McLaren 570S First Impressions

Had some time yesterday with the wife & kids away, so drove 50 miles to the new McLaren Houston dealership. Was very impressed by the friendliness of the people (salesman & GM) who took a guy seriously who drove up in a Kia Soul (daughter's car). Spent 45 minutes with them discussing various aspects. What a breath of fresh air compared to the local Ferrari dealership, who were all snooty buttheads who blew off multiple appointments when I was trying to buy a car from them a decade ago (have never walked in there since).

Going in, I was hoping a 650S spider would be the best fit for me. They have everything I'd want in a car and are depreciating hard enough that a sub $200k one is not far away (12 to 18 mths).

However, for a fat middle aged guy the ingress/egress was rediculous. Getting in was no problem, but I couldn't get my size 12 feet out through the narrow gap between the high sill and the frame. The seats didn't have the power on so I'm not sure if there would be an adjustment that would make egress easier. Car was beautiful inside and out,a shame that it doesn't work for me.

So we then try the 570S. Like others have said, the extra 3" of space between the sill and the frame made a big difference. Still more complicated than any other car I have tried out in the last couple of decades, but not a deal breaker.....just annoying.

The exterior of the car is just as beautiful as the 650S, but in different ways. I like the front and side of the 650S better but not by much, but the rear of the 570S is WORLDS better looking. The interior of the 570S was not as nice as the 650S clearly, but it was still fine.

So after walking around looking at various paint colors (the Ventura orange would be my choice), we discussed me coming back in the Fall for a test drive (brutal Texas Summer heat makes test drives miserable....was also asked if I wanted to drive a Huracan yesterday by Lamborghini Houston (also good people)).

McLaren gave me a catalog and price list and I went on my way. So looking at the price list presented another challenge. I thought I could order the car (no discount) and get a reasonable list of options and be at $200-205k.....wrong....LOL. To get a car with the options I want ($35k) puts it in the $220k-ish area. They really nickel and dime you. To contrast this with a competitor, you can get every option except active steering and paint to sample on an Audi R8 V10 Plus for $199k. Their option list is very short.

But a very pleasant experience, and I'll start driving things when the weather breaks.

 

Yeah saw one without next to one with, for me it made a difference so I included the $9k large exterior package in my estimate along with the $6K interior package.

If push came to shove, the exterior package would go first.

Agree, wish everyone would have less options like Audi....it really is deceiving.

 

The door inserts, not the full door panel

 

Most likely I will buy used, as my goal is to have the car in my garage with the first number starting with a 1.

Just thought if I could get close ($200k +tax) , getting a new car would be a welcome change for me.

As-is, looks like I might wait a year or so to see if the 570 might break the trend of high depreciation rates for McLarens.