[Thunder]

Finally was able to dowload and read the full electronic copy of EVO.

(Available online on Zinio or on the I pad)

http://ca.zinio.com/browse/category/parent.jsp?navAction=jump&navCount=0&categoryId=cat1960016

As an anxious soon-to-be new owner of the McLaren, yes I am a bit disapponted that it was not raved about as much as I might have wished, but I thought the articles were in fact reasonably well written and well balanced.
I have recently owned the Porsche TT, and currently own the SLS, 458, and Scuderia (and of course am anxiously awaiting the McLaren). The points they make about the Porsche and the SLS are absolutely spot on. I was amazed by the Porsche's perfomance, but found it so uninteresting that I got rid of it within 3 months. I traded it for an Audi R8 V10, which was somewaht better, and is, on an objective basis, a great car, but it was a bit too "Lexus-like" (ie. faultless), but aslo lacked drama and personality. I kept it about 9 months, then traded it for an SLS.

As the article suggests, the SLS is not nearly as good a car on a purely objective basis as either the Porsche or the Audi, but it has tons of personality and is hugely more entertaining to drive on a regular basis on the street. (I use it as my daily driver now). (Yes, the transmission is a piece of crap in manual mode - very good in auto mode).

Before I got the 458, the Scuderia was by far my favorite car - raw, connected, fast, and at the time, had the best shifting robotized manual in the business.

The 458 surprised me in every way. Much faster feeling than any of my other cars - by a significant margin - brilliant engine and transmission - a major reset of my expectations. Feels several generations ahead of the Scuderia. Very well rounded. Very satisfying and enjoyable to drive on real roads - enjoyable without having to go flat out. (By contast, I also had a 599 for a while, which although faster in a straight line than all these other cars, was very unexciting, unless you could go really fast (which I can't do without risking going to jail - and since I can't drive my cars from jail, I'd prefer not to go there).

So in reading the EVO article, calmly and in totality, I believe that we should probably not get as negatively excited as many apparently have, and fret about all the conspiracy theories WRT Ferrari. The McLaren sounds like a marvellous achievement, has amazing capabilities, and is a car that I am still looking forward to own, drive on the road, and on the track. There was nothing in any of the articles that suggested to me that their observations WRT the 458 were anything other than legitimate (both the positives and the negatives).

The very close track times simply prove that all these cars are incredibly capable, very very fast, and light years away from even the best supercars of only a few years back.

...and as I have personally discovered, (at great expense in getting rid of several "nearly new" cars), the real day to day enjoyment and thrill one gets from driving one of these on the street, is based a lot more on the character of the car, and not in the minute differences in their acceleration or lap times.

Viva the amazing choice of great cars we have today. I am very glad that McLaren has entered the fray and increased the already great choices. It is the absolutely best time ever to be a "car guy"! Let's enjoy it.

 

[HyperMac954]

Good take. Do you feel you could use the 458 as a daily driver, or close to it? I'm not meaning to start any 12C vs 458 as a DD, I'm just curious. I tried a Gallardo as a DD, and... no.

 

[SSO]

Thank you for a very well articulated balanced evaluation of the situation. Fully agree with you on the 599 vs Scud vs 458. Had a very similar experience with the 911.

 

[AMAROK]

finally was able to dowload and read the full electronic copy of evo.

(available online on zinio or on the i pad)

http://ca.zinio.com/browse/category/parent.jsp?navaction=jump&navcount=0&categoryid=cat1960016

as an anxious soon-to-be new owner of the mclaren, yes i am a bit disapponted that it was not raved about as much as i might have wished, but i thought the articles were in fact reasonably well written and well balanced.
I have recently owned the porsche tt, and currently own the sls, 458, and scuderia (and of course am anxiously awaiting the mclaren). The points they make about the porsche and the sls are absolutely spot on. I was amazed by the porsche's perfomance, but found it so uninteresting that i got rid of it within 3 months. I traded it for an audi r8 v10, which was somewaht better, and is, on an objective basis, a great car, but it was a bit too "lexus-like" (ie. Faultless), but aslo lacked drama and personality. I kept it about 9 months, then traded it for an sls.

As the article suggests, the sls is not nearly as good a car on a purely objective basis as either the porsche or the audi, but it has tons of personality and is hugely more entertaining to drive on a regular basis on the street. (i use it as my daily driver now). (yes, the transmission is a piece of crap in manual mode - very good in auto mode).

