USED Ferrari 612 Scaglietti Coupe (04 - 12)

The 612 Scaglietti may not be Ferrari's prettiest car of all time, but when you look at some of the company's previous four-seaters, it certainly isn't the ugliest, either.

When it comes to comfort, though, the 612 is arguably Ferrari's finest. The cabin is snug yet spacious up front, and provided your pals aren't too portly, they'll be able to fit in the back seats.

The ride is as smooth as you'll find in any grand tourer, and any noise from outside is shut out with impressive efficiency. The forgiving controls also mean that the 612 is easy to drive in traffic.

When the mood takes you, though, the Scaglietti has the poise, balance and well balanced weight distribution to attack corners as well as any sports car. Equally central to the car's appeal is the engine, providing immense power and a delicious sound.

Aside from the colour, there's only one choice to be made with the 612. That's whether to go for the standard six-speed manual gearbox or the F1 version, which provides a clutchless manual gearchange controlled by paddles mounted behind the steering wheel.

In truth, it makes very little difference. Both versions are as thrilling to drive as each other, and there's absolutely no difference in performance. But, for us, the paddle-shift version holds a little bit more of the Formula One magic that Ferrari is famous for. Of course, it'll also depend on which version you can find, because both are hard to come by.

Both cars are powered by a developed version of the 5.7-litre V12 engine from the 575 Maranello, which gives 532bhp. This, combined with the 612's lightweight aluminium body, makes the car capable of covering the 0-60mph dash in just 4.2sec. Not bad for a four-seater.

There aren't too many cars with a higher price tag than a Ferrari, and when it was new, the 612 was the most expensive Ferrari.

However, there aren't many cars that depreciate in value quite like a four-seat Ferrari. After three years, this massively expensive car will probably be worth less than half of its original cost. Not a bargain exactly, but remarkable nevertheless.

Mind you, running it will be hugely expensive no matter how much you pay for it. The V12 likes a drink, and you'll travel just 13.6 miles for every gallon of petrol you buy. Insurance costs will also be wildly expensive, and you'll fork out for pricey yet essential maintenance work every 6000 miles.

Our reliability surveys are as comprehensive as they can be, but Ferraris aren't usually included. Cars this expensive are few and far between, so reliability data is a bit thin on the ground. This means that building up an accurate picture of reliability is tricky.

What we can say, though, is that the standard of Ferrari's build quality has come on in leaps and bounds in the past few years. Whereas the old ones rattled and squeaked and occasionally liked a rest on the hard shoulder, the newer ones are assembled with the sort of fit and finish you'd expect of a German sports car.

The mechanical parts are exhaustively developed and beautifully engineered, and we see no reason why they should prove anything other than totally reliable, provided you stick rigidly to the 6000-mile service intervals.