McLaren 720S review videos : summary of the main comments

For those who want to know what people say in their videos, without listening fully to them (they are all quite long... 10 to 15mn each), I will summarize below the main items from each video that I have published in my previous post. Regularly updated, together with the list of video updates.

Auto Express

• Ride quality and refinement are extraordinary
• Lovely steering
• Endless grip
• Great gearbox
• Great high speed balance
• Huge leap forward in all domains compared to the previous 650S
• Issue during test : warning light stopped it
• Conclusion : Brilliant

Autocar

• Great interior, perfect visibility
• Note same aural quality than the Ferrari 488
• Easy to drive and still exciting to drive
• Terrific steering, very good ride, great body control
• Ride and handling balance are best car in class
• Steering feel and weight are also best car in class
• Very tight body control on circuit in track mode
• Muted sound even with sport exhaust and track mode
• Brakes are sensational
• Sensational high speed stability
• Best ride and handling car in its class
• Good drift control, good fun
• Conclusion : Everyday usable supercar and it is very likely to be best car McLaren has ever made

CarFection

• Gearbox super quick & fantastic
• Amazing brakes (phenomenal)
• Great all around visibility, super airy feel
• Not so good : Average seats and some issues with soft close of the door (not operating 100% time)

Piston Heads

• Airy and open interior
• Very comfortable and refined, equivalent to 570GT
• More raw and angry than 650S ; there is savagery in this car, much more agressive
• Exemplary steering feel, lovely weight and feedback ; best in the business
• Power delivery is relentless
• Exemplary stability under braking
• Fun to drive, yet comfortable and quiet on the road
• It moves the game on and is not so far from hypercar
• Conclusion : Totally blown away

Supercar of London

• Not pro journalist
• High, monumental expectations, statistics are hypercar level
• Lacking the drama... too good. Everything is mental (speed, braking), sensational, except the emotion
• Very easy to drive, much better GT car than the 650S... but more GT than LT and so less emotional
• Would not sell Huracan for the 720S because has much more fun in the Lamborghini
• Has to concentrate too much, so much than cannot enjoy the car : so what ?!?!
• No crazy like an 675LT, this feels like a 720GT : this is not supposed to be LT replacement, so not a surprise !
• Too much visibility : ?!
• Exhaust too quiet
• Incredible speed but no sense of occasion
• In all terms, worst review I have heard so far. Worse for the car... but also for the reviewer. I think he didn't get what McLaren is trying to achieve with it and the philosophy of the brand. But I can understand that some potential buyers would be turned off for exactky the same reasons. They may just not be the target customer.

Mr JWW

• Not pro journalist
• 675LT was the first experience of this reviewer in a McLaren
• The 720S is the successor of the 650S, it is important to say
• Great gearshifts
• Relentless acceleration
• No sports exhaust system fitted to this specific test car
• Brakes pack more punch than LT and the car not frightening thanks to the brakes whose power is on par with the acceleration
• Good looking, looks better in real than in pictures, work of art ; form is fabulous
• Lovely interior
• Had to go to hypercar territory a few years back to get this level of performance
• Conclusion : Best all round daily driver supercar you can buy. As a complete package, best car you can buy... but doesn't give enough goosebumps. It's not a week-end car. It blurrs too much the lines between GT and Hypercar.

Drive Tribe

• Very practical doorss when parked next to another car, easy to get inside the car.
• Better suspensions than 650S, without the floating attitude but still a high level of filtration
• Great visibility
• Suspensions allow to carry speed on B roads regardless of the surface
• Mind boggling accelration, response not as good as a naturally aspirated engine
• Gearshift is sensational, very fast
• Good bucket seats, great driving position with them
• Very high limits
• Engine sound not really inspiring - McLaren is capable of better (675LT)
• Comparable to 911 Turbo for its philosophy and everyday usability - this is a usable supercar

Seen through glass

• Not pro journalist
• Driving 540C and has not driven the 720S on the track (similar situation as other Youtubers) and could not carry enough speed on the road
• Bad air-conditionning - not very hot outside but still sweating a lot inside
• Draws a lot of attention on the road from bystanders
• Baby hypercar
• Incredible cruiser, nice place to be thanks to a lot of glass around
• Ride very smooth
• Mind-bendingly quick
• Fantastic brakes
• The car feels too complete, not silly enough. It's too good !
• Conclusion : Best car for money - but is it the car you want for that money ?

