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I stopped by my local McLaren dealership yesterday to take a look. They had a great selection of cars, including a 600 LT. That was quite a car!
The 570S Spider was really fun to drive. It’s a gorgeous car, and it felt very comparable to my 991 Turbo S in terms of performance. It certainly has a more exotic feel than the Porsche, and the exhaust note from the McLaren was awesome. The steering feel in the McLaren was wonderful. I enjoyed the test drive. For me, the biggest downside was the cramped interior compared to the Porsche. I am 6’4”, and I felt cramped with the seat all the way back. I’m not sure I’d like to take that car on a long road trip. My Porsche is far superior in terms of interior space, ergonomics, and general comfort.
I’ll be keeping the Porsche, even though it’s easy to get seduced by the sexy, exotic curves of the McLaren.
At least you have a McLaren dealer nearby! I will be looking at McLaren the next time I'm ready to replace my TTS. Hopefully the dealer pricing and service will be more reasonable.
I wanted to look at them when I bought my TTS, but we didn’t have a dealership in Denver at that time. The closest dealership was in Scottsdale at that time, and that didn’t work for me.
I didn’t look at the 720 and compare it in terms of interior space. I prefer the look of the 570.
Honestly, I would not buy a 570S unless it was a dedicated track car. On the street it felt like an Avis rental. The engine felt underpowered at street RPMs, The controls where not intuitive, the nose lift would only go up and not down except when I went over 38 mph. However, when I drove it in track mode and got up into the high RPMs (with the top down) it would sing. Beautiful race car sound........but I never got it there in my regular commute. Handling and nimbleness was great and the doors are to die for. Definitely no motivation to leave either my TTS or Lambo behind for a 570S. The dealer will be giving me 720S to try for a few days which I hope will be a better experience. Here is a pic of the car I had parked next to my lambo….
Before I bought my TTS I went over to the local McLaren dealership. I must say they were very nice. They had me test drive a 570 S with less than 5000 miles on it. It was decently speced. It is a very exotic feel. I agree that the power low down was not there. In the upper range is it definitely felt fast. That’s said I did not drive it that long. I felt the ride was comfortable but no one more comfortable than our cars. I didn’t really like the feel of the brakes but I’m sure I could get used to it. As far as the interior was concerned that would also take some getting used to. I was not comfortable right off the bat with all of the controls, but again I was not used to it. I did have concern about the electronics failing and getting stuck with problems. I certainly felt more cramped but being about 5’10” I wasn’t overly crowded. I could easily see how someone taller could be. Obviously there are no backseats. The cost to get into the car was far more than what I ended up spending. However, the real issue I had was worrying about the car if I kept it out of warranty which I most likely would have. I realized that they do sell an extended warranty but I did not feel comfortable that I would be obligated to paying an additional $500 a month indefinitely, even after I paid the car off. I realize on this site we are all Porsche fans, but for my use I definitely felt like the TTS was a better fit. Of course if money was no object then I guess I might want a 720.
FYI, A friend just put up his nearly new 720S for sale as he is getting the upcoming Spyder model. In Montreal, Canada.
$388K Canadian = $294K US
2,953 Km = 1,830 mi.
The whole car is clear wrapped. Engine cover, air intakes and underside of rear spoiler were custom painted red/orange same as on the seats. https://www.autohebdo.net/a/McLaren/...c/5_41344799_/
FYI, A friend just put up his nearly new 720S for sale as he is getting the upcoming Spyder model. In Montreal, Canada.
$388K Canadian = $294K US
2,953 Km = 1,830 mi.
The whole car is clear wrapped. Engine cover, air intakes and underside of rear spoiler were custom painted red/orange same as on the seats. https://www.autohebdo.net/a/McLaren/...c/5_41344799_/
It doesn’t look like the spyder version will be out until April or May next year. I guess he’s not going to be driving the 720 during the winter anyway. Might as well sell it now and not lose another six months of depreciation and tying money up for six more months.
Us lucky TTS owners can put on snow tires and enjoy year round....as long as it is not too deep.
I have McLaren dealership within couple of miles. As great as 570S is IMO it's no comparison to my TTS. 720S might be different story, so I might need to test drive it. The Spyder version according to reviews is very special and definitely very interesting car.
I test drove the 570 spider version first then had a couple of goes at the 570S. I ended up trading in my 14' tts for it. I'm very happy with my decision. It really has an exotic look, feel and sound to it that my Porsche didn't have. As far as power, I'd give the Porsche thumbs up for the initial pull but once at speed I'd say the 570 pulls harder. Will do an exhaust upgrade this spring to wake a few of the lower rpm ponies up.
I test drove the 570 spider version first then had a couple of goes at the 570S. I ended up trading in my 14' tts for it. I'm very happy with my decision. It really has an exotic look, feel and sound to it that my Porsche didn't have. As far as power, I'd give the Porsche thumbs up for the initial pull but once at speed I'd say the 570 pulls harder. Will do an exhaust upgrade this spring to wake a few of the lower rpm ponies up.
Congrats on your new car, just curious are you planning to track the car at all?
You have to live with the Mclaren for a week to become familiar with the controls...once you do and they are familiar to you, the 570 becomes such an easy exotic DD...the 720 is the same. Yes you have to rev the car out a little for max performance, but thats kind of GT3 like in a sense just with more torque haha. The meridian system actually works great, the sound system is great and it really is an occasion to drive it. I LOVE my TTS, but the 570 is really cool.
Drove a 570s this weekend, didn’t like brakes feeling having to press too hard in the stop lights, it has lag at low rpm but then it goes fast. It is exotic but the plastics looks cheap, and with 7k miles started to make interior sound, really not comparable to a 911 TTS...just my two cents
At least you have a McLaren dealer nearby! I will be looking at McLaren the next time I'm ready to replace my TTS. Hopefully the dealer pricing and service will be more reasonable.
I know a dealer that would give you a great price on one.
I regret not at least researching and test driving a 570S. I didn't realize they started at $188k + options. A buddy of mine bought one and shipped it here to Honolulu. Only issue in Hawaii is there's no factory service department here.
The McLaren is appealing because of the use of exotic materials and manufacturing techniques and the flat plane turbo V8. But Porsche is great because it simply performs as well as, maybe better in some areas, than the 570S. I heard maintenance on the MP4-12C was pretty horrendous so that scared me a little with McLaren too.
11-11-2018, 10:26 AM
I test drove a McLaren 570S Spider yesterday
