Advice Needed: 458 v 488 v 650s v 720s

I'm guessing there's going to be some comparison opinions already in the 458/488 section - might be worth a look

 

Agree. Lots to review there.

 

For those hating turbos and valuing a NA engine noise, the 458 is an obvious choice; for those who don't care about turbos but appreciate better performance, the 488 is the way to go.
The main difference between the 458 and 488 is in the engine character - high revving but with less mid-range torque in the 458, flatter power curve (with lower rev limit) in the 488. And a significant power advantage for the 488, but depending on the use, it may not be a compelling advantage.
A 720S is another step up in performance (and wipes out the flex issues of a spider thanks to its carbon tub), but it's not a Ferrari and some question its dependability.
This is my summary, probably as good as any AI-generated one - as noted above, deep review of the many existing threads should provide more detailed insights.

 

really hard choice between the 720s and 458 imo as both are incredible

i'd base the decision on styling, noise and lastly power

 

I like a car with a good amount of torque so the 458 is out (for a number of reasons). You should really add a Lamborghini to your list, the later Huracans and Aventadors are quite good and more reliable than other choices.

 

+1 for the 458 - driving experience is hard to beat

 

Again!?!?

 

Having driven the 488 Pista and a 750S back to back. Id say the 488 for how special the car feels and looks and sounds. The 750S is on another planet for performance driving position and handling beats anything I have ever driven one caveat to that is its feels very clinical and almost boring. I would pick 488 all day, just feels very special still no slouch on performance.

 

@BuyHighSellLow How is your 720? Selling the F8 anytime soon now that you have it?

 

458 is the easy choice there, way better looking than the Macs and sounds amazing. Plus its got that 9,000 RPM redline.

 

I have a 488 coupe and a 720S performance spider, both are stock. The McLaren is (to me) just a bit better in many ways: the steering is more precise, there’s more power, the body styling is more attractive, there’s a useable rear view camera, the active aero adds fun drama, and the shifts provide more wha-BANG when you’re driving hard. The (standard) 488 exhaust on my car honestly has a little drone to it if kept around ~3k RPM.

Strengths of my 488 include fantastic race seats, significantly more legroom, and a really nicely done leather interior. It’s still quite quick, fun to drive, and a keeper! But if I had to choose only one, it’d be the 720S.

 

Actually no,quite the opposite--Still only drove it once for 40 miles- I don't like it. It's gonna go bye bye..disappointing but it's ok. I think my nighbor will buy it from me. I wasn't tryig to compare it to the F8 but I just can't get ANY enthusiasm for the 720 because the F8 is so much better. oh well, everything is a life experience.

 

You only drove it one time…?

 

lol yeah... no desire to drive it again-- spent almost two months detailing it to perfection, inside and out-- polished and shampooed and everything you can imagine -- it's close to perfect now but i got no love for it. I'm surprised and maybe. bit disappointed but nothing I can do.

 

Thats sad

I would drive it again, maybe you will come around to it. One drive isn't a good barometer for the car. But if you are dead set on it, maybe you should let it go...

 

I’ve had the opportunity to cruise past a nearly silent McLaren in my 458S.
It is not for sale…

 

I have a 488 Spider and a 750S. If one had to go it would be the 488. The 750S is better or equal in everyway, looks, performance, quality (interior/exterior) and reliability. One pays an outrageous premium for the Ferrari brand. The 750S is the best bang for your dollar.

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Quality and materials are NOWHERE near as good on Mclaren as they are on Ferrari. The McLaren build quality is atrocious but I laugh about it. It doesn't upset me, it just makes me laugh. I spent the better part of last two months detailing, correcting, perfecting, polishing, refinishing mine in corners and areas most poeple don't even know exist lol... panel alignments and gaps, SO MANY plastic pieces that break, especially the trims around the rear glass, clips break, doors are aluminum but with fiberglass bottoms, headlight bezels impossible to line up given they made them in like 13 pieces lol, interior is just awful overall-, ok I'll stop.

I'm going to drive it more for sure. It's getting PPF now that it's all perfected. WIll be drivable Monday. But the drivability, looks, quality, reliability, power etc of the 720S are not even close to as good as the F8 -- even if you flip flop them and do 750S vs 488, I seriously doubt the McLaren 'wins' in any category.

 

Going from a 720S/F8 to a 750S/488 comparison certainly increases the performance gap in favour of the Mc.
During my last track day I was chasing a 720S with my 488 - whereas I could catch the 720S at braking and followed easily in the corners, at each straight line start the 720S was going away with no chance for the 488... I suppose an F8 would at least stay closer (maybe enough to overtake in the braking phase, but I'm not sure).

 

There is more quality variation in McLarens because they are hand built, up until 750s for sure. Build quality definitely started improving after Leiters came in and now it’s even better.

Not to say quality overall is better in Ferrari (sticky buttons, dash curl, orange peel, paint respray, etc), but definitely panel gap, and what I would say hey this was an easily avoidable qc thing which is present on one car and not another you saw a lot in 2018/2019 McLarens for sure.

Track performance or quarter mile, the 750 is going to beat the f8 or anything below it. On the street I don’t think it really matters stop light to stop light. As you can see here, some owners prefer one and some the other. And then there is a third group who likes teslas and we don’t talk about them.