McLaren Artura (2025 - ) review

If you think plug-in hybrid power for your McLaren is going to save you a packet on fuel … well, it might. But not enough to offset the six-figure purchase price, our test car’s options package alone costing the same as a brand-new hatchback while running expenses like fuel, insurance, finance and the rest are all going to be crippling for all but the healthiest of bank balances. In fairness, we did see a pretty astonishing 40mpg or so just pottering about with a fully charged battery and on a mix of electric and engine power. But once we started enjoying ourselves that figure plummeted to more familiar supercar levels. So, it’s still pure indulgence. But with just enough of a nod to efficiency to help you kid yourself it’s a sensible purchase!

The Artura didn’t get off to the best start, the original press launch seeing some rather spectacular failures. Good news? McLaren has steadily improved the car, the one you see here the updated 2025 model year version and, bar a sometimes pernickety key fob, we didn’t have any wobbles. Credit to McLaren for making its updates backwards compatible as well, so if you did get one of the earlier cars you can still benefit from the software improvements added to more recent ones.

Like every modern car manufacturer McLaren is obliged by regulations to include safety tech like lane keeping and speed warnings, no matter they may intrude on the supercar driving experience. While these have been added to this updated Artura we’ll say they have a much lighter touch than those in more regular cars we’ve reviewed lately. And they’re easy enough to turn off. Blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alerts are among the new features, though the options pack including them adds the best part of five grand to the price! Structurally McLaren builds its road cars with the same mindset as its racing cars, the carbon fibre tub at the heart of them proven to be incredibly strong in big impacts. So, should the worst happen and your ambition outpace your ability on a track day or suchlike you should be able to walk away to find a quiet corner in which to reflect on how you’re going to explain it to the insurance company.

We’re in proper supercar territory here, the seating position low enough to feel like your backside is only centimetres off the road surface. Which, in truth, it literally is. While you’re always conscious of how low down you are compared with other traffic visibility is actually impressively good, which helps your confidence in everyday driving situations. Getting in and out is also surprisingly easy, the doors hinging forwards and upwards in dramatic fashion and taking a big chunk of the sill with them. It’s still a long way down and you’ll need to keep your knees together to protect your modesty but once you get the hang of plonking your bum in the seat and swinging your legs in after it feels surprisingly natural, and easier than many other cars of this type. Once settled the driving position is pure racing car, the seats hugging you tightly and the steering wheel pulling close into your chest. It’s minimal but surprisingly comfy. Like many cars of its type the Artura has variable suspension adjusting its firmness according to the driver mode, though in the McLaren style you can do that independently of the engine setting. So, if you want the most aggressive acclerator but the softest ride for a bumpy back road you can have that, this being the setting we defaulted to. It’s no Rolls-Royce but you can tell McLaren develops its cars on British roads, the Artura stiff enough to carve the turns without pummelling your spine too harshly.

Equipment levels will very much depend on how wide you want to open your wallet. Just tread carefully, the options spend on the car you see here amounting to just over £40,000 on top of the already chunky starting price. For the fact over £5,000 of that was for the ‘Performance interior’ trim we’d have liked to have had a slightly jazzier ambience, McLaren orange seatbelts all very well but the overall effect still rather understated. Saying that we appreciate how McLaren’s racing background informs its strictly functional approach, the lack of buttons on the steering wheel a tacit reminder this is for controlling the car. Not the infotainment. Speaking of which, the small, tablet-style interface to the left of the driver is adequate and logical to operate but, again, minimal. McLaren clearly wants you to concentrate on the driving, which with this much power is a good thing. But if you want tech there are better options, the fact you still have to plug your phone in to get CarPlay a sign this perhaps isn’t the highest on the priorities. We did enjoy the thumping Bowers & Wilkins audio, though the price charged made us blink, ditto the fact you’d have to add this to the bill if you want wireless charging for your phone.

Spectacular. The Artura didn’t need any more power but the updated 2025 model gets it anyway, the electrically-assisted turbocharged petrol engine now deploying a combined 700 horsepower, put to the road even faster than before thanks to quicker shifts through the automated gearbox. Leave it to its own devices or click up and down with the racing car style paddles as you prefer, the F1-inspired electric motor helping to fill what gaps in the power delivery may exist before the turbos kick in, without smothering that giddy excitement as the boost builds and the scenery goes all blurry. McLaren’s race mentality means the Artura is lighter than many of its competitors, and it feels as darty and agile as a Lotus on the road. Just with a lot more power. Relatively heavy steering will come as a surprise to those raised on Ferraris, but enthusiasts will appreciate the connection this gives you to the road surface. Weirdly, the biggest compliment we can give the Artura is that for a car capable of easily going over 200mph it feels exciting, fun and rewarding at the speeds you can actually enjoy on the public road. Which is a trick too few modern supercars pull off. The fact you can purr around town on electric power is also an amusing novelty, the added benefit meaning you can slip away from home without annoying the neighbours and save the noisy supercar bit for when you leave the city limits!