I've driven over 500 McLarens, here they are compared against each other. 

Totally agree. I drove a 570S about 400 miles and it really made me appreciate my buddies 12C. The chassis, suspension and active aero of the 12C clearly makes it superior.

Thank you so much for making this video. It’s cleared up so much.

Great video... Extremely helpful as I've been looking at both 12C and 650S recently.

Awesome and very informative video from a highly respected and qualified source. Thank you, John! ~ Richard in Canada.

Great vid. Was really struggling with 570GT or 12c thoughts. Thanks for the info.

Great video… very informative 👍🏻

Awesome video as usual. Happy holidays from the states. 👍

Great video! Thank you! Love my 650S!

great video thanks for your knowledge

Very informative. Thank you.

Great comparison. I might buy one next year

This is were I will go when I get my 720S.

Exactly my view on 12C - 650S, around 5% and like you prefer 12C front end. 650S gearbox mapping slightly quicker and extra torque is noticeable. 12C rides better though. Also agree with 675LT, in fact it feels like a completely different car to drive than the other P11 cars. Bumpy B roads are not that bad, much better than Porsche GT cars by a long way. Turning circle is its quirk, I like the fact its not that great, like reversing a Countach every supercar should have a quirk. Sports series do feel better at first, up to 40mph, they feel slightly more alert, so on a test drive you will feel instantly like its a great car, however go a bit faster and live with the car a bit longer and the P11 cars win for me as they just come alive at higher speeds so agree with the 85. Also P11 cars have a large analogue tacho and a single wiper, for me that instantly makes it feel so much more special than the sports series and even 720s. The 720S is a great car, absolutely adore them but for me they lack the ultimate feedback and visceral nature of the 675LT. I need that on the road, even if the trade off is its a bit more bumpy, that final bit of feel and control makes all the difference to my enjoyment. There isn't a bad McLaren and I think your points are spot on for an average driver on an average road but if you crave that little extra the LT cars come into their own but that's not for everyone.

Great assessment. had the 650 and now have the 720. 175 is spot on.

Loved this 👍👍👍

Very enjoyable indeed. I appreciate the pure honesty and calling a spade a spade.

Great comparison though I’d had added +10 to any of the spiders! Going from a coupe to spider for me was huge improvement. I agree my 12c was beautiful but I’ll disagree that there 650 is barely different. For me it was a lot better. The iris 2 works (at least it works lol) but the updates and small changes imo made a nice update. Next one will be 675LT

650s all day long for reliability and looks. The coupe is rarer than a spider.

Brilliant video John and big thanks as I’m torn between 12c spider and 570gt partly because Id be coming across from an Aston V8V and love the “GT” usability however the twin use of folding roof sounds great to me. If I may, I was thinking of popping into chat over all my thought process and see where we get. Reliability would be my biggest concerns Thanks.

Thank you!!!

Very interesting.... I would love to know how the P1 fits into your thoughts

Fair comparison. I prefer the looks of the 650s over the 12C by far. Would have given it a 120!

This video was ‘ just what the doctor ordered’ very informative and made my mind up

Interesting perspective and review :) Scores will depend on personal preference. I would argue (as you also point out) that the sports series cars are more intimate and rewarding to drive (vs 12C/650S/720S) and in my book should have a much higher score if this is a priority when buying. The 570S/675LT and 600LT are the McLaren models that have won "best drivers car" competitions. I agree the super series are more competent overall with a wider dynamic range and have more tech. I don't agree the performance being a factor between sports and super series (except 720/765). You score 570S almost half the 675LT due to active aero and performance but real world performance is virtually identical, both 10.3 sec quarter mile, top speed 1mph apart (the LT aero does not make a huge diff as the 650 tops out at only 2mph higher). In fact all 3.8 McLarens have virtually identical acceleration, 12C (with 625hp update) "slowest" at 10.5 quarter mile and 675LT/570S fastest at 10.3s 100% stock. 720 makes the first major leap. On track sports series cars are perhaps a bit slower mainly due to narrower tires from the factory and to some extent aero. I agree all McLarens are great cars and for someone who wants tech, comfort and speed super series (especially the 720S) should have top scores but for someone who just wants the purest most engaging driving experience in a modern supercar I would score 570S, 600LT, 675LT over a 720S. Cheers and keep up the great work! :)