Autotrader

• Very nice interior, with limited quantity of plastic
• Large glass surface, which generates a great all around visibility
• Infotainment touchscreen not very convenient to navigate through and does not operate always as you want
• Driving position is spot on
• Ride is sensationally smooth while still allowing to go through corners at incredible speeds
• Power is relentless and power modulation easy through the pedal
• Not possible to get near the car's limits on the road
• Car feels always stable, whether on acceleration or under braking, even on the bumpy track
• Steering is super fast, direct and responsive
• Conclusion : Car is worth every penny it costs

Autoblog

• Shockingly, scaringly fast
• Incredibly responsive
• Lack of character on the road : Doesn't have so much character on the road, quiet and subdued and engine doesn't sound that good
• Shows its real potential or personnality on the track
• Conclusion : Best McLaren to date

Seb Delanney

• Not pro journalist
• Foreword : Sports exhaust on the car
• Great interior, massive step-up compared to previous car or competitors
• Hypercar fast for supercar price... kept on repeating this all along the review
• Brakes are unreal
• Doesn't sound good enough, doesn't convey enough emotions
• Gearbox not emotional ?! But technically exceptionnal : I can't understand what they look for, old single clutch ?!
• Daily hypercar : Usable daily driver car, not terrifying to drive around, super easy to see out of
• Has not driven a car with such a wide palet of ability
• Conclusion : Best car on sale from a mechanical machine point of view but McLaren needs to add drama to the car. This is not a car for a Lamborghini Aventador's customer for instance.
• Ends up kind of comparing the lack of emotions on the 720S to the GT-R if I got it correctly
• First or second worst review I looked at so far. Boring, crappy sound (speech covered by engine sound). I suffered to reach the end of the 20mn review - McLaren deserves better than this !

Car Throttle

• Not pro journalist
• Several critics not related to emotions
  • Optional bucket seats are not very comfortable
  • Very good daily as long as you know where you go because the car won't know for you... poor satnav !
  • Must be firm on the brake pedal
• Front end is stunning
• Great visibility (360 view)
• And again something is missing... too safe, too capable, too clinical

Shmee

• Not pro journalist, previous/current owner of multiple McLarens (currently 675LT Spider)
• Quieter, more comfortable than LT ; this is more a GT car than the LT
• Great visibility, 360, you can see everything around you, very nice front visibility, almost no blindspot, Mclaren's trademark
• Optimum setting is sport mode
• Car designed to be used everyday because many McLaren's customers are doing so
• Better ergonomics than 650S
• Doesn't have the excitement of the track version (675LT)
• It sits between 650S & 675LT and is designed to be used daily
• Exciting to drive, more feedback than in the 650S
• Much quieter than LT, more relaxing for long drive
• Brilliant for a road car, very practical
• No deposit, no plan to sell currently the 675LT Spider

Shields Drives

• Suspension is amazing... only thing worth reporting from otherwise a bland report !

Not worth looking at !

Baron Von Grumble

• Sounds amazing
• Loving it, it's mental
• Would be undriveable without electronics, there is so much power !
• Can still cope with bad road conditions on its hardest setting

He paired with Shields and was equal in mediocrity... don't look at this video !

Drive Tribe

• McLaren have always been practical and the 720S is practical
• Doors are practical, don't need a lot of space to open
• Easy to get inside
• Incredibly slim pillars, great overall visibility
• Even with sports exhaust, engine sound is very limited into the cabin at low speed
• Great damping, "refined"
• You can carry speed almost regardless of the surface on B roads thanks to great suspensions
• Huge acceleration, like teleporting between corners
• Great transmission
• Great bucket seats, would take them over the standard seats
• Very high chassis limits
• Lack of engine note charisma
• Steering a little too light
• You appreciate the design better in person
• It isn't as spine tingling as the 675LT
• It is a little like a 911 Turbo, a usable supercar with everyday GT credentials
• It is ridiculously fast