Hi there
So I handed back the Artura at the weekend and collected my 600 LT Spider after having it's coolant recall done, so some thoughts on the Artura:
Looks and sound
I personally feel it is a very good looking car, end of day McLaren don't make bad looking cars. The design is more sleeker than previous models and their manufacturing process has changed, this is supposedly to eliminate the corrosion issues that many McLarens tend to suffer, also to support this McLaren have lifted the 5yr corrosion warranty upto ten years now on the sport series, which Artura is currently the model, all super series are and still are ten year corrosion warranty. For myself though it is a good looking car, it simply does not have the drama my 600 LT has, both side by side the Artura kind of looks a little plain but the 600 LT does in some cases look more hyper car than super car, I many a time have had people ask me if my 600 LT is a P1 million pound plus car. The next Artura to come will be the Spider, due next year, I hope there will be an LT or R version announced later next year or 2025.
The sound of the Artura is nothing particular special, the one I borrowed had the sports exhaust, not sure what that means but on the whole the car was pretty quiet, on over-run it did very similar gurgles to what my BMW M2 OG does but quieter and in the cabin there did not seem to be any piped in noise and the hard acceleration sound just seemed a bit meh, especially coming from the 600 LT which sounds absolutely incredible for the occupants.
An Artura for me is not off the cards in maybe a year or two when they can be had for around 120-130k, a car in my specification would be 250-300k brand new, so these things do some serious depreciation, but if I was to spec one would be something like this:
The looks I suspect is McLarens goal to broaden the appeal the car has to more customers as in a grey/black colour they fall under the radar and become very 911 turbo like, for those who want to try and avoid attention, so get why the looks are less in your face.
Looks 7/10
Sound 4/10
Powertrain and drivetrain
This for me is where the Artura has really moved the game on, been a PHEV you get about 20 miles electric only range with a top speed of around 75mph, it is not fast at all in this mode, 0-30mph is OK but anything above 40mph is slow going, the electric motor is pretty loud and whines a lot, nothing artificial just real noise, but I did find it very relaxing to drive in electric after a good A/B road thrashing, really helps you calm down and relax whilst passing through towns or dealing with traffic, even 20mph Wales limits caused me no rage, just plod along at 20mph on electric in automatic, easy peasy.
The car also has a hybrid and sports mode which use the battery more for mpg but I found McLaren has not got EV/ICE combo as seamless as Ferrari in the 296, as such I found just flicking between electric and full track mode which aims to keep the battery at maximum charge and give you maximum performance from it, the best driving experience in the car, in full track mode and having some proper fun on the b-roads it was returning 12-14mpg, on the more flowing faster A roads the average was around 20mpg, which for near 700HP is fantastic.
Acceleration is superb, 0-60mph whether just stomping the loud pedal or using launch control is very quick, it fires of the line with huge aggressive, quicker than anything I've driven before both EV and ICE, official 0-60 times are around 2.5s, but it is just the brute force of it and it been RWD, in fact using launch control I found the car got rather sideways on a few attempts on the 1-2 shift, could potentially catch some out, but I like a car to involve the driver, rather than do it for me. Punch the acceleration in 2nd gear at 30mph and the punch is crazy, like the faster Tesla's but unlike a Tesla that punch never stops, it is relentless, blink and your into triple digits, properly quick, quarter mile is under 10.5s at over 130mph.
Gearbox is superb, it is an 8 speed, with instant response up and down, but not very dramatic, in fact seamless in every mode which was a little disappointing as my 600 has seamless in comfort, ignition cut in sport for drama and inertia push in track mode to performance and balance. On a run using the engine at 70mph in 8th gear the car was returning 40+ mpg. In LC mode however and keeping the gearbox in auto, then the car did inertia push on gear shifts, but only when using launch control, it felt great, just wish it did this in manual in track mode also.
Now the big introduction with the Artura is something Ferrari has been doing for years, a differential that works a treat, even better we now have VDC (variable drift control) with 15 settings, of course I maxed it out on 12-15 for most the time and it allowed really big slip angles and great control of course everytime this happened it was purely accidential and an officier of the law was quite impressed with my roundabout hoonigan skills, no points and no telling on on the basis he could take a look.
