Is the McLaren 570s A Future Supercar Bargain? (See How Much It’s Dropped In Value)

The McLaren 570s currently sits as the baby, entry-level McLaren. When new from a dealership it will cost you in the region of £150,000 before you start speccing any options.

This price is reasonably average for a new supercar, and £150k is still considered big money. However, since it’s debut in 2015, prices for the 570s have been creeping down, with models available now for under £98,000.

That is a depreciation of £52,000 (35%) in 3 years. Sitting under £100k the McLaren 570s is already a bargain for the performance you get back.

How Much Power Do You Get For Under £100,000

The 570s has the same 3.8 litre V8 twin-turbo engine as many other McLarens, with this iteration creating 562 horsepower and 443 pound feet of torque.

That amount of power is enough to get the McLaren from 0-60mph in just 3 seconds. And it can reach over 200 mph, which isn’t something many supercars under £100k can boast.

The Quirks Of Owning A McLaren 570s

If a McLaren is your first supercar purchase, there will be a fair few quirks that you will come across while living with it.

The first notable quirk is that you cannot actually access the engine fully. If you want to check on your engine in any other car, or simply take a peak at what it looks like, the general process is simple. You flip the bonnet release, open up the bonnet and voila, you have full access to your engine.

However if you have the desire to take a closer look at your engine in a McLaren, you will quickly come unstuck. Pushing the engine cover release button simply pops open a small flap, which gives you access to your oil and water. If you want to view more of the engine you have to manually unbolt the whole engine cover.

This is a very different approach to many other supercar manufacturers who like to showcase their engine. Heck, the Audi R8 even has lights in its engine bay to illuminate it every time you unlock the car.

Supercar Style Storage

When buying a supercar, one of the major compromises you have to make is storage. With the engine sticking out the rear of the car, the only storage space is in the front of the car, where a traditional engine would be.

This is one aspect where the McLaren really surprises. Upon popping the front storage compartment, there is actually quite a lot of space. You will even find a 12volt charger in here. Mainly due to the fact there isn’t a glove box, and therefor no charging point inside the car. At the very least this allows you to charge your phone while parked if needed.

Another big step away from the modern car interior luxury mentality comes in the lack of glove box. And on top of this is the smallest cup holder in existence.

There is a center console, which much like the other interior storage elements in the 570s, is very small. In this case it’s extremely narrow, which limits what can be stored there.

Much like other 2 seater supercars, there is a nice storage area behind the two seats which is surprisingly large. It’s more than enough for bags, coats and anything else you may want to check in there.

Living With The Interior

Getting in and out of a 570s is undoubtably easier than older McLaren’s. There is a simple little button to open the doors from outside. And when you’re on the inside it is just as easy to get out. There is a small lever next to the other switches on the door which opens the door right up.

However the doors in a 570s are fully electronic, which leads to a strange occurrence. If you are inside the car and the battery dies you may think you’re stuck. Luckily for us McLaren are one step ahead of us here. They have included a manual level which allows you to mechanically open the door if needed.

In this £100,000 supercar you will find a pair of manually operated seats. No power adjustments here, that adds weight. In fact the seats are probably the simplest part of this car. They serve a purpose and they do it well with zero fuss.

How Good Is The Infotainment System?

McLaren are well known for their tech driven approach to car building, and that attention to detail feeds through into the infotainment and gauge clusters.

Simply put, the tech inside the cabin of the car is great.

There are a plethora of options, more than you would ever use. They allow you to change everything from interior lighting. To raising the front of the car up when approaching a speed bump.

There are digital displays on the gauge cluster which show you your vehicle temperature with clear colour indications. Green for OK, orange or red would indicate an issue.

Many supercar owners own multiple cars meaning that some cars go a long period of time before being driven. One of the most helpful (and coolest) features happens when you turn the ignition off. A little display pops up telling you exactly how long the car can sit for before you need to start it up again, to avoid the battery dying. Pretty neat when you aren’t planning on driving it again soon.

Sitting just below the infotainment system are a range of dials which allow you to quickly alter the behaviour of the car.

There is a dial for handling and one for performance, each with three preset settings, and you can mix the two. You can set the performance dial to track and the handling dial to comfort if you wish.

As an aded incentive to enter track mode, when you turn the dial to track, the whole instrument cluster changes. Replacing the regular cluster are a range of gauges which show you track related information. The rev gauge changes so you can easily identify when to shift, and the fuel gauge turns to a percentage allowing you to easily figure out when to pit.

Driving Is Where The McLaren 570s truly excels

One of the first things you notice when jumping in and starting a 570s is the amazing exhaust note. It sounds so menacing, and this is only amplified when you accelerate. It is just begging for you to drive it fast.

On top of that, when you accelerate you realise that this car was built to drive extremely fast, and it feels that way. Nothing in this car is designed to relax you, it is all designed to encourage you to drive quickly.

Even in its most toned down, comfort settings, this car feels intense. It doesn’t let you chill out for a moment. In standard mode the ride is still very harsh and stiff, the exhaust is still ridiculously loud and the accelerate pedal still gets you out of corners very quickly.

The stiff ride does mean that the handling is very sharp, and the car goes exactly where you point it.

Hats off to the guys who designed and built the automatic transmission in the 570s, as the up and down shifts are blindingly quick. It allows you to down shift in to a corner and be ready to blast out of it at a moments notice.

You can always be assured that when you want to go fast, the 570s will be ready. It has been designed so well, that this car will always be quicker than you need it to be where ever you drive it. Shifting, cornering and accelerating, you will have to be very very talented to be able to out drive the 570s.

When driving the 570s at any reasonable speed, you will notice just how close to the front of the car you are. You really feel as though your feet are right in the nose. And this is great when throwing this car in to a corner. Being closer to the front of the chassis gives you a lot of feel for how the car is handling.

This car really is designed for drivers looking to push the limits of this car. It’s for those who are looking to have a 570s as a weekend track car. Opposed to those who are looking for a daily drivable supercar, that isn’t where it shines.

The sharp price decline of the McLaren 570s and other McLaren models, does allow them to fall into second car territory for some. We will be looking at producing a depreciation guide for McLaren soon.

If you want to check out the depreciation of popular Ferrari models, check out our comprehensive guide.
Likewise, have a look at our Lamborghini depreciation guide.

The whole experience lends itself to this concept. The car is super quick, you sit low and close to the front axle, and its relatively small for a supercar.

Yes, it isn’t quite as quick or as big as McLaren’s more expensive models, yet it’s just as fun in every way.

Equipped with a plethora of cool technology, combined with extreme performance. It really is the perfect track going supercar, for a reasonable budget.