Herbaliser:

I've just finished a 3 hour test drive with the 720S. It was my first drive ever with a McLaren. Unfortunately it was raining heavily and there was a lot of traffic but I still managed to find some curvy roads and try it within reasonable boundaries. So here's the resume:

Comfort and ergonomics

Outstanding. The best visibility I've ever experienced in a sports car, perfect driving position. The test car was with the most comfortable seats and they fit me perfectly (I am 1.87). Getting in and out of the car was not a problem for me. The thing that amazed me is how airy inside and yet how small the car feels on the road. It feels like you can position it very precisely. After that the RS felt so much bigger. As pervert as it might sound the 720S is one of the better ways to drive around a busy city. The surround view cameras work great and the sound of the B&W is better than the JBL in the 488. More test are needed to compare it to the Burmester in the 911.

I am not a big fan of the steering wheel which is a bit too thin and plain looking. The peddle shifters are a bit small and they are connected which seemed strange but not really a functional problem. 

The noise in the cabin king of surprised me. In the 100 - 150 range it felt noisier than the Turbo S and far noisier than the 488 which up to 145km/h on 7th gear is dead quiet. But at 200km/h I felt like the McLaren is the most quiet of the 3. Once again, this is how I felt at the moment...I could be wrong. 

Steering and chassis

Another 10/10. The steering precision felt like the best I've ever experienced, maybe even slightly better then the GT3 RS and miles better than the 488. Of course this is a very subjective first impression. Evenly impressive was the suspension. Strangely enough I didn't feel huge difference between comfort and sport maybe because I drove on smooth roads but I never felt like "this is too soft" / "this is too harsh". The damping, the wheel travel - just perfect. Overall I felt extremely confident to slide the car a little but on tighter corners and it was extremely tactile. 

Engine and gearbox

Let me start with the really bad news. The engine sound sucks big time. It's disappointing, even with the sport exhaust. It's like a far noisier Turbo S at high rpm. You never hear a hint of a V8. I love how my 488 sounds, more than the 458 and more than the GT3 RS. Next to it the 720S is a hot hatch. It was a big let down. The car looks extremely exotic, feels exotic inside and then you start the engine and...nothing. The rest is all good. There's nothing to be desired about the engine response and turbo lag. Gearbox calibration is perfect but so are the rest of my cars. Auto mode in Sport works surprisingly well, better than the 488 which after a long time of slow driving goes to sleep and has to be kicked. Unfortunately I couldn't explore the pulling power of the engine because of the heavy rain but as expected it felt like a monster across the rpm range and very happy to rev but I guess that's not news.

Breaks

That was a serious issue for me. Maybe I am used to Porsche's breaks which I find to be absolutely perfect but I find the 720'S break pedal to be way too firm, way too long and with an initial dead zone. So much that I didn't trust the breaks. I am not a big fan of the 488's break feel for similar reasons but the 720S felt even worse. At slow speed they work ok. When you break really hard the car breaks fine. But for spirited driving on public roads there is no middle ground. Even on the autobahn it was like ON/OFF. Maybe it was the rain, maybe I could reprogram myself after more driving but I have ceramic breaks on all my cars and this was the worst break feel I've ever experienced.

Build quality issues

I saw one of the first car to be delivered to a customer and couldn't believe it. Misaligned panels and gaps...it looked terrible. I can't believe that this car has passed any quality control. If they deliver my car in that condition I will return it and never look back at McLaren.

In Summary

I am glad that I ordered the 720S but I am also glad that I don't have to trade my 488 for it because.....I wouldn't.

Tomorrow I will drive the Performante...

Great review, many thanks !!