In short the hybrid gives instant power/torque in any gear, even boot it in 5th gear, 2000rpm, the car just takes off with great acceleration, the V6 revs out to 8500rpm and is keen to hit redline, the gearing is long (80mph 2nd and 110+ ion 3rd) but due to the power and instant torque the gearing feels mega short it is only when you look down upon the speedo and you realise how fast your going and your like wooops sorry. Then the differential aids traction, control and of course fun factor.
In short the power train is a 10/10, simply epic, not quite as monster fast as the 296 but damn close!
Handling & feedback
Another area the Artura excels in, the hydraulic steering rack has been carried over, so McLaren are still kings of steering in the supercar segment and pretty much any car for that matter, they also don't put any buttons on the steering wheel, fantastic! Steering is simply god like! Next the suspension is perfectly judged, comfort is well comfortable great in towns and nasty road surfaces, ensuring a comfortable ride. Sport is what I pretty much kept the car in, seems perfectly judged to a British B road, pot holes/bumps are soaked up and the car is not un-settled, in fact for how crazy powerful the Artura is I'd say it is also one of the very best cars dampening wise I've ever driven on a British B road, I am sure the move up in tyre size to 235/35/19 and 295/35/20 also helps as well as the car has plenty of tyre sidewall. Track mode is a big step on and though I will drive my 600 LT in track mode on the road sometimes, mainly to try and stop it from bottoming out due to been very low, the track mode in Artura was very harsh so as name suggest reserved for track. Obviously been a carbon tub car, the Arture for a hybrid is still a lightweight in this segment at around 1500kg
Like the powertrain you can set the suspension independent to one of the above irrelevant of what powertrain setting you use, you can also select manual or automatic gears and in manual mode its a true manual, won't change up at limiter etc. Press ESC DYN puts traction control into a more slippery setting and this is where you can then also enable the VDC which has 15 settings, as mentioned under powertrain.
In short handling, steering, feedback are again all a masterpiece, the brakes are also superb as well, maybe not quite as mental as the 600 LT's but crazy powerful with perfect modulation without any gabbiness.
So handling, steering and brakes is another 10/10 !
Interior & Conclusion
The interior is a nice place to be, this car had the Clubsport seats which are compatible with harnesses and for my 5hr drive I was never uncomfortable, this is a car I could easily spend 8hrs a day driving in doing a European tour. The negatives for me was the actual quality of the interior seems less so than my 600 LT due to the use of plastic surfaces and touch points, now you can option more carbon fibre in the car and I'd say this is a must but even then my track focused model is just far more an event to sit in and the P1 buckets in the 600 LT really sit you on the floor and with bare carbon and suede interior the whole car feels rawer and more an event, something I really like about the 600 LT. As such the Artura interior I'd say is average, Ferrari do better interiors! The updated infotainment however is a big improvement so thumbs up there.
In short the Artura is awesome, it is the 911 turbo supercar of the world, with even more performance, better economy and far better handling feel and feedback. If it had a little more drama in the looks and sounded better I suspect I'd be trading my 600 LT in for one as the Artura is certainly a more useable car, massive frunk too and some space behind seats.
McLarens major issue with this car is the reputation, some have gone up in flames, lots of reliability issues are really hurting the Artura, I must say the three days I had my demo and 300+ miles the car never gave me fault and it only cost me like £120 in petrol to drive it 300 miles in an enjoyable way. Reliability concerns, looks and sound aside, to drive the Artura is the best car I've ever driven that does absolutely everything with ease, shopping, attack an A/B road, European tour and I am sure it is exceptional on track too.
Just to add my 600 LT Spider matches it in handling and feedback, only downsides been it can scrape on bad roads and it is far harder to enjoy a bit of slip and slide due to no instant torque or differential. Looks and sound wise 600 LT wins, performance wise the 600 LT is actually nearly as quick, just the Artura power delivery is better due to instant torque fill from batteries.
Anyway as a supercar you can drive everyday, anywhere for me Artura is the one, take it over any Porsche any day, far superior driving experience by miles and more an event than any Porsche too, what a car! If in a few years I've calmed down and want something a little calmer in looks and sound than a 458 or 600 LT I might find myself in an Artura especially as they will no doubt be in the 100-130k bracket, but I am hoping an LT or R version comes along, less weight, shorter gearing and more power, mental.
Some more pictures:
Yes was also so happy to be back in my car, roof down and a drive around Wales, such epic fun and a bigger event over Artura. As always impeccable service from McLaren Manchester.
