2023 Barletta Cabrio Review

2023 Barletta Cabrio

The Barletta Cabrio has quickly become one of the most popular, best selling pontoons on the market today.  The C-Class, which has been renamed "Cabrio", was originally released in 2020.  Barletta's initial model when the company was founded was the L-Class, currently referred to as the Lusso.  This boat won award after award and took the industry by storm with it's great styling, innovative features, incredible build quality and famous "Ultra Lounge".  This boat targed the upper-end of the market with large engines, premium features and luxurious interiors but that all comes at a price.  Barletta knew they hit a home run with this boat, but needed to appeal to a larger portion of the market by hitting a lower price point.

Barletta may just have built the perfect mid-level pontoon in the Cabrio.  They took all the great styling, features & quality that took them to the top of the industry and incorporated as many of those features as possible into the Cabrio.  Obviously they had to tone down certain premium feaures found in the Lusso, but they did not sacrifice the quality of construction or key design features.  This allowed them to put a very aggressive price on the Cabrio in a boat that is loaded with content only found on higher priced boats from competitors.  Here's a look at some of the ways the Barletta Cabrio stands out from the rest of the market.

2023 Barletta Cabrio Rail Design

Barletta has significantly upgraded the exterior rail design of the Cabrio in 2023 to a much more aggressive, stylish design.  You can now see similarities in design from the Cabrio to the Corsa & Lusso rail patterns.  Below we show a comparison of the 2023 vs 2022 exterior styling.

New 2023 Barletta Cabrio exterior (Above)

Old 2022 Barletta Cabrio exterior (above)

2023 Barletta Cabrio Helm

One of the most significant upgrades for the 2023 Barletta Cabrio is the helm design.  As we mentioned earlier, the Barletta Cabrio has incorporated many of the great features of the Lusso at a lower price point.  However, one of the main points where it was lacking was the helm design.  This has all changed in 2023 as Barletta has now made the raised helm a standard feature on the Cabrio.  In previous years, this was not even optional.  This is a Best In Class Feature!  The advantage of a raised helm is that it elevates the driver above the passengers sitting in front of him even when the boat is full of people.  Obviously it is also much more appealing cosmetically and has a very sleek, automotive style design.  It is very comparable to the helms found on the Lusso and Corsa models, which many feel is the best looking helm in the industry.  There is a large cutout below the console to provide the driver plenty of legroom to stretch out.  It includes a new premium steering wheel, high back captain's chair, marine floor mat, flip switches, wireless phone charger, lockable glove box and much more!  This great feature alone gives the interior a much more high-end look.

2023 Barletta Cabrio Ultra Lounge

The Ultra Lounge was originally released on the Barletta L-Class, and quickly became the most popular interior lounge layout in the industry.  Over the years, a few upgrades have been added to the Ultra Lounge as well as additional configurations, but it has remained largely the same.  This top-selling layout is now available on the Barletta Cabrio, and a large percentage of these boats sold include the Ultra Lounge.  This layout is typically found exclusively on other brand's high-end luxury models, but Barletta doesn't want to force you to spend six figures to get the layout you want.  No other price point boat in the industry offers a lounger with this many seating configurations.  Below are some photos showing the different configurations.

Quality and Construction

Barletta is known by many to build the smoothest, quietest, strongest pontoon build in the industry at each price point.  Here are some of the key design features:

• Barletta VIP System - This stands for Vibration Isolation Pads.  This creates the smoothest riding pontoon in the industry.
• Heaviest Duty Crossmembers in the industry at each price point.  Double I-Beam on Lusso and Corsa and Single I-Beam on Cabrio.  Stop by Yachts to Sea to see a cutout of these crossmembers in person.
• Reinforced pontoons with larger diameter and thicker aluminum then industry average.  Standard on all models.
• The most innovative performance lifting strakes at each price point.
• More standard features than any boat in the industry at each price point.
• The pontoon industry's best warranty - 10 years bow-to-stern and limited lifetime structural.

For more detailed information on Barletta Craftsmanship, check out this video:

Aft Deck Layout

Many entry level pontoons are known to have tiny rear platforms.  We've all seen this on older pontoons as well - you walk to the back of the boat to use the ladder, and barely have enough room to walk between the rear fence without falling in the water.  Barletta incorporates an oversized platform on all Cabrio models.  This has become a key design feature many people look for now when pontoon shopping.  We all spend lots of time on the back of the boat when anchored out.  Kids love jumping in the water, climbing back in, and doing this over and over again.  Adults hang out there to keep an eye on the kids or play music when floating in the water.  Bottom line - you need space back here, and Barletta gives you lots of it on the Cabrio.

Other Notable Standard Features

The items listed above are some of the significant ways Barletta stands out above the crowd, but the differences don't end there.  Here are a few more great standard features you will find on all Barletta Cabrio models.

Electric Bimini Top

Barletta includes an electric bimini top as a standard feature on all of it's pontoons.  This raised eyebrows in the industry as it is such an expensive option - with many manufacturers charging $1,500 - $2,000 for this upgrade.  Barletta felt this was important enough to include it on all boats to make a better overall user experience.  Deploying and closing the bimini on manual tops can be very challenging, especially in windy conditions.  Not the case with Barletta - just press a button at the helm and it opens/closes right from the comfort of your chair.

USB Ports

Obviously now a days, everyone has their phone with them everywhere they go.  And on pontoons, that can mean lots of phones.  Barletta didn't want everyone fighting over the wireless charger at the helm, so they incorporated lots of USB charging ports through the entire boat.

Hook 5

Most pontoons at the price point of the Cabrio come only with simple analog gauges at the helm.  Barletta has made the Lowrance Hook 5 a standard feature on all Cabrio models so you have mapping, depth, speed etc. on a color screen along with the gauges.  And you still have the option to upgrade that to the Simrad GO7 touch screen chartplotter for a small upcharge.

2023 Barletta Cabrio Summary

We have given you just a number of the things that makes the Barletta Cabrio such a great entry level boat.  And there are many more features we didn't have time to discuss here today.  The best way to see these great features is to stop in Yachts to Sea to see the entire boat for yourself in person.  The Barletta Cabrio is setting a new standard in the industry - come see why it mi