Quite morbid but this happened all over New York rail stations/airports post 9/11
Not worth its own thread really and this seems as good a place as any!
I took this out for a drive the other day:
I've spent the last 2-3 months agonising over buying a GT car. I'm massively conflicted on exactly what I want from a car, but broadly I want something that is able to take the mrs and I to anywhere in continental Europe in relative comfort but also be able to enjoy the best roads that Europe has to offer when I get there. The M5 was utterly brilliant on motorways and fast A-roads but as things start to tighten it became less brilliant. Not to the point of annoyance as such but you're aware you're managing the weight and the brakes more than you're enjoying the scenery. Doing a full day of B-road driving in it was draining in ways that the M2 wasn't.
I've discounted the Bentley Continental GT for the same reasons as the M5 - undoubtedly the best way to get from A to B along motorways but it weighs about the same as the QE2 and feels about as agile. I gave serious consideration to the DB11 AMR and new Vantage - the latter is surprisingly capacious when it comes to luggage and while it is very sporty it isn't as draining on long drives as you might expect. I also looked at the Ferrari California T after deciding there was simply no way I wanted to actually own the car which originally started this whole thing, the 599. For me the 599 was simply too big, too old, too mental to run. The Cali T Handling Speciale is a nice car, looks ace in the right colour and sounds good. But the interior felt... flimsy? Gorgeous material quality in terms of tactility but I couldn't help but feel like the perceived quality was really poor. You'd be alright if the car was £50k but at well over twice that, it wasn't good enough and the rest of the package didn't make up for it.
So, I'd got to the point where I'd more or less decided on the DB11 and accepted that it is dynamically compromised (but not enough and not in the same way as the M5 to put me off) when I happened across a review of the McLaren 570GT. After some digging around, chatting to a few people and so on I arranged to pop into McLaren and explore the new McLaren GT...
I've got to be honest, I didn't really know what I was expecting. Immediately, it is a LOT smaller in person than it looks in photos. Yes, it is bigger than any other McLaren and a lot less shrink-wrapped/taut but I don't think that is a negative thing, personally. The ride is surreal - at least as good as my Range Rover's air suspension and miles better than the M5 although it is inescapably much more noisy than any other car I've considered. Not too noisy, but noisy nevertheless. This is without the 720S's linked dampers etc. Performance is what it is, 611bhp from what is essentially a detuned 720S engine. Certainly would have the legs on the DB11 AMR pretty much from any speed to any speed but only if you were in the right gear. Catch it off guard and in too high a gear and there's one, maybe two eternities of waiting for it to wake up. Cornering is predictably on another level meaning overall performance is a stratosphere above the DB11. Interior fit and finish I would put above both the DB11 and Cali T but nowhere near the Conti GT. Luggage space is actually pretty impressive. I had my doubts but it is usable and I could easily fit luggage for two for two weeks in it without feeling packed in. 150L in the frunk, ~400L in the back although the shape is awkward. Using soft luggage and packing smart you could probably do an even longer trip.
In many ways it is just another McLaren with the edges rounded off but, while there is no way I'd want to buy a 720S for what I want from a car, this ticks every box. Am I going to buy one? Watch this space!
Easy to just throw out a quip but the 720S could not do the job of a two week road trip around Europe for me. I don't mean driving to a single hotel somewhere and then short jaunts out, I mean a proper trip in a different hotel each night etc. I'm not looking for a super-focussed sports/supercar, I am looking for a GT that doesn't disappoint when off the motorway. Of all of the cars I have considered, the McLaren GT is the most exciting with some significant but acceptable compromises on the motorway side of things.
Oh, and I don't give a stuff about what the puritanical McLaren fanboi brigade think of the GT either, I'm buying a car for me and what I need and nobody else
Have you driven an AMG GTR? Not talking my book up but for what you outline a good fit. It's like the Aston but better in every way bar the badge and subjective stuff. Image is not for all and I understand that, but for what you cover in your first paragraph perfect. Will waft along in silence in comfort mode, decent damping (for this type of car) and then come to life when you need it. Boot space will carry 2 decent size suitcases and other stuff as well.Not worth its own thread really and this seems as good a place as any!