So I handed back the Artura at the weekend and collected my 600 LT Spider after having it's coolant recall done, so some thoughts on the Artura:
Looks and sound
I personally feel it is a very good looking car, end of day McLaren don't make bad looking cars. The design is more sleeker than previous models and their manufacturing process has changed, this is supposedly to eliminate the corrosion issues that many McLarens tend to suffer, also to support this McLaren have lifted the 5yr corrosion warranty upto ten years now on the sport series, which Artura is currently the model, all super series are and still are ten year corrosion warranty. For myself though it is a good looking car, it simply does not have the drama my 600 LT has, both side by side the Artura kind of looks a little plain but the 600 LT does in some cases look more hyper car than super car, I many a time have had people ask me if my 600 LT is a P1 million pound plus car. The next Artura to come will be the Spider, due next year, I hope there will be an LT or R version announced later next year or 2025.
The sound of the Artura is nothing particular special, the one I borrowed had the sports exhaust, not sure what that means but on the whole the car was pretty quiet, on over-run it did very similar gurgles to what my BMW M2 OG does but quieter and in the cabin there did not seem to be any piped in noise and the hard acceleration sound just seemed a bit meh, especially coming from the 600 LT which sounds absolutely incredible for the occupants.
An Artura for me is not off the cards in maybe a year or two when they can be had for around 120-130k, a car in my specification would be 250-300k brand new, so these things do some serious depreciation, but if I was to spec one would be something like this:
The looks I suspect is McLarens goal to broaden the appeal the car has to more customers as in a grey/black colour they fall under the radar and become very 911 turbo like, for those who want to try and avoid attention, so get why the looks are less in your face.
Looks 7/10
Sound 4/10
Powertrain and drivetrain
This for me is where the Artura has really moved the game on, been a PHEV you get about 20 miles electric only range with a top speed of around 75mph, it is not fast at all in this mode, 0-30mph is OK but anything above 40mph is slow going, the electric motor is pretty loud and whines a lot, nothing artificial just real noise, but I did find it very relaxing to drive in electric after a good A/B road thrashing, really helps you calm down and relax whilst passing through towns or dealing with traffic, even 20mph Wales limits caused me no rage, just plod along at 20mph on electric in automatic, easy peasy.
The car also has a hybrid and sports mode which use the battery more for mpg but I found McLaren has not got EV/ICE combo as seamless as Ferrari in the 296, as such I found just flicking between electric and full track mode which aims to keep the battery at maximum charge and give you maximum performance from it, the best driving experience in the car, in full track mode and having some proper fun on the b-roads it was returning 12-14mpg, on the more flowing faster A roads the average was around 20mpg, which for near 700HP is fantastic.
Acceleration is superb, 0-60mph whether just stomping the loud pedal or using launch control is very quick, it fires of the line with huge aggressive, quicker than anything I've driven before both EV and ICE, official 0-60 times are around 2.5s, but it is just the brute force of it and it been RWD, in fact using launch control I found the car got rather sideways on a few attempts on the 1-2 shift, could potentially catch some out, but I like a car to involve the driver, rather than do it for me. Punch the acceleration in 2nd gear at 30mph and the punch is crazy, like the faster Tesla's but unlike a Tesla that punch never stops, it is relentless, blink and your into triple digits, properly quick, quarter mile is under 10.5s at over 130mph.
Gearbox is superb, it is an 8 speed, with instant response up and down, but not very dramatic, in fact seamless in every mode which was a little disappointing as my 600 has seamless in comfort, ignition cut in sport for drama and inertia push in track mode to performance and balance. On a run using the engine at 70mph in 8th gear the car was returning 40+ mpg. In LC mode however and keeping the gearbox in auto, then the car did inertia push on gear shifts, but only when using launch control, it felt great, just wish it did this in manual in track mode also.
Now the big introduction with the Artura is something Ferrari has been doing for years, a differential that works a treat, even better we now have VDC (variable drift control) with 15 settings, of course I maxed it out on 12-15 for most the time and it allowed really big slip angles and great control of course everytime this happened it was purely accidential and an officier of the law was quite impressed with my roundabout hoonigan skills, no points and no telling on on the basis he could take a look.
