Hiring a 570S for a weekend trip - tips?
Discussion
I'm hiring this https://sportshire.co.uk/car/mclaren-570s-new-spor... next weekend, and will be taking it up to N Yorkshire.
Having never driven a supercar before, my aim is to see what it's like, as a potential future purchase. Oh, and to enjoy it.
So, anything I should know?
- How much luggage can we expect to fit in, with two people in the car?
- Should I plan to sucker my phone to the windscreen to use google maps, or attempt to decypher the notorious IRIS infotainment?
- Any sort of roads should I avoid? How bumpy does it have to get before you have to slow down to 5mph and engage the nose lift?
- Any drive mode settings I should know about? (not looking to disable traction/stability control).
- Anything I should check before taking the car away?
- Any common places where police like to loiter around Shrewsbury? ;-)
Having never driven a supercar before, my aim is to see what it's like, as a potential future purchase. Oh, and to enjoy it.
So, anything I should know?
- How much luggage can we expect to fit in, with two people in the car?
- Should I plan to sucker my phone to the windscreen to use google maps, or attempt to decypher the notorious IRIS infotainment?
- Any sort of roads should I avoid? How bumpy does it have to get before you have to slow down to 5mph and engage the nose lift?
- Any drive mode settings I should know about? (not looking to disable traction/stability control).
- Anything I should check before taking the car away?
- Any common places where police like to loiter around Shrewsbury? ;-)
Plenty of luggage space, but take soft holdalls ideally. Just drive it, you will find it very tame. Press the active button and turn the power and handling to sport once you're used to the car / on a fun road. Yes, take your phone and use the nav on that. IRIS is not too bad but won't be up-to-date.
Nothing to check, just drive.
Make sure you report back on the experience.
Nothing to check, just drive.
Make sure you report back on the experience.
samoht said:
I'm hiring this https://sportshire.co.uk/car/mclaren-570s-new-spor... next weekend, and will be taking it up to N Yorkshire.
Having never driven a supercar before, my aim is to see what it's like, as a potential future purchase. Oh, and to enjoy it.
So, anything I should know?
- How much luggage can we expect to fit in, with two people in the car?
- Should I plan to sucker my phone to the windscreen to use google maps, or attempt to decypher the notorious IRIS infotainment?
- Any sort of roads should I avoid? How bumpy does it have to get before you have to slow down to 5mph and engage the nose lift?
- Any drive mode settings I should know about? (not looking to disable traction/stability control).
- Anything I should check before taking the car away?
- Any common places where police like to loiter around Shrewsbury? ;-)
Very easy car to drive unless you are being daft. Plenty power but like the previous poster said, use the active panel and get into sport/sport once you are comfortable. Having never driven a supercar before, my aim is to see what it's like, as a potential future purchase. Oh, and to enjoy it.
So, anything I should know?
- How much luggage can we expect to fit in, with two people in the car?
- Should I plan to sucker my phone to the windscreen to use google maps, or attempt to decypher the notorious IRIS infotainment?
- Any sort of roads should I avoid? How bumpy does it have to get before you have to slow down to 5mph and engage the nose lift?
- Any drive mode settings I should know about? (not looking to disable traction/stability control).
- Anything I should check before taking the car away?
- Any common places where police like to loiter around Shrewsbury? ;-)
The nose is low but generally speaking you shouldn't need it on the road other that speedbumps etc. Unless the road is particularly bad. The car looks lower than it is.
Plenty storage space, use the shelf behind the seats also.
Agree on the Nav, IRIS is ok, but I tend to use Google/Waze.
Oh, and enjoy! And prepare yourself for plenty of attention, especially in that colour
As mentioned above, ensure the "active" button is pressed (its surround illuminates) so the Powertrain and Handling modes set on the two controls above are active. I tend to use Sport/Normal on poorish surfaces and Sport/Sport on decent roads. IRIS/Nav is OK but Waze is far better! I tend to just have my phone wedged in the cupholder as a backup.