I took this out for a drive the other day:
I've spent the last 2-3 months agonising over buying a GT car. I'm massively conflicted on exactly what I want from a car, but broadly I want something that is able to take the mrs and I to anywhere in continental Europe in relative comfort but also be able to enjoy the best roads that Europe has to offer when I get there. The M5 was utterly brilliant on motorways and fast A-roads but as things start to tighten it became less brilliant. Not to the point of annoyance as such but you're aware you're managing the weight and the brakes more than you're enjoying the scenery. Doing a full day of B-road driving in it was draining in ways that the M2 wasn't.
I've discounted the Bentley Continental GT for the same reasons as the M5 - undoubtedly the best way to get from A to B along motorways but it weighs about the same as the QE2 and feels about as agile. I gave serious consideration to the DB11 AMR and new Vantage - the latter is surprisingly capacious when it comes to luggage and while it is very sporty it isn't as draining on long drives as you might expect. I also looked at the Ferrari California T after deciding there was simply no way I wanted to actually own the car which originally started this whole thing, the 599. For me the 599 was simply too big, too old, too mental to run. The Cali T Handling Speciale is a nice car, looks ace in the right colour and sounds good. But the interior felt... flimsy? Gorgeous material quality in terms of tactility but I couldn't help but feel like the perceived quality was really poor. You'd be alright if the car was £50k but at well over twice that, it wasn't good enough and the rest of the package didn't make up for it.
So, I'd got to the point where I'd more or less decided on the DB11 and accepted that it is dynamically compromised (but not enough and not in the same way as the M5 to put me off) when I happened across a review of the McLaren 570GT. After some digging around, chatting to a few people and so on I arranged to pop into McLaren and explore the new McLaren GT...
I've got to be honest, I didn't really know what I was expecting. Immediately, it is a LOT smaller in person than it looks in photos. Yes, it is bigger than any other McLaren and a lot less shrink-wrapped/taut but I don't think that is a negative thing, personally. The ride is surreal - at least as good as my Range Rover's air suspension and miles better than the M5 although it is inescapably much more noisy than any other car I've considered. Not too noisy, but noisy nevertheless. This is without the 720S's linked dampers etc. Performance is what it is, 611bhp from what is essentially a detuned 720S engine. Certainly would have the legs on the DB11 AMR pretty much from any speed to any speed but only if you were in the right gear. Catch it off guard and in too high a gear and there's one, maybe two eternities of waiting for it to wake up. Cornering is predictably on another level meaning overall performance is a stratosphere above the DB11. Interior fit and finish I would put above both the DB11 and Cali T but nowhere near the Conti GT. Luggage space is actually pretty impressive. I had my doubts but it is usable and I could easily fit luggage for two for two weeks in it without feeling packed in. 150L in the frunk, ~400L in the back although the shape is awkward. Using soft luggage and packing smart you could probably do an even longer trip.
In many ways it is just another McLaren with the edges rounded off but, while there is no way I'd want to buy a 720S for what I want from a car, this ticks every box. Am I going to buy one? Watch this space!
Yea, I never went near a Merc dealer to buy mine and I have found Mercedes dealers to be pretty shabby in the main. I don't know where you are based, but Redline cars up north are decent and always have interesting cars. I didn't buy form them, but they were accommodating and good to work with and I have a few friends who have had positive experiences with them. Tend to have good cars and lots of the cars you list. Don't cut your nose off to spite your face would be my advice, go find a decent one in an independent and drive it. I actually got Wolverhampton Mercedes to bring a GTR to my house to drive, only took a phone call but like you other dealers made me feel like a bin diver dreamer and I'm no dreamer.
Dealers, so often the point of failure.
I do have Mercedes service it and undertake warranty work. It is in with Macclesfield next week and I have a working relationship with them, they know what I expect and have been mainly decent. Sat Nav screen not working so that needs investigating, (my lost SD card issue is not related it seems). My local Mercedes dealer Stafford can't work in the car, they said use Stoke and I booked the car in. Drove in, drove straight out it was an utter shambles and will never see a car of mine to work on. Macclesfield seems ok. New site, good environment etc, but only as good as their last job etc.