In short the hybrid gives instant power/torque in any gear, even boot it in 5th gear, 2000rpm, the car just takes off with great acceleration, the V6 revs out to 8500rpm and is keen to hit redline, the gearing is long (80mph 2nd and 110+ ion 3rd) but due to the power and instant torque the gearing feels mega short it is only when you look down upon the speedo and you realise how fast your going and your like wooops sorry. Then the differential aids traction, control and of course fun factor.
In short the power train is a 10/10, simply epic, not quite as monster fast as the 296 but damn close!
Handling & feedback
Another area the Artura excels in, the hydraulic steering rack has been carried over, so McLaren are still kings of steering in the supercar segment and pretty much any car for that matter, they also don't put any buttons on the steering wheel, fantastic! Steering is simply god like! Next the suspension is perfectly judged, comfort is well comfortable great in towns and nasty road surfaces, ensuring a comfortable ride. Sport is what I pretty much kept the car in, seems perfectly judged to a British B road, pot holes/bumps are soaked up and the car is not un-settled, in fact for how crazy powerful the Artura is I'd say it is also one of the very best cars dampening wise I've ever driven on a British B road, I am sure the move up in tyre size to 235/35/19 and 295/35/20 also helps as well as the car has plenty of tyre sidewall. Track mode is a big step on and though I will drive my 600 LT in track mode on the road sometimes, mainly to try and stop it from bottoming out due to been very low, the track mode in Artura was very harsh so as name suggest reserved for track. Obviously been a carbon tub car, the Arture for a hybrid is still a lightweight in this segment at around 1500kg
Like the powertrain you can set the suspension independent to one of the above irrelevant of what powertrain setting you use, you can also select manual or automatic gears and in manual mode its a true manual, won't change up at limiter etc. Press ESC DYN puts traction control into a more slippery setting and this is where you can then also enable the VDC which has 15 settings, as mentioned under powertrain.
In short handling, steering, feedback are again all a masterpiece, the brakes are also superb as well, maybe not quite as mental as the 600 LT's but crazy powerful with perfect modulation without any gabbiness.
So handling, steering and brakes is another 10/10 !
Interior & Conclusion
The interior is a nice place to be, this car had the Clubsport seats which are compatible with harnesses and for my 5hr drive I was never uncomfortable, this is a car I could easily spend 8hrs a day driving in doing a European tour. The negatives for me was the actual quality of the interior seems less so than my 600 LT due to the use of plastic surfaces and touch points, now you can option more carbon fibre in the car and I'd say this is a must but even then my track focused model is just far more an event to sit in and the P1 buckets in the 600 LT really sit you on the floor and with bare carbon and suede interior the whole car feels rawer and more an event, something I really like about the 600 LT. As such the Artura interior I'd say is average, Ferrari do better interiors! The updated infotainment however is a big improvement so thumbs up there.
In short the Artura is awesome, it is the 911 turbo supercar of the world, with even more performance, better economy and far better handling feel and feedback. If it had a little more drama in the looks and sounded better I suspect I'd be trading my 600 LT in for one as the Artura is certainly a more useable car, massive frunk too and some space behind seats.
McLarens major issue with this car is the reputation, some have gone up in flames, lots of reliability issues are really hurting the Artura, I must say the three days I had my demo and 300+ miles the car never gave me fault and it only cost me like £120 in petrol to drive it 300 miles in an enjoyable way. Reliability concerns, looks and sound aside, to drive the Artura is the best car I've ever driven that does absolutely everything with ease, shopping, attack an A/B road, European tour and I am sure it is exceptional on track too.
Just to add my 600 LT Spider matches it in handling and feedback, only downsides been it can scrape on bad roads and it is far harder to enjoy a bit of slip and slide due to no instant torque or differential. Looks and sound wise 600 LT wins, performance wise the 600 LT is actually nearly as quick, just the Artura power delivery is better due to instant torque fill from batteries.
Anyway as a supercar you can drive everyday, anywhere for me Artura is the one, take it over any Porsche any day, far superior driving experience by miles and more an event than any Porsche too, what a car! If in a few years I've calmed down and want something a little calmer in looks and sound than a 458 or 600 LT I might find myself in an Artura especially as they will no doubt be in the 100-130k bracket, but I am hoping an LT or R version comes along, less weight, shorter gearing and more power, mental.
Some more pictures:
Yes was also so happy to be back in my car, roof down and a drive around Wales, such epic fun and a bigger event over Artura. As always impeccable service from McLaren Manchester.
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