I absolutely HATE writing negative reviews. However, our experience with Aloha Motorsports was so bad that I feel it's my responsibility to warn others. If you're even thinking of spending your money on this excursion, please read this review before you pull the trigger.
1. It's Pricey
We rented two slingshots for the entire day for just under $1,000. While that' was on the pricey side, we thought it would be worth it for a once in a life experience. Unfortunately, things went downhill from the moment we pulled out of the parking lot.
2. The GPS (i.e. the digital tour guide) Doesn't Work
The first issue we experienced is the GPS on one of our two cars simply didn't work. That might not seem like a big deal but when you're a tourist and have absolutely no idea where you're going, having a functional GPS is absolutely critical. Remember, the tours offered by Oahu Motorsports are self-guided. This means you are relying on the GPS to guide you from landmark to landmark as part of the excursion. Instead of enjoying our excursion, we spent the first 40 minutes driving around in circles trying to get the GPS to work.
Eventually, we decided to just have the one car with the working GPS take lead while the other followed. This only worked for 15 minutes as our party got separated by traffic on the expressway. This meant that the car without GPS was lost and without a way to continue the trip.
3. The Support Office Seldom Answers the Phone
After one of our cars got lost and was unable to continue the tour, we called Aloha and were unable to reach anyone. While we eventually got a callback, not being able to reach someone in the event of an emergency is frustrating and just plain dangerous. When they did call back they conducted a video call with us and confirmed that the GPS was not functioning. From there we were sent a text message with all the tour stops and advised to use our cell phones to navigate.
4. You Will FRY While Driving in the Hot Hawaii Sun
Since the slingshots are convertibles, we expected it to be a bit warm while driving. Unlike a regular convertible, however, slingshots don't have AC or any other fan/cooling system. You're also literally sitting 5 inches off the hot asphalt. This means you feel ALL of the heat radiating off the street. Simply put, if it's 85 degrees outside, riding in a slingshot will easily feel 10 - 15 degrees hotter.
To put things in perspective, one of our phones (i.e. the one we were using for navigation since the car's GPS was broken) began to overheat in the hot sun. Without working GPS in the car and on our phones, we were left circling around for another 45 minutes completely lost.
5. The Novelty Wears Off Quickly
The combination of the heat, breathing in exhaust from other cars, and the lack of working GPS means the novelty of driving a slingshot wears off quickly. In our case, we ended up returning our all-day rental after 4 hours of use. Of that 4 hour period, we were lost for just shy of 2 hours, stopped for lunch for 1 hour, and actually driving for 1 hour. In that hour we weren't able to find any of the recommended tour stops.
Simply put, we spent $1,000 to drive a slingshot for 1 hour.
To be fair, the company offered a 15% refund for the non-working GPS. However, when you can't even complete 10% of the promised tour, a 15% discount is a joke. read more