DaveChapin:
Whoopsy, like this fellow, Tony Gaples: [ http://www.examiner.com/article/ferrari-versus-mclaren-from-an-owners-perspective], you have owned both a 12C and 458. Did you have the same experience he describes? Or did Tony just have a bad 12C? Or maybe it just looked bad because the 458 was just so good?
The review is pretty old. So presumably McLaren corrected most of this stuff. I was just taken aback by the negative real world experience for a car that (for the most part) got glowing reviews from trade press.
This Tony guy is full of shit, the way he speak about cars he should be perma banned from owning one. Hell, I have never heard of a REAR engine Ferrari, I think Ferraris are called MID engine...........
He bought one of the initial batch of 12Cs, aka beta cars, same as mine. But over the last year or so McLaren has a couple updates that pretty much corrected most of the 'flaws' of the car, even the infotainment system can be upgraded to the newest version in the P1, 650S, but for a fee.
Traction control system on the 12C is out of this world, Ferrari's doesn't even come close. Traction wise the only thing better is 4wd cars. It is that good.
The slide to open doors is the main feature of the car, only the 2012 cars have them, a lot of the owners complained they can't open their doors so McLaren switched to a ugly button. Personally I love it, I never had problem opening the door at all, it's so easy. As for scratching the paint part, hmm, the under side of the door faces down, no one can see it, and the bottom of the door have it worse as it faces the road and gets bombarded by road debris, I didn't see him complaint about THAT. Tony just being a cry baby.
Climate controls on the doors is a minus? God where did this guy come from? It's just DIFFERENT, not better nor worse. Suck it up.
12C has a much better dash layout. Miles better. There are 3 pods in front plus the one in the centre console, Ferrari one has the 3 in front. One less display. Plus, with the rear view camera showing on the right screen, it's fine if I back up straight, but it's useless once there is any kind of steering input as the wheel blocks off the screen. The digital speed display on the 12C is more useful, big numbers in the central tach, Ferrari hide it on the side pods with small digits.
Tony is suppose to be a veteran racer? Of what? Hot wheels? He can't even tell metal from plastic. OMG. Even my 12 yr old can tell the 12C has METAL paddle, aluminum to be exact. It moves with the wheel so that's a big minus, but it acts like a rocker switch so that's a big positive. My perfect paddles? Big stationary ones like the Ferrari ones but with the McLaren's rocker function. Paddles that rotates have a tendency to get lost when you need them.
With all the updates done, the 12C was a better can than the 458. While I had replaced my 12C with the Speciale, and the Speciale is a much better car than the 458, I am not sure if the Speciale is a better one than the 12C.
Truth is, yes I like the Speciale, and yes I miss the 12C too now that I don't have it.
Too bad McLaren ruined it by putting the joker face on the 650S facelift.
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