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We have had the McLaren 12C Spider for a bit over a month now. So far the McLaren has meet the lofty expectations we had for it and turned out to be even more usable than expected. In terms of driving, the 12C Spider is both impressively quick and very well mannered. Performance is staggering but it is delivered in more of a classic understated British way than its Italian competitors. It is an easy car to go very very fast in and it corners incredibly well. Getting comfortable with how much speed you can take into a corner requires a bit of adjustment and I found took several days. It is a plus 10 car i.e. twisty stuff can all be taken 10 mph faster than you would in other similar type cars. The aero works and brake steer while taking a bit of getting used to does work extremely well. The sight lines are very good and it is an easy car to place on the road although the two rear buttressed take a bit of time to get used to. The seating position is excellent and adjustable in every direction imaginable. The steering wheel is simple and the paddles well weighted. You can use either paddle to change both up and down but it easier and more intuitive to go up on the right and down on the left. I personally found the gearbox almost too smooth in “normal” but set it to “track” and it sorts out well. The suspension also transforms dramatically as you move from “normal” to “track”. The 12C moves from being the polished gentleman on one group of settings to the aggressive hard core track machine on another. As a result it is a car that we can both live with and enjoy. Turbo lag is effectively non-existent and if you did not know it had twin turbos, you would assume it was naturally aspirated. Sound track from the V8 is more low down grunt than spine tingling scream. The Spider roof is pure brilliance. It takes about 15-20 seconds to go up or down and can be done while moving at low speed. When up it is as good as a coupe roof but with the added benefit that you can drop the rear window. Especially in the rain, this is a great option. In terms of usability, it is the first true go anywhere in just about any weather supercar we have owned. Bad London traffic was handled with ease, rain is a non-issue, and other than ground clearance I am fairly certain even snow would be handled well. While we are not using it as an everyday car per say during the week, it is the main mode of transport all weekend long. Even luggage space is fairly decent for a mid-engine supercar.
About the only real negative is Iris, with the roof down the screen is difficult to read and programing the sat nav is a bit of a pain. On other supercars, I don’t have any of these accessories and don’t miss them. However because the 12C Spider has them, you tend to use them and it can be a bit frustrating. One other feature I would change is for the front nose lift, instead of having to scroll through menus on the dash to activate it; a simple toggle switch on the centre consul would be much more convenient.
About the only real negative is Iris, with the roof down the screen is difficult to read and programing the sat nav is a bit of a pain. On other supercars, I don’t have any of these accessories and don’t miss them. However because the 12C Spider has them, you tend to use them and it can be a bit frustrating. One other feature I would change is for the front nose lift, instead of having to scroll through menus on the dash to activate it; a simple toggle switch on the centre consul would be much more convenient.