Before i got the 458, the scuderia was by far my favorite car - raw, connected, fast, and at the time, had the best shifting robotized manual in the business.

The 458 surprised me in every way. Much faster feeling than any of my other cars - by a significant margin - brilliant engine and transmission - a major reset of my expectations. Feels several generations ahead of the scuderia. Very well rounded. Very satisfying and enjoyable to drive on real roads - enjoyable without having to go flat out. (by contast, i also had a 599 for a while, which although faster in a straight line than all these other cars, was very unexciting, unless you could go really fast (which i can't do without risking going to jail - and since i can't drive my cars from jail, i'd prefer not to go there).

So in reading the evo article, calmly and in totality, i believe that we should probably not get as negatively excited as many apparently have, and fret about all the conspiracy theories wrt ferrari. The mclaren sounds like a marvellous achievement, has amazing capabilities, and is a car that i am still looking forward to own, drive on the road, and on the track. There was nothing in any of the articles that suggested to me that their observations wrt the 458 were anything other than legitimate (both the positives and the negatives).

The very close track times simply prove that all these cars are incredibly capable, very very fast, and light years away from even the best supercars of only a few years back.

...and as i have personally discovered, (at great expense in getting rid of several "nearly new" cars), the real day to day enjoyment and thrill one gets from driving one of these on the street, is based a lot more on the character of the car, and not in the minute differences in their acceleration or lap times.

Viva the amazing choice of great cars we have today. I am very glad that mclaren has entered the fray and increased the already great choices. It is the absolutely best time ever to be a "car guy"! Let's enjoy it.

brilliant !! End of !!

 

[6th element]

Very insightful - thank you for the perspective. However, if I am perfectly frank, I don't expect the 12C to last even 6 months in your garage. I believe the essence of its design and engineering has more shared qualities with the Porsche and Audi that you have already discarded, less so of the AMG and Ferrari, which seem to have some flair baked in at the expense of calculated Teutonic performance.

Not trying to be a downer, but that is my honest hunch based on what you have written. At least you are no stranger to cycling the cars in and out and certainly I would be delighted to be proved wrong. Perhaps a friendly wager?

Finally was able to dowload and read the full electronic copy of EVO.

(Available online on Zinio or on the I pad)

http://ca.zinio.com/browse/category/parent.jsp?navAction=jump&navCount=0&categoryId=cat1960016

As an anxious soon-to-be new owner of the McLaren, yes I am a bit disapponted that it was not raved about as much as I might have wished, but I thought the articles were in fact reasonably well written and well balanced.
I have recently owned the Porsche TT, and currently own the SLS, 458, and Scuderia (and of course am anxiously awaiting the McLaren). The points they make about the Porsche and the SLS are absolutely spot on. I was amazed by the Porsche's perfomance, but found it so uninteresting that I got rid of it within 3 months. I traded it for an Audi R8 V10, which was somewaht better, and is, on an objective basis, a great car, but it was a bit too "Lexus-like" (ie. faultless), but aslo lacked drama and personality. I kept it about 9 months, then traded it for an SLS.

As the article suggests, the SLS is not nearly as good a car on a purely objective basis as either the Porsche or the Audi, but it has tons of personality and is hugely more entertaining to drive on a regular basis on the street. (I use it as my daily driver now). (Yes, the transmission is a piece of crap in manual mode - very good in auto mode).

Before I got the 458, the Scuderia was by far my favorite car - raw, connected, fast, and at the time, had the best shifting robotized manual in the business.

The 458 surprised me in every way. Much faster feeling than any of my other cars - by a significant margin - brilliant engine and transmission - a major reset of my expectations. Feels several generations ahead of the Scuderia. Very well rounded. Very satisfying and enjoyable to drive on real roads - enjoyable without having to go flat out. (By contast, I also had a 599 for a while, which although faster in a straight line than all these other cars, was very unexciting, unless you could go really fast (which I can't do without risking going to jail - and since I can't drive my cars from jail, I'd prefer not to go there).

So in reading the EVO article, calmly and in totality, I believe that we should probably not get as negatively excited as many apparently have, and fret about all the conspiracy theories WRT Ferrari. The McLaren sounds like a marvellous achievement, has amazing capabilities, and is a car that I am still looking forward to own, drive on the road, and on the track. There was nothing in any of the articles that suggested to me that their observations WRT the 458 were anything other than legitimate (both the positives and the negatives).

