458 or McLaren?
Discussion
WCZ said:
isaldiri said:
I didn't having driven and tracked a couple of them.....
interesting, you don't hear of many!I let a die hard porsche fan drive one who despised ferraris (hadn't driven one since the 355 though) and he ended up selling his 911 and buying a 458 within a few weeks!
isaldiri said:
WCZ said:
isaldiri said:
I didn't having driven and tracked a couple of them.....
interesting, you don't hear of many!I let a die hard porsche fan drive one who despised ferraris (hadn't driven one since the 355 though) and he ended up selling his 911 and buying a 458 within a few weeks!
So, today was decision day - subject to a second test drive - and although I knew what to expect, it still held a few surprises.
Firstly, I nearly changed which car I was buying. When I visited before, I didn't notice the red 12C spider in the showroom. Very similar looking colour to the 911 turbo I used to have, and maybe that was part of the appeal - but it was beautiful. Only 9k miles, ~£15k cheaper - and I seriously wondered why I was paying the difference. Other than the lights - which looked great anyway - it really does look pretty much the same as the 650....
It had a deposit on it - otherwise I might have seriously considered switching. But he did tell me that it was a fair bit more laggy below 3k rpm, and was likely to feel a bit less put together than the 650.
So, off we went in the 650 - but this time, on a route I know which would include a twisty road I travel down every day on the way to work.
Initially, I was in "sensible" daily car mode. Trundle around through town, ~60mph on the A roads. As I found last time, the car does this very well indeed - and if you do come up behind something slow you really can overtake them with no forward planning at all. It felt great - albeit quite unexciting. I was surprised by how well it pulled away from standstill in "sensible" mode - it wasn't something I noticed last time, but it is really nice and quick without even putting your foot down.
Flat out acceleration to overtake on the A road felt less "Oh my god" this time - still insanely quick, but reasonable - if a car with that kind of power could ever be reasonable. It is a much nicer power delivery that the 911 turbo was and somehow seems more sensible for the road, even though it's no doubt quicker.
We then got to the twisty road I know - I fully expected to be stuck behind somebody doing 28mph, and once you're behind people on this road you can't get past - even in a 650, because it's solid white lines. But luck was on my side - and I had a clear run. Kept it in auto mode, with the engine in sport (did try track part way down the road, but at this stage sport was better).
When I drove this car a week ago, I thought it would be a Ferrari replacement, and was shocked at how far from that it seemed to be.
But now, I'm not so sure. Down a twisty road I know, it was - frankly - awesome. Maybe still not the same level of drama as a screaming NA exhaust and clicky clacky manual gear change - but a LOT closer to that than I expected. And that was without using manual gear changes. It was stunning - and although I have absolutely no intention of selling the 360 right now, and am glad I ended up part-exing the cars I did - I am less sure that the 360 will stay long term. It will be interesting to see how life with the 650 progresses.
Which of course means, I signed. When I woke this morning - early because I was a tad stressed about the amount of money I was considering spending on a car - I eased my mind a bit by using this man maths : The money in the Aston / Alfa is basically dead money I spent years ago. Which means I am only sinking £x into the 650 and even with the issues selling McLarens, I reckon I could get that back (or close to it) pretty quickly.
Even so, I was still very hesitant about this and still had strong concerns that this might be a foolish idea. Sensible head was definitely presenting some strong arguments.
Until the test drive. When we got back I had no doubts at all - I was 100% sure, and even having paid the deposit I'm still happy it's the right decision.
Planned collection date is 27th, although it may slip a day or two depending on the speed of the banks.
One unexpected thing - when I drove the Ferrari home after the first test drive - I still thought it was great (and at that time, preferable to the McLaren). The McLaren suspension is amazing though - driving the Aston home it picks up bumps far more than the McLaren, and yet felt like a ponderous bus around a bend. It's never felt like that before - and it is a great car - but I am a little less worried about the McLaren replacing it than I was yesterday.
Roll on the 27th.
Firstly, I nearly changed which car I was buying. When I visited before, I didn't notice the red 12C spider in the showroom. Very similar looking colour to the 911 turbo I used to have, and maybe that was part of the appeal - but it was beautiful. Only 9k miles, ~£15k cheaper - and I seriously wondered why I was paying the difference. Other than the lights - which looked great anyway - it really does look pretty much the same as the 650....
It had a deposit on it - otherwise I might have seriously considered switching. But he did tell me that it was a fair bit more laggy below 3k rpm, and was likely to feel a bit less put together than the 650.
So, off we went in the 650 - but this time, on a route I know which would include a twisty road I travel down every day on the way to work.
Initially, I was in "sensible" daily car mode. Trundle around through town, ~60mph on the A roads. As I found last time, the car does this very well indeed - and if you do come up behind something slow you really can overtake them with no forward planning at all. It felt great - albeit quite unexciting. I was surprised by how well it pulled away from standstill in "sensible" mode - it wasn't something I noticed last time, but it is really nice and quick without even putting your foot down.
Flat out acceleration to overtake on the A road felt less "Oh my god" this time - still insanely quick, but reasonable - if a car with that kind of power could ever be reasonable. It is a much nicer power delivery that the 911 turbo was and somehow seems more sensible for the road, even though it's no doubt quicker.