It's a very easy car to drive but make sure you use the paddles once you get comfortable with it. The frunk only opens on the key fob and is quite deep. No problem with luggage for two for a weekend as long as packed into smaller bags or soft bags as mentioned above.
It's a very easy car to drive but make sure you use the paddles once you get comfortable with it. The frunk only opens on the key fob and is quite deep. No problem with luggage for two for a weekend as long as packed into smaller bags or soft bags as mentioned above.
Thanks for all the info, much appreciated.
Yeah unfortunately no smokey drifts, launch control starts or top speed runs on the menu. But as long as I can get enough of a feel for the car to end up thinking either 'I want one of these' or 'I don't want one of these', then I'll be satisfied I think.
Yeah unfortunately no smokey drifts, launch control starts or top speed runs on the menu. But as long as I can get enough of a feel for the car to end up thinking either 'I want one of these' or 'I don't want one of these', then I'll be satisfied I think.
Collected the car and had a nice run through the Peak District, from Stoke through Buxton and Glossop to Slaithwaite.
Absolutely wowed by the steering. I get it now, I've never driven anything with this level of feel and feedback through the wheel. It could be considered a bit much over poor surfaces, but it gives a fantastic confidence that you can feel what the car's doing, and helps make it easy to place on the road. I mean the weighting up is great, which is the main thing, but the surface texture on top is a real surprise.
The brakes are also fab, once I got used to not jabbing them but squeezing progressively, they're really nice to use. Power is fine, feels fast and is probably faster than it feels. But speed isn't the main event here IMHO.
Car coped fine with some pretty tight and undulating country roads and poor surfaces. Overall seems very liveable with.
So yeah, now I see why people rave about McLarens. It's so much fun to feel so connected to the car, backed up with such capability.
I think I'll be enjoying my next two days with the car.
samoht said:
Collected the car and had a nice run through the Peak District, from Stoke through Buxton and Glossop to Slaithwaite.
Absolutely wowed by the steering. I get it now, I've never driven anything with this level of feel and feedback through the wheel. It could be considered a bit much over poor surfaces, but it gives a fantastic confidence that you can feel what the car's doing, and helps make it easy to place on the road. I mean the weighting up is great, which is the main thing, but the surface texture on top is a real surprise.
The brakes are also fab, once I got used to not jabbing them but squeezing progressively, they're really nice to use. Power is fine, feels fast and is probably faster than it feels. But speed isn't the main event here IMHO.
Car coped fine with some pretty tight and undulating country roads and poor surfaces. Overall seems very liveable with.
So yeah, now I see why people rave about McLarens. It's so much fun to feel so connected to the car, backed up with such capability.
I think I'll be enjoying my next two days with the car.
Glad that you’ve enjoyed it. I thought I posted here before but I must have done something wrong as my reply isn’t showing. Anyway I hired the very same McLaren from Sports Car Hire and had a great time in 2021.Absolutely wowed by the steering. I get it now, I've never driven anything with this level of feel and feedback through the wheel. It could be considered a bit much over poor surfaces, but it gives a fantastic confidence that you can feel what the car's doing, and helps make it easy to place on the road. I mean the weighting up is great, which is the main thing, but the surface texture on top is a real surprise.
The brakes are also fab, once I got used to not jabbing them but squeezing progressively, they're really nice to use. Power is fine, feels fast and is probably faster than it feels. But speed isn't the main event here IMHO.
Car coped fine with some pretty tight and undulating country roads and poor surfaces. Overall seems very liveable with.
So yeah, now I see why people rave about McLarens. It's so much fun to feel so connected to the car, backed up with such capability.
I think I'll be enjoying my next two days with the car.
I went to north Wales which was close from where I was picking up the car - did you drive from Shrewsbury to Yorkshire? That’s like 200miles before you reach good driving roads, right? Asking as I know these places have 125-150miles daily limits.
Edited by px1980 on Sunday 19th June 11:21
So the reason for driving to N Yorkshire is that my parents are around here (hence somewhere free to stay), and accordingly I know the roads fairly well. Nothing like knowing a road when driving something like this!
I considered various alternatives including Wales, which as you say is the logical area to enjoy starting from Shrewsbury, but this seemed to work overall. I did manage to enjoy the Peak District yesterday, so the 'transit' mileage wasn't entirely wasted.
My tip, as with all rentals, is to film the outside and inside with your phone before moving it.
All wheels, bumpers, roof, the lot.
Then on return if they see a Nick/dent you didn’t notice visually on signing collection, you’ve at least a video you can back to and zoom in as evidence you didn’t cause the damage.
I do it with £20/ day rentals too. Takes 1 min when you collect the car and gives me peace of mind.
All wheels, bumpers, roof, the lot.
Then on return if they see a Nick/dent you didn’t notice visually on signing collection, you’ve at least a video you can back to and zoom in as evidence you didn’t cause the damage.
I do it with £20/ day rentals too. Takes 1 min when you collect the car and gives me peace of mind.
sardis said:
Hi Thomas, enjoy your adventure, B1257 Helmsley to Stokesley, Guisborough>Castleton>Hutton-le-Hole, A169 Pickering to Whitby and A171 Whitby >Scarborough all highly recommended, it’s called god’s county for good reason. Just watch for the sheep.
Keep us updated.
Thanks for the encouragement. Yesterday I went out around 8:30 - late enough for the roads to be quiet, early enough for it still to be sunny in the long June evenings. Went to Thirsk on the A170, back to Helmsley, north up the B1257, over to Blakey Ridge and back south down that off the moors.Keep us updated.
And it was absolutely brilliant! I love the car, the poise and intimate steering and brake feel give so much confidence to carry speed into corners, ramping up the lateral loading, feeling it through the wheel and seat of the pants. Coming down Blakey Ridge was fabulous, but I think every single corner I've gone around in the last three days has put a smile on my face.
I'm really blown away by it to be honest, I never imagined a car could exist that's so much more connected and exciting than anything I've driven.
The power is good, as expected, but hasn't dominated my subjective impression of the car - rather it just feels like the 'right' amount of power to let you enjoy such a great chassis on the road.
I take my hat off to car journalists here, because I’m struggling to say much more about the driving than it’s wonderful. It’s an easy car to get into a flow with, I started to get to the point of feeling at one with it - in my memory it’s as if the car itself dissolved and I was flying over the landscape myself.
Far less issues than I'd feared with scraping or bottoming out, being too wide (the steering helps you place it really precisely), discomfort, ingress/egress, or luggage space - it's a really useable car. Also the driving position was great.
I found other drivers' reactions positive - if anything, a few more people were willing to give me a bit of space or let me past than normal. No-one showed any resentment that I was driving a bright orange McLaren.
This isn’t to say that it’s perfect. I thought the engine noise really boring, as if they skipped the 'make it sound nice' part of powertrain development. And while infuriating pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey touchscreen HVAC adjustments are far from unique to McLaren, the forces involved in enjoying a good road do exacerbate its utter unusability.
But honestly, none of those issues are more than minor irritations. I really, really love this car; I can see why so many owners like them so much.
PS Sports Car Hire Shrewsbury are great - friendly, reassuring, and fair - I wasn't hit with any unexpected charges, just paid for the mileage I'd enjoyed. The 'data logging and monitoring' wasn't an issue - I enjoyed the car and pretty much pushed as hard as is sensible on the road in an unfamiliar car, and there wasn't a problem. I won't mention the speeds I did for obvious reasons, but just say it's not a barrier to enjoying the car and getting a good feel for it. The car was also cosmetically and mechanically A1 despite its six years and ~20k miles, it wasn't at all a tired and ratty example as I've heard of elsewhere. So yeah, a really good honest bunch of genuine enthusiasts. If you can justify the considerable cost, which they're entirely upfront about, otherwise it really is a great chance to enjoy getting to know a great car.
Edited by samoht on Tuesday 21st June 00:08
samoht said:
Thanks for the encouragement. Yesterday I went out around 8:30 - late enough for the roads to be quiet, early enough for it still to be sunny in the long June evenings. Went to Thirsk on the A170, back to Helmsley, north up the B1257, over to Blakey Ridge and back south down that off the moors.
And it was absolutely brilliant! I love the car, the poise and intimate steering and brake feel give so much confidence to carry speed into corners, ramping up the lateral loading, feeling it through the wheel and seat of the pants. Coming down Blakey Ridge was fabulous, but I think every single corner I've gone around in the last three days has put a smile on my face.
I'm really blown away by it to be honest, I never imagined a car could exist that's so much more connected and exciting than anything I've driven.
The power is good, as expected, but hasn't dominated my subjective impression of the car - rather it just feels like the 'right' amount of power to let you enjoy such a great chassis on the road.
I take my hat off to car journalists here, because I’m struggling to say much more about the driving than it’s wonderful. It’s an easy car to get into a flow with, I started to get to the point of feeling at one with it - in my memory it’s as if the car itself dissolved and I was flying over the landscape myself.
Far less issues than I'd feared with scraping or bottoming out, being too wide (the steering helps you place it really precisely), discomfort, ingress/egress, or luggage space - it's a really useable car. Also the driving position was great.
I found other drivers' reactions positive - if anything, a few more people were willing to give me a bit of space or let me past than normal. No-one showed any resentment that I was driving a bright orange McLaren.
This isn’t to say that it’s perfect. I thought the engine noise really boring, as if they skipped the 'make it sound nice' part of powertrain development. And while infuriating pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey touchscreen HVAC adjustments are far from unique to McLaren, the forces involved in enjoying a good road do exacerbate its utter unusability.
But honestly, none of those issues are more than minor irritations. I really, really love this car; I can see why so many owners like them so much.
PS Sports Car Hire Shrewsbury are great - friendly, reassuring, and fair - I wasn't hit with any unexpected charges, just paid for the mileage I'd enjoyed. The 'data logging and monitoring' wasn't an issue - I enjoyed the car and pretty much pushed as hard as is sensible on the road in an unfamiliar car, and there wasn't a problem. I won't mention the speeds I did for obvious reasons, but just say it's not a barrier to enjoying the car and getting a good feel for it. The car was also cosmetically and mechanically A1 despite its six years and ~20k miles, it wasn't at all a tired and ratty example as I've heard of elsewhere. So yeah, a really good honest bunch of genuine enthusiasts. If you can justify the considerable cost, which they're entirely upfront about, otherwise it really is a great chance to enjoy getting to know a great car.
Glad you enjoyed and as akways a McLaren exceeds expectation.And it was absolutely brilliant! I love the car, the poise and intimate steering and brake feel give so much confidence to carry speed into corners, ramping up the lateral loading, feeling it through the wheel and seat of the pants. Coming down Blakey Ridge was fabulous, but I think every single corner I've gone around in the last three days has put a smile on my face.
I'm really blown away by it to be honest, I never imagined a car could exist that's so much more connected and exciting than anything I've driven.
The power is good, as expected, but hasn't dominated my subjective impression of the car - rather it just feels like the 'right' amount of power to let you enjoy such a great chassis on the road.
I take my hat off to car journalists here, because I’m struggling to say much more about the driving than it’s wonderful. It’s an easy car to get into a flow with, I started to get to the point of feeling at one with it - in my memory it’s as if the car itself dissolved and I was flying over the landscape myself.
Far less issues than I'd feared with scraping or bottoming out, being too wide (the steering helps you place it really precisely), discomfort, ingress/egress, or luggage space - it's a really useable car. Also the driving position was great.
I found other drivers' reactions positive - if anything, a few more people were willing to give me a bit of space or let me past than normal. No-one showed any resentment that I was driving a bright orange McLaren.
This isn’t to say that it’s perfect. I thought the engine noise really boring, as if they skipped the 'make it sound nice' part of powertrain development. And while infuriating pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey touchscreen HVAC adjustments are far from unique to McLaren, the forces involved in enjoying a good road do exacerbate its utter unusability.
But honestly, none of those issues are more than minor irritations. I really, really love this car; I can see why so many owners like them so much.
PS Sports Car Hire Shrewsbury are great - friendly, reassuring, and fair - I wasn't hit with any unexpected charges, just paid for the mileage I'd enjoyed. The 'data logging and monitoring' wasn't an issue - I enjoyed the car and pretty much pushed as hard as is sensible on the road in an unfamiliar car, and there wasn't a problem. I won't mention the speeds I did for obvious reasons, but just say it's not a barrier to enjoying the car and getting a good feel for it. The car was also cosmetically and mechanically A1 despite its six years and ~20k miles, it wasn't at all a tired and ratty example as I've heard of elsewhere. So yeah, a really good honest bunch of genuine enthusiasts. If you can justify the considerable cost, which they're entirely upfront about, otherwise it really is a great chance to enjoy getting to know a great car.
Edited by samoht on Tuesday 21st June 00:08
Remember this their baby sports series car as well and still a junior supercar.
Super series is next level again
Curledge said:
Glad you enjoyed and as akways a McLaren exceeds expectation.
Remember this their baby sports series car as well and still a junior supercar.
Super series is next level again
The resident bore...I'm shocked you didn't mention how great your 675LT Spider is and how it's value is rocketing.Remember this their baby sports series car as well and still a junior supercar.
Super series is next level again
Glad OP enjoyed the experience they are a great package at the money...taking mine to Spa and The Ring next week can't wait just hopeful the weather plays along!
RSbandit said:
Glad OP enjoyed the experience they are a great package at the money...taking mine to Spa and The Ring next week can't wait just hopeful the weather plays along!
Yeah, seem like a real bargain at +- £100k for how great they are.Funnily enough it did cross my mind yesterday, if it's this much fun on the Moors while keeping one eye out for sheep and the other eye out for Plod, I bet it would be great on a suitable track like Spa.
Hope you have a great time
RSbandit said:
Curledge said:
Glad you enjoyed and as akways a McLaren exceeds expectation.
Remember this their baby sports series car as well and still a junior supercar.
Super series is next level again
The resident bore...I'm shocked you didn't mention how great your 675LT Spider is and how it's value is rocketing.Remember this their baby sports series car as well and still a junior supercar.
Super series is next level again
Glad OP enjoyed the experience they are a great package at the money...taking mine to Spa and The Ring next week can't wait just hopeful the weather plays along!
[quote=samoht]
‘Thanks for the encouragement. Yesterday I went out around 8:30 - late enough for the roads to be quiet, early enough for it still to be sunny in the long June evenings. Went to Thirsk on the A170, back to Helmsley, north up the B1257, over to Blakey Ridge and back south down that off the moors.’
Perfect roads and timing, most of the tourists are home by then. I’m lucky enough to have the B1257 a couple of miles from my house. Sounds like you have really enjoyed the car, hope you can find one to own soon.
‘Thanks for the encouragement. Yesterday I went out around 8:30 - late enough for the roads to be quiet, early enough for it still to be sunny in the long June evenings. Went to Thirsk on the A170, back to Helmsley, north up the B1257, over to Blakey Ridge and back south down that off the moors.’
Perfect roads and timing, most of the tourists are home by then. I’m lucky enough to have the B1257 a couple of miles from my house. Sounds like you have really enjoyed the car, hope you can find one to own soon.
RSbandit said:
I'm shocked you didn't mention how great your 675LT Spider is and how it's value is rocketing.
If only I had a £1 for every person on here that knows that.No need for me to repeat it constantly when its a well known fact
Getting back close to list price values now so quite happy with 5 years FOC motoring in one of the worlds greatest cars of all time
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