Driving Modes

One of the beautiful features of all the McLaren range is the ability to dynamically adjust the driving style of the vehicle from the driver's seat.

There are a few combinations of how these controls can be set, and often I see people discussing these modes and it becomes clear that not everyone is aware of exactly how they operate or what they mean.

The manual describes them as follows:

With specifically the Handling Options:

And the Power Options:

It's very 'McLaren' in terms of how it's written, which isn't for everyone. So here is my own take on the modes and how they impact the driving feel and operation of the vehicle in real terms.

The handling options are literally about two things - Suspension being Soft, Medium, Hard (or in the case of the 600 these are: Medium, Hard, Brutal) - as well as the setting for the ESC when you place it into dynamic mode. Now this one is quite important, because there are actually several different modes for ESC to operate in:

ESC On / Normal

The car is in maximum safety (and comfort) mode.

ESC On / Sport

The car is firmer but will all the safety features enabled.

ESC On / Track

The car is in full track mode, you will feel every stone on the road, but all the safeties will still make sure to save you.

ESC Dynamic Options

When you try to disable ESC in Normal mode, it will deny you. You cannot go into Dynamic ESC mode here either. This feature exists to prevent unwanted disablement of ESC features during non-active chassis modes by mistake.

So, the first option for lowering the aggressiveness of the ESC is under 'Sport' mode:

ESC Dynamic / Sport

In there you get the medium suspension setting, which is still OK on the road, along with a degree of wheel slop being allowed. This is my personally preferred mode of operation. Particularly in the wet/cold/damp where full ESC-off demands absolute respect of the throttle. The car will let you have a bit of play in the rear, but will quickly cut the power as soon as you get both wheels spinning and a little bit of sideways lateral movement.

ESC Dynamic / Track

In this mode the suspension goes up to track levels, and it also backs off the ESC even further. I suspect this is to compensate for the additional lateral control gained by the stiffer bump handling that comes with Track levels of dampening. This ESC level will still try to catch you, but if you throw it hard enough you will get it all the way around!

ESC Off (Track and Sport modes)

The next stage is to disable ESC entirely. This works in both Sport and Track modes, and requires the double press and long hold of the button.

In this mode there are no power-limiting features at all. The engine is free to rev/power as much as it likes. It is worth pointing out however that all of these modes (including being in full ESC Off) will never prevent the active braking that occurs in order to balance the power across the (open) rear differential wheels. The active differential feature is always in place to try it's best to keep a balance across the axle. Whether you are going in circles on the spot, or backwards into a hedge, the wheel braking will always be there making sure that both wheels are equally responsible for what's happening.