Guides · Rental

How to drive a supercar for the first time, in Kuala Lumpur

Updated · By the Grandpride team, Petaling Jaya

Draft, not public. 1 question for Grandpride to answer before this is published, highlighted below.

Lamborghini Huracan

The power isn't the hard part. When you work out how to drive a supercar for the first time, the things that catch people out are the width, the view out, and how close the nose is to the ground, and in Kuala Lumpur they all come up within the first ten minutes: in the car park, on the ramp out, at the first speed bump. So go through this list in order, and give the first half hour to learning the car rather than enjoying it.

If you haven't picked a car yet, pick an easy one. A car with all-wheel drive and decent visibility makes a first day much less tense. The Porsche 992 Carrera 4S, at RM 6,100 a day, is the natural first choice, and its all-wheel drive helps in the wet. If you want the full drama, a Lamborghini Huracán is from RM 6,100 a day; the Lamborghini list has every model and our guide to the Lamborghini rental price in Kuala Lumpur compares them.

Before you move

  1. Set the seat. Back against the seatback, wrists resting on top of the wheel with your arms straight, and a slight bend in the knee with the brake pressed all the way down.
  2. Set the door mirrors so you can just see the edge of the car. Many supercars show you very little through the rear-view mirror, so the door mirrors do most of the work.
  3. Find the corners. Ask the person handing over the car to stand at each front corner while you look, so you know where the car ends.
  4. Check the doors before you open them in a tight bay. The McLaren 570S has dihedral doors that swing up and out, and the Lamborghini Aventador has scissor doors; both need space beside and above the car.
  5. Ask how to start it. Often it's foot on the brake, then a button.
  6. Ask how to select drive and reverse. Reverse is often a separate button or pull switch rather than a lever position.
  7. Ask how to leave the gearbox in automatic, and do that for the first drive. Most modern supercars use an automated or dual-clutch gearbox with paddles, and every brand lays the controls out differently.
  8. Ask which drive mode is the softest, and start in it.
  9. Ask how to open the fuel flap and, if the car has one, how to raise the front.

Pulling away

  1. Use a light foot. Throttle response is sharp, and gentle inputs get you moving smoothly.
  2. Leave launch control and track modes alone. They belong on a racing circuit, never a public road.

Ramps, speed bumps and kerbs

This is where supercars get damaged, and it happens at walking pace.

  1. At speed bumps, slow nearly to a stop and, where it's safe, cross at an angle, one front wheel at a time.
  2. Take ramps and driveways at an angle too. Hotel driveways and mall car park ramps in KL can be steep where they meet the road.
  3. If the car has a front-axle lift, raise it before the ramp or bump and wait for it to finish rising.
  4. Stop well short of parking kerbs. The front splitter overhangs the wheels and meets the kerb before the tyre does.
  5. Leave space to the car in front, so you can see debris and potholes coming.

In KL traffic, heat and rain

  1. In stop-start traffic, leave it in automatic and comfort mode and let it creep. Watch for motorcycles filtering between lanes, especially on your blind side; driving with motorcycles in KL explains what to expect.
  2. In long jams, keep the air-conditioning on and an eye on the temperature gauge.
  3. When it rains, slow down early. Malaysian downpours come fast and leave standing water, and wide tyres can lose grip on painted lines and puddles. No sudden throttle, and double the gap. Our guide to driving in the monsoon season covers aquaplaning and flash floods.
  4. Watch your speed. The car reaches the limit in seconds, and the cameras don't care what you're driving; see speed limits and AES cameras in Malaysia.

Parking

  1. Pick a bay at the end of a row, away from pillars, and avoid car parks with tight spiral ramps if you can.
  2. Use valet where the hotel has it, but walk the route with the attendant if the ramp looks steep.
  3. Parking in KL has more on the main malls and what to expect at each.

The rental side

  1. Plan your route against the mileage. Every rental includes 120 km a day; add 50 km, 100 km or unlimited if you're heading out of the city.
  2. Ask at handover which fuel grade the car takes, and bring it back at the fuel level you collected it at.
  3. Think about protection. On a supercar, a scraped splitter or a kerbed wheel is an easy mistake, and Grandpride Protection+ takes the excess to zero for damage and theft, glass and tyres included.
  4. Remember that only the named renter drives. If you'd rather enjoy the car from the passenger seat, or want a day built around it, see the supercar driving experience guide.
  5. Check age and licence rules before you book. The legal minimum for a car licence in Malaysia is 17, but rental companies set their own minimums for supercars, often higher; car rental age requirements explains how they work CHECK: minimum driver age and years of licence held for supercars.

Booking, delivery and the handover itself are in the supercar rental guide. If you're not sure which car suits a first drive, ask us before you book.

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