MCLAREN MP4-12C Spider Review

If you want to put on a show using McLaren’s MP4-12C Spider, you don’t have to burn one drop gasoline. Just park it with the top folded and leave the door open. We’re kidding, of course, but the idea is that the Spider keeps the MP4-12C Coupe’s dihedral doors. However, as part of the 2013 upgrade package, the annoying touch sensors on the doors, which made you look silly on many occasions, are gone. They’ve been replaced with two small buttons that make all the sense in the world.

The 12C Spider also comes with the same interior as the Coupe, adding just two buttons. The first controls the roof, while the second operates the rear window, which acts as a wind deflector. The true bonus is the fact that you can drive the car with the roof above your head and only lower the rear window. This way, you get the comfort of a coupe, but with enough added sensations to please you.

Alas, just like in the case of the Ferrari 458 Spider and the Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, this is actually the only way to drive the 12C Spider “with the top down”. You really can’t use any of these cars in the open top mode above 60 mph (96 km/h) or so, due to the wind intrusion. While many of the currents are kept outside the cabin, the remaining ones and especially the wind noise are a big issue.

The McLaren MP4-12C Spider does beat the Coupe at the practicality game though. Whereas the first will say “Stop!” after accepting 5 cubic feet (144 liters) of your goods under the bonnet up front, the Spider can take an extra 1.8 cubic feet (52 liters) of luggage. When the roof is up, you can use its stowage compartment (under the rear tonneau) for your own items, with McLaren even supplying two custom bags for this.

Having the interior of the Coupe means that you’ll feel the same amazement once you’ve managed to climb past the extra wide door entry sill. It’s interesting how this McLaren manages to make you feel at home despite being enough of a performance freak to include the driver and the passenger in the weight distribution equation.

Even though it offers one of the most original interior layout in the supercar world, the MP4-12C manages to be pretty friendly with your body. Thus, if you can live with the ingress/egress phases, the cabin of this McLaren allows you to use the car as often as you please.