So I drove a McLaren Artura yesterday and I won't go into all the awesome details or a full review of that car, but I wanted to quickly compare it to the Emira I drove last weekend.
First of all, the Artura is a hybrid supercar with nearly 700HP, flappy paddles only, and costs ~3x as much as an Emira FE. However, the Emira weighs about nearly ~300lbs less.. So there's that.
Just driving normally I felt like the Artura was just as exciting to be in control of, but with much more potential. Felt like I was getting a lot of attention from other drivers while in both cars. The Emira made me feel like I was driving an exotic supercar (which some argue is correct).
I was able to take the Artura through some hills and twisties which I didn't get to do with the Emira. As soon as I opened it up I realized this was a car that needed to be respected. It has the power to easily get away from an inexperienced driver (especially with the twin turbo torque curve). Thankfully I've driven many high power vehicles and knew how to control it (and myself). The Emira on the other hand would almost be more fun on the back roads because it can actually be revved out at full throttle without getting sideways. It's manageable power and still sounds fantastic. Also, I felt more engaged with the Emira due to the manual transmission. I don't have any issues with dual clutch cars and respect those who opt for an auto Emira, but there's no denying 3 pedals and a manual shifter is more engaging. My daily driven and occasionally tracked GTI has a tuned DSG trans and on par with Porsche's PDK. It's extremely fast and responsive, but flappy paddles get boring... Even on track. Trust me.
Getting in and our of the Emira is easier. The verticle doors on the McLaren make it a little more supercar and exciting to look at, but it's still a little tricky to get out of since the seats sit lower than the sills and you gotta kinda lean into the huge door jamb to get out somewhat gracefully. Oh and seats? The Emira's are nicer. At least when compared to the comfort seats in the Artura I drove. There are buckets available, but I've sat in those in a 720s and a Senna (did I mentioned there was a Senna there? And a P1 GTR. And a Speedtail...
) and they aren't comfortable or needed in anything except a track car. The carbon backs are cool to look at though.. Just like the 918 Spyder carbon buckets available in various Porsche GT cars.
And guess what? Both cars have their quirks. Even at $300k, the McLaren has little things here and there that I'm sure forum obsessed fanboys and fangirls have torn apart and complained about since the initial reveal. For example.. The reverse cam displays on the driver's screen and gets blocked if you turn the wheel at all to back into a space. Kinda silly...
Another thing they have in common is there are hundreds sitting in a warehouse waiting on something small like a chip or other small part before finally being released to the customers. It's happening to everyone I guess...
First of all, the Artura is a hybrid supercar with nearly 700HP, flappy paddles only, and costs ~3x as much as an Emira FE. However, the Emira weighs about nearly ~300lbs less.. So there's that.
Just driving normally I felt like the Artura was just as exciting to be in control of, but with much more potential. Felt like I was getting a lot of attention from other drivers while in both cars. The Emira made me feel like I was driving an exotic supercar (which some argue is correct).
I was able to take the Artura through some hills and twisties which I didn't get to do with the Emira. As soon as I opened it up I realized this was a car that needed to be respected. It has the power to easily get away from an inexperienced driver (especially with the twin turbo torque curve). Thankfully I've driven many high power vehicles and knew how to control it (and myself). The Emira on the other hand would almost be more fun on the back roads because it can actually be revved out at full throttle without getting sideways. It's manageable power and still sounds fantastic. Also, I felt more engaged with the Emira due to the manual transmission. I don't have any issues with dual clutch cars and respect those who opt for an auto Emira, but there's no denying 3 pedals and a manual shifter is more engaging. My daily driven and occasionally tracked GTI has a tuned DSG trans and on par with Porsche's PDK. It's extremely fast and responsive, but flappy paddles get boring... Even on track. Trust me.
Getting in and our of the Emira is easier. The verticle doors on the McLaren make it a little more supercar and exciting to look at, but it's still a little tricky to get out of since the seats sit lower than the sills and you gotta kinda lean into the huge door jamb to get out somewhat gracefully. Oh and seats? The Emira's are nicer. At least when compared to the comfort seats in the Artura I drove. There are buckets available, but I've sat in those in a 720s and a Senna (did I mentioned there was a Senna there? And a P1 GTR. And a Speedtail...
) and they aren't comfortable or needed in anything except a track car. The carbon backs are cool to look at though.. Just like the 918 Spyder carbon buckets available in various Porsche GT cars.And guess what? Both cars have their quirks. Even at $300k, the McLaren has little things here and there that I'm sure forum obsessed fanboys and fangirls have torn apart and complained about since the initial reveal. For example.. The reverse cam displays on the driver's screen and gets blocked if you turn the wheel at all to back into a space. Kinda silly...
Another thing they have in common is there are hundreds sitting in a warehouse waiting on something small like a chip or other small part before finally being released to the customers. It's happening to everyone I guess...
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