an analog dial tachometer. But operating the instrument cluster can be difficult and takes some getting used to. Most of the controls like windshield wipers and turn signals have been located on the steering wheel of the 458. This actually is pretty cool and makes it so you can operate these functions without removing your hand from the wheel.

However if you want to do something as simple as changing a song on the stereo, well that’s a complete pain in the butt.