Driving a Lamborghini Huracan

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Last Sunday I was lucky enough to be given the keys to a 2017 Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4.



Yes, the front lift was up for this shot. Rookie error.

My girlfriend had organised this drive as a surprise for my birthday as she knows how much of a car nut I am, especially when it comes to supercars.

Obviously I was not disappointed. Through watching many many hours of videos on YouTube I already had an in-depth understanding of how the car worked and the location of all the buttons and drive modes - Except for the damn indicator which took some getting used to.

Looking at the car, it was spec'd just like my XR6T. Black on black on black. That was hopefully a foreshadow that one day I too would own one these machines

Hopping in the car was a small challenge in itself. The seating position was incredibly low and it felt like I was sitting on the road. The seat itself was actually quite comfortable with electronic adjustments in all directions (except for sideways).

The electronic dash was stunning with all the information right in front of you. Not to mention that sweet sweet redline of 8500rpm.



On start-up, the car growled into life. In Strada mode the car is actually fairly tame with the valves shut. You can hear the sweet purr of the 5.2L V10 idling away. As I wanted some exhaust clips and to scare the living daylights out of my girlfriend, I flicked the car into Corsa mode. What a difference that makes. It's like removing the muzzle from a barking German Shepherd.

The revs climbed and the valves opened. A few blips of the throttle was enough to have her run back and give her ears a break (the video below doesn't quite do it justice).

Exiting the garage onto a busy city road was daunting. It can be bad enough in a $20k Falcon, let alone a $400k Italian supercar. Pulling out in Strada mode, the first thing I noticed was how uncomfortably light the steering felt. Attempting to accelerate up to the 60km/h limit was a small challenge in itself. The accelerator and brake are incredibly and awkwardly close together. However, the pedals themselves are way off to the left which meant I had to sit quite awkwardly and prepare for the hamstring cramp that was about to begin.

Within one minute of driving we were straight into the Burnley Tunnel. I flicked the car into sports mode as that opens the valves and maximises the overrun. Merging meant that I had to head check a million times as the blind spot due to the huge C pillar meant visibility was pretty bad. Merging was successful, however, I was the idiot that couldn't work out how to turn the indicator off. I quickly discovered that a firm downward press of the indicator button on the steering wheel was required.

This is where the fun begins. Very close to the top of my bucket list was to take a Lamborghini through a tunnel. One pull of the paddle and the car goes from 4th to 3rd - cracks and bangs ensue - similar to what you'd hear from your local gun range. Heads turn, people smile and windows go down. You definitely feel like a rock star driving this thing. People are waving at you, giving the thumbs up, hanging out of their windows to see the car - it's certainly an experience that would make anyone smile.

I took the car out from the city and onto the Monash Freeway out to Dandenong and back again. Unfortunately, the traffic was actually quite heavy with a strong police presence which meant that I had to be on my best behaviour. I managed to get a few full throttle pulls in - but the sound and experience is what makes this car amazing.

The video below is some of the accelerations and sounds from my drive. It was filmed from my phone's front facing camera so the quality isn't superb.



How does it compare to the Falcon?

Apples and Oranges but I will try and offer a break down of the comparison.

Steering and Handling

I wasn't a big fan of the steering feel in the Lamborghini. In Strada it is far too light and offers little feedback. In Sport mode, it is much heavier and felt about right with similar weight to the Falcon. In Corsa mode it is heavier again and probably not needed for street driving.

The steering in the Falcon is actually quite good and offers better feedback than the Huracan.

The handling is not even on the same planet. The Huracan is firm but thanks to the Magneride it actually rides better than my Falcon. Although mine is lowered, I was pleasantly surprised at the ride quality of the Huracan. On sweeping bends, the Huracan remains flat. There is very little to no body roll and it is very confidence inspiring.

Power and Acceleration

Unfortunately, I didn't get to launch the Huracan. However, I was able to give it some near full throttle runs off the line and some in-gear pulls. In Corsa, the car is twitchy and just wants to leap forwards at every little throttle input. The car is incredibly responsive. The Huracan hides its speed very well. I never truly understood what people meant by this statement until I drove this thing. It's so planted and puts the power down without a fuss that doing 100km/h feels like you're doing 40km/h in a Falcon. You just don't notice the speed.

The acceleration isn't brutal by any means. It's very linear and doesn't feel much faster than my XR6T. In gear, my 310rwkw XR6T feels much stronger between 2,000-4,000 RPM and it is actually a scarier car to drive than the Lambo (if you don't think of the price tag). Where the Huracan shines is at 4,500 RPM and onwards where that V10 symphony opens up and the aero can do it's thing. Also the braking is a million times stronger - not that I needed to test those much.

Sound

It's LOUD. With the sports exhaust fitted (I'm unsure if it was the factory sports option or an aftermarket system) this thing was obnoxiously loud when the valves were open. Just how a Lambo should be.

Obviously the Huracan sounds a lot better than the XR6T. Although a lot of the sounds are engineered in the Lambo, one pull of the paddle and a little change in the throttle input turned you into the automotive equivalent of Mozart or Beethoven. Amazing.

If you got this far, thanks for reading! If you love cars I would highly recommend getting behind the wheel of one of these machines, it really is an experience.