We then got to the twisty road I know - I fully expected to be stuck behind somebody doing 28mph, and once you're behind people on this road you can't get past - even in a 650, because it's solid white lines. But luck was on my side - and I had a clear run. Kept it in auto mode, with the engine in sport (did try track part way down the road, but at this stage sport was better).
When I drove this car a week ago, I thought it would be a Ferrari replacement, and was shocked at how far from that it seemed to be.
But now, I'm not so sure. Down a twisty road I know, it was - frankly - awesome. Maybe still not the same level of drama as a screaming NA exhaust and clicky clacky manual gear change - but a LOT closer to that than I expected. And that was without using manual gear changes. It was stunning - and although I have absolutely no intention of selling the 360 right now, and am glad I ended up part-exing the cars I did - I am less sure that the 360 will stay long term. It will be interesting to see how life with the 650 progresses.
Which of course means, I signed. When I woke this morning - early because I was a tad stressed about the amount of money I was considering spending on a car - I eased my mind a bit by using this man maths : The money in the Aston / Alfa is basically dead money I spent years ago. Which means I am only sinking £x into the 650 and even with the issues selling McLarens, I reckon I could get that back (or close to it) pretty quickly.
Even so, I was still very hesitant about this and still had strong concerns that this might be a foolish idea. Sensible head was definitely presenting some strong arguments.
Until the test drive. When we got back I had no doubts at all - I was 100% sure, and even having paid the deposit I'm still happy it's the right decision.
Planned collection date is 27th, although it may slip a day or two depending on the speed of the banks.
One unexpected thing - when I drove the Ferrari home after the first test drive - I still thought it was great (and at that time, preferable to the McLaren). The McLaren suspension is amazing though - driving the Aston home it picks up bumps far more than the McLaren, and yet felt like a ponderous bus around a bend. It's never felt like that before - and it is a great car - but I am a little less worried about the McLaren replacing it than I was yesterday.
Roll on the 27th.
willy wombat said:
Davek you say you don’t want a 458 but that’s because you haven’t driven one. I never met anyone who, having driven a 458 didn’t want one (badly).
I drove a 458 Speciale, and was offered it new by the dealer (before the price rocketed of course), and I chose not to buy it.It was good. The McLaren is better.
458 Speciale sounds much nicer though.
An excellent choice, congratulations.
If you get the chance to take it into continental Europe you will find the 650 is a very fine car in which to tackle the traffic-free roads and varied terrain there is on offer there. A word of warning. You may suffer unnecessary “range anxiety”. The onboard range calculator is hopelessly inaccurate, fluctuates wildly and should be largely ignored. Instead know how much fuel you started with and use dead reckoning to decide when to fill up. Other than that the miles (kilometres) will just fly by. Enjoy.
If you get the chance to take it into continental Europe you will find the 650 is a very fine car in which to tackle the traffic-free roads and varied terrain there is on offer there. A word of warning. You may suffer unnecessary “range anxiety”. The onboard range calculator is hopelessly inaccurate, fluctuates wildly and should be largely ignored. Instead know how much fuel you started with and use dead reckoning to decide when to fill up. Other than that the miles (kilometres) will just fly by. Enjoy.
lowndes said:
An excellent choice, congratulations.
If you get the chance to take it into continental Europe you will find the 650 is a very fine car in which to tackle the traffic-free roads and varied terrain there is on offer there. A word of warning. You may suffer unnecessary “range anxiety”. The onboard range calculator is hopelessly inaccurate, fluctuates wildly and should be largely ignored. Instead know how much fuel you started with and use dead reckoning to decide when to fill up. Other than that the miles (kilometres) will just fly by. Enjoy.
Ha ha, I was driving to Beaulieu yesterday and the fuel gauge indicated 80 miles remaining. 5 minutes later, 105 miles. If you get the chance to take it into continental Europe you will find the 650 is a very fine car in which to tackle the traffic-free roads and varied terrain there is on offer there. A word of warning. You may suffer unnecessary “range anxiety”. The onboard range calculator is hopelessly inaccurate, fluctuates wildly and should be largely ignored. Instead know how much fuel you started with and use dead reckoning to decide when to fill up. Other than that the miles (kilometres) will just fly by. Enjoy.
Looking forward to the 50+ convoy of Macs heading into Beaulieu this morning. Should be quite a sight.
BTW, lovely photo.
isaldiri said:
WCZ said:
isaldiri said:
I didn't having driven and tracked a couple of them.....
interesting, you don't hear of many!I let a die hard porsche fan drive one who despised ferraris (hadn't driven one since the 355 though) and he ended up selling his 911 and buying a 458 within a few weeks!
The imperfections of the Scuderias gearbox made it more engaging than the too slick DCT in the 458 as well.
They sound different inside than outside. 720S is much quieter inside for example, but you hear a lot of wonderful whooshes etc from the turbos.
From outside mine sounds like this (from Beaulieu yesterday).
https://youtu.be/swPlPTNHHjY
From outside mine sounds like this (from Beaulieu yesterday).
https://youtu.be/swPlPTNHHjY
Gassing Station | Supercar General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff