Has anyone done long road trips - UK/EU
Discussion
Has anyone done long road trips across the UK or into Europe?
Were there anythings to note? obviously it adds a lot of miles but equally a lot of enjoyment/using the actual car. Have not done such trips with previous cars so have nothing to compare to.
Not currently an owner but looking at purchasing, would want to at least do some longer distance trips - was thinking therefore would not care too much about a higher mileage car (within reason) if I was going to add some miles to it
Were there anythings to note? obviously it adds a lot of miles but equally a lot of enjoyment/using the actual car. Have not done such trips with previous cars so have nothing to compare to.
Not currently an owner but looking at purchasing, would want to at least do some longer distance trips - was thinking therefore would not care too much about a higher mileage car (within reason) if I was going to add some miles to it
I did the NC500 in June (circa 1600 miles from Midlands) in my 570S. Averaged high 30s mpg on the motorway cruises up and down. Faultless* on entire trip through all types of weather. Biggest thing to watch for is pedestrians, oogling and wandering round it to take photos. Also going fast over some compressions you can bottom out and scrape the underside splitter easily. All good fun though!
Dont worry about the mileage, the cars are meant to be driven and typically more reliable as most issues appear in early mileage.
Dont worry about the mileage, the cars are meant to be driven and typically more reliable as most issues appear in early mileage.
- my aircon didn't work - had only just bought the car and didn't realise until the trip. Dealer regassed when i got back and has been fine since.
I've done a trip down through France and back from Geneva in my 2021 GT, although it did break due to getting unlucky and having a fuel pump issue. I also did a week long trip over in Ireland all around the South and West coasts (Cork, Ring of Kerry, Dingle, Galway etc) and that was amazing fun too.
I've done many more smaller trips of 3-500 miles a time over long weekends etc as well. They are built to be driven not to be museum pieces so act accordingly!
I've done many more smaller trips of 3-500 miles a time over long weekends etc as well. They are built to be driven not to be museum pieces so act accordingly!
Also in the 'looking to buy' camp, but I did put ~500 miles on a hired 570S, from Shrewsbury up to the far side of the NY Moors and back over three days. Echoing the above, I found it an entirely suitable car for road trips and definitely something I hope to do next year when I acquire one of my own.
I mean, it's not quite as refined as a say a newish Merc saloon, but it's better than most 90s cars so perfectly fine on long trips, I didn't feel the 'carbon tub' NVH was an issue at all.
Most recently, we did the MOC Italy trip in the 720S. Couple of thousand miles, mix of motorway and rural/mountain fun. Route selection matters. Get a toll transponder that works in France and your chosen countries. In Italy the right ones cover car parks as well. Factory cars will run fine on 95 - and there's often no 98 to be found off the motorways (or on them, in Italy). Rural petrol stations can close for lunch, and on Sundays, and if the owner is bored, so watch your fuel gauge - we were well below 10mpg in "spirited" driving. Accept that your front undertray will be history; they're only a couple of hundred quid. Don't spec carbon splitter or diffuser and expect to come back scuff-free. Pick your hotels with care if not on an organised trip - parking quality varies. Kwells work wonders if your passenger suffers from motion sickness. Italian speed limits are largely advisory, except in villages. French ones less so.
The main lesson I learned was that cheaping out and buying a Coupe was a retrospectively expensive mistake...
The main lesson I learned was that cheaping out and buying a Coupe was a retrospectively expensive mistake...
DRZ said:
I've done a trip down through France and back from Geneva in my 2021 GT, although it did break due to getting unlucky and having a fuel pump issue. I also did a week long trip over in Ireland all around the South and West coasts (Cork, Ring of Kerry, Dingle, Galway etc) and that was amazing fun too.
I've done many more smaller trips of 3-500 miles a time over long weekends etc as well. They are built to be driven not to be museum pieces so act accordingly!
I took an FF over to Ireland last Year which had a nose lift. how did you get to Ireland (Holyhead / Dublin)? as i'm keen to take my 720 at some pointI've done many more smaller trips of 3-500 miles a time over long weekends etc as well. They are built to be driven not to be museum pieces so act accordingly!
gazm said:
I took an FF over to Ireland last Year which had a nose lift. how did you get to Ireland (Holyhead / Dublin)? as i'm keen to take my 720 at some point
I did Liverpool to Dublin as it is 3 hours nearer to me and half the cost.I *ONLY JUST* made it up the ramp with nose lift up, I expect you'd also make it up in a 720S but you might have to reverse!
Comeal said:
I did the NC500 in June (circa 1600 miles from Midlands) in my 570S. Averaged high 30s mpg on the motorway cruises up and down. Faultless* on entire trip through all types of weather. Biggest thing to watch for is pedestrians, oogling and wandering round it to take photos. Also going fast over some compressions you can bottom out and scrape the underside splitter easily. All good fun though!
Dont worry about the mileage, the cars are meant to be driven and typically more reliable as most issues appear in early mileage.
Agree with this. Brilliant cars for a road trip. Comfy, practical and huge fun. Dont worry about the mileage, the cars are meant to be driven and typically more reliable as most issues appear in early mileage.
- my aircon didn't work - had only just bought the car and didn't realise until the trip. Dealer regassed when i got back and has been fine since.
Drove from Scotland to Marbella in a car do you realise how big France is? Seems to go for ever.
Would not do it again, meal and service in France motorway service station was dire. Motorway is boring and expensive in tolls. Not helped by express train seeming to pass you every half hour.
Overnight in Spanish motorway was unbelievable, waiter full tail coat, stated when in Spain we eat Spanish food and had the chefs special. Seemed to impress waiter when we complented him on the wine we were given another bottle FOC.
Pretty boring doing this journey, prefer to fly, read paper or book on flight with a drink and get to destination feeling fresh and ready for holiday
Would not do it again, meal and service in France motorway service station was dire. Motorway is boring and expensive in tolls. Not helped by express train seeming to pass you every half hour.
Overnight in Spanish motorway was unbelievable, waiter full tail coat, stated when in Spain we eat Spanish food and had the chefs special. Seemed to impress waiter when we complented him on the wine we were given another bottle FOC.
Pretty boring doing this journey, prefer to fly, read paper or book on flight with a drink and get to destination feeling fresh and ready for holiday
I've done many road trips down to Italy and all over the Alps. A lot were in TVRs, never broke down once. McLarens are ideal for such a trip, comfy, not too noisy cruising at 135kmh (plenty of speed traps in France and Belgium), and real fun once you get to the mountains. Also pretty economical on a cruise, you will easily get 30mph at a steady 75mph.
Do it.
Do it.
Done dozens, many in my old McLaren 12C. Plenty of space for luggage for 2 people for 2-3 weeks. The McLarens are ideal, they are so comfy and economical on the dull autoroutes yet fast and engaging in the twisty Alps. My 12C used to average over 30mpg on trips to the Alps / south of France / Italy. My 675LT will do 36mpg on the m-way.
The 12C / 650S / 570S / 720S are all perfect touring cars, the 675LT is a little too low and more visceral, ok for a lads trip but not with a wife or GF unless they are that way inclined.
I drove over 6k miles in Euro trips in my 12C without any issues at all and 10's of thousands of miles in other cars, mostly Porsches. Had a warning light once but took an OBD tool (Kiwi) and cleared it, it never came back. Also had a puncture but I take a plugging kit and foot pump and can repair them in 10 minutes. So that's my advice for any euro trip, tyre plugging kit, OBD tool and a toll route liber tag (emovis-tag.co.uk) so you can just waft through the tolls.
One of the best bits is planning the routes, this summer I did the Route des Grande Alps which includes 20 of the best cols / passes in the French Alps, although in an old Porsche not the McLaren. For a quick road trip 3-4 days you cant beat Interlaken and the Susten, Grimsel and Furka passes which can all be done in a big 3 hour loop. For longer the Dolomites around Cortina and the Passes Falzarego, Giau, Pordoi, Sella, Gardena are all stunning.
Then there is the Ardeche gorge, Mount Ventoux, romantic route in Bavaria and all the passes in Austria. So much to do. And then there is Spain.....
The 12C / 650S / 570S / 720S are all perfect touring cars, the 675LT is a little too low and more visceral, ok for a lads trip but not with a wife or GF unless they are that way inclined.
I drove over 6k miles in Euro trips in my 12C without any issues at all and 10's of thousands of miles in other cars, mostly Porsches. Had a warning light once but took an OBD tool (Kiwi) and cleared it, it never came back. Also had a puncture but I take a plugging kit and foot pump and can repair them in 10 minutes. So that's my advice for any euro trip, tyre plugging kit, OBD tool and a toll route liber tag (emovis-tag.co.uk) so you can just waft through the tolls.
One of the best bits is planning the routes, this summer I did the Route des Grande Alps which includes 20 of the best cols / passes in the French Alps, although in an old Porsche not the McLaren. For a quick road trip 3-4 days you cant beat Interlaken and the Susten, Grimsel and Furka passes which can all be done in a big 3 hour loop. For longer the Dolomites around Cortina and the Passes Falzarego, Giau, Pordoi, Sella, Gardena are all stunning.
Then there is the Ardeche gorge, Mount Ventoux, romantic route in Bavaria and all the passes in Austria. So much to do. And then there is Spain.....
We recently drove from the Midlands via the tunnel to the OH relatives in Brittany covering near on 2000 miles in a fortnight. Went with the 2 dogs and the OH new '21 dog waggon 320d Touring and it never missed a beat.
Just making sure all the usual things are covered like tyre pressures etc and it's a great way to learn your new car however old it is. It's also handy to take it in turn driving so one can concentrate on the driving bit and the other on the sat-nav, car menus etc.
Just making sure all the usual things are covered like tyre pressures etc and it's a great way to learn your new car however old it is. It's also handy to take it in turn driving so one can concentrate on the driving bit and the other on the sat-nav, car menus etc.
dng992 said:
Has anyone done long road trips across the UK or into Europe?
Were there anythings to note? obviously it adds a lot of miles but equally a lot of enjoyment/using the actual car. Have not done such trips with previous cars so have nothing to compare to.
Longest trip was Kent to Scotland. With hard driving in Scotland. No issues whatsoever.Were there anythings to note? obviously it adds a lot of miles but equally a lot of enjoyment/using the actual car. Have not done such trips with previous cars so have nothing to compare to.
Plus I did about 3,000 miles in the first 3 months of ownership from new. Zero issues.
Tracked it at Brands. No issues.
Car appears to be bulletproof so far.
I did a week-long trip this Summer - through the tunnel then to Spa, before onward to spend a couple of days in the Black Forest. Some beautiful roads and scenery in the BF, albeit all the major roads were busy and they have lowered the limits on a number of them. Following that we travelled to the Swiss alps for a couple of nights and did many of the Alpine passes. We were up at 5am which is very worthwhile - the roads become busy later but we had a good 3-4 hours in the morning with quiet roads and breathtaking views.
The roads throughout Germany and Switzerland were generally excellent - smooth and fantastic to drive. We met a lot of bikers and other car enthusiasts along the way. I am definitely going back next year.
My 720 was perfect for the trip - comfortable for 7-10 hours driving each day and made the most of the interesting roads.
My advice would be don’t worry about mileage - you are a long time dead and experiences / memories like these are what makes life good.
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The roads throughout Germany and Switzerland were generally excellent - smooth and fantastic to drive. We met a lot of bikers and other car enthusiasts along the way. I am definitely going back next year.
My 720 was perfect for the trip - comfortable for 7-10 hours driving each day and made the most of the interesting roads.
My advice would be don’t worry about mileage - you are a long time dead and experiences / memories like these are what makes life good.
Mercdriver said:
Drove from Scotland to Marbella in a car do you realise how big France is? Seems to go for ever.
Would not do it again, meal and service in France motorway service station was dire. Motorway is boring and expensive in tolls. Not helped by express train seeming to pass you every half hour.
Overnight in Spanish motorway was unbelievable, waiter full tail coat, stated when in Spain we eat Spanish food and had the chefs special. Seemed to impress waiter when we complented him on the wine we were given another bottle FOC.
Pretty boring doing this journey, prefer to fly, read paper or book on flight with a drink and get to destination feeling fresh and ready for holiday
I get it, but is it not missing the point? It's Pistonheads.Would not do it again, meal and service in France motorway service station was dire. Motorway is boring and expensive in tolls. Not helped by express train seeming to pass you every half hour.
Overnight in Spanish motorway was unbelievable, waiter full tail coat, stated when in Spain we eat Spanish food and had the chefs special. Seemed to impress waiter when we complented him on the wine we were given another bottle FOC.
Pretty boring doing this journey, prefer to fly, read paper or book on flight with a drink and get to destination feeling fresh and ready for holiday
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