The very close track times simply prove that all these cars are incredibly capable, very very fast, and light years away from even the best supercars of only a few years back.

...and as I have personally discovered, (at great expense in getting rid of several "nearly new" cars), the real day to day enjoyment and thrill one gets from driving one of these on the street, is based a lot more on the character of the car, and not in the minute differences in their acceleration or lap times.

Viva the amazing choice of great cars we have today. I am very glad that McLaren has entered the fray and increased the already great choices. It is the absolutely best time ever to be a "car guy"! Let's enjoy it.

 

[isv]

Thank you for a very well articulated balanced evaluation of the situation. Fully agree with you on the 599 vs Scud vs 458. Had a very similar experience with the 911.

Interesting that about the 599/458/scuderia. I had the chance to track all 3 at the same time last year and while I agree re the 599, I found the Scuderia the more exciting car to drive than the 458 by a considerable margin. The 458 was astonishingly well sorted (far more so than a standard 430) but almost seemed a little too clinical, especially when compared to the Scuderia.

 

[Thunder]

Good take. Do you feel you could use the 458 as a daily driver, or close to it? I'm not meaning to start any 12C vs 458 as a DD, I'm just curious. I tried a Gallardo as a DD, and... no.

Yes you could use it every day.
The reason that I do not take it to work is to avoid lots of "commuter miles" which impact depreciation but do not return a correspondigly satisfying driving experience.
But for full disclosure, and as calibration, I actually used a Gallardo spyder as adaily driver for one summer - 10,000 km in one season.
My commute is 45 km each way, made up of half highway (boring, busy, but not stop and go), and half country roads.

 

[SSO]

Interesting that about the 599/458/scuderia. I had the chance to track all 3 at the same time last year and while I agree re the 599, I found the Scuderia the more exciting car to drive than the 458 by a considerable margin. The 458 was astonishingly well sorted (far more so than a standard 430) but almost seemed a little too clinical, especially when compared to the Scuderia.

For the track and a weekend drive, I would take the Scud over the 458. As you say, just much more involving. For general usage and long distance touring, definitely the 458.

 

[andy c]

For the track and a weekend drive, I would take the Scud over the 458. As you say, just much more involving. For general usage and long distance touring, definitely the 458.

The 458 owners ive spoke to (3) say the engine noise is fantastic,but becomes a pain on long journeys if your not in the mood,and would never consider it for a DD,only a small comparison though, sounds like im pushing catfood

 

[SSO]

The 458 owners ive spoke to (3) say the engine noise is fantastic,but becomes a pain on long journeys if your not in the mood,and would never consider it for a DD,only a small comparison though, sounds like im pushing catfood

I used a 360 fitted with a Tubi as a DD for a couple of years. Noise was loud but I did get used to it.

 

[Calitalia]

I used a 360 fitted with a Tubi as a DD for a couple of years. Noise was loud but I did get used to it.

The idea of an everyday Ferrari used to make me cringe. However, my DD now is the Ferrari California. Lots of trunk space, superb. The MP4 will come at the expense of the red pony and the idea of using the MP4 as a DD is really really exciting as well as interesting. It will be too Miami Vice and Magnum PI like (using these cars around town). No reliability done up yet and worrying about turbo engine as high maintenance but I can't begin to praise Ferrari for how reliable cars have come of in modern age. The California is ZERO problem and glitches. It is as rock solid as a 911 to me.

Wonder what would come of my MP4. The Ferrari doesn't need one single oil change till 10,000 km no belt issue either. Chain Driven. The California is low main and ownership experience so far is good. I decide to be brave and dive in signed up for something completely new over here. There is not even one dealership and service centre set up. Nothing. NO Spec, no pricing.

I also am truly warming up to the looks but still not sure what colour the car will look good in. Wish me luck. I took the less stare and flair car. The intuitively obvious is always will always be 458 to 9/10 on the street.

 

[iains]

The 458 owners ive spoke to (3) say the engine noise is fantastic,but becomes a pain on long journeys if your not in the mood,and would never consider it for a DD,only a small comparison though, sounds like im pushing catfood

Engine noise isn't an issue in the 458 in comfort mode on the motorway even at fairly high cruising speeds. The exhaust valve stays shut for longer in this mode. Tyre roar is more noticeable but not to the point of being distracting. That may be more down to the Bridgestones on my car as I've not had a chance to compare a car on Michelins or the Pirelli option tyre.