Always enjoy your videos. I will be a McLaren owner one day, but so far have only tested a couple - the 570s and 720s, and while it was clear the 720s was the quicker car I couldn't help but feel that it was the less involving and I think I actually preferred the road manners of the 570s...it just felt more enjoyable. Taking delivery of an Emira soon, but after a few years I will be in the market for a convertible 570s, or perhaps the 600LT...given your fantastic reputation for independent servicing and retail I will be in touch closer to the time.

Thank you so very much for this. I do believe you, coming from a mclaren specialist with such extensive experience, and for the number of cars you drive and own, shows a lot of weight in this. not many have the opportunity to drive so many versions and especially since you get to drive the different cars back to back as a road car after servicing etc. so your opinion is not taken lightly. Please do consider updating this series esp it has been 2 years now to include others that are not mentioned as yet. and if i could dare ask, also compared as a road car to other makes like the porsche, ferraris, lotus, alpines etc too. of course those you feel you can compare to. Noting, you are being very fair to say you only comment on those you have enough exprience on. thank you for this.

Dude... you need to get a much better mic. But this is a great video! But would have to highly disagree that there is NO WAY in hell that the 12C is on par with the 600LT. The 600LT is much sharper, feels lighter, steering is better, is faster and shifts A LOT faster than the 12C which shifts lazily. My old GTI DSG shifts faster than the 12C and it's a glaring weakness. I would take a 600LT over the 12C or 650S any given day of the week. But the 600LT is more of a track car and not as street friendly as the 12C/650S.

Obviously you haven't factored in cost of ownership from new which sadly is a big factor with McLarens. Agree with most of what you have said and generally newer is better but for me, and I might be biased, the pinnacle car is the 675LT Spider. Don't get me wrong the 720S Spider is epic and can out perform it but it doesn't have anything like the feel or engagement IMHO. McLaren absolutely nailed it with the 675LT because it was over engineered for its price point to launch the LT sub brand. Also being the first LT and limited to just 500/500 it will be a future classic guaranteed. 5 years later there is still not a car out there that can replace it for me even when spending £500k. 675LT Spider is still the KING OF SUPERCARS and gets a score of 250 from me

So where do you rate the GT? Just purchased one and Im curious where it falls in the lineup. You skipped it!

So are these differences just a swag number? 100 to 150 means is 50% better? Is 50% overall or 50% of some other aspect? Trying to understand the scoring system.

In general, how are they as dailys? specifically the 570s - thinking about seat comfort, storage and going over bumps

Would Catted downpipes do anything to hurt reliability of a 675LT? I had MSO titanium and Catted 300 cell downpipes on my former 570S and loved the sound

Where do you put the 765LT and the Senna? Possibly rating for a P1? 😎

Doesn’t the McLaren GT get a score? Would be interested in your opinion on this model please

Whats the most miles you have ever seen on a mp4 12c or any other ? And with proper maintenance how many miles could they go for?😊

Would to see how the 765 compares once youvre had time in one. I had a 600 then jumper balls deep into a 765 and never owned or spent time in the 720.

How much would you give a 12c with a remap?

What about the GT?

How the hell do the McLaren Carbon brakes not last as long as steel brakes on track ... this is confusing to me.

I have a Porsche Turbo for the road looking for a more raw driving experience on the road, what do you think about the 620 R, just taking it around my favorite curved road ? Thanks

what about the 620R?

Not very convinced by the scoring system. You gotta say why a bit more. The oddity for example is the 600lt. Every other review sees the 600 as a near peer for the 675, in fact beating it on some accounts. Yet the 650s betters it here. So explain why? Acceleration. Nope. Handling. Nope. 'fun factor' nope. Put it this way. 650s and 600lt at same price what would someone pick. I think the 600 gotta score between the 650 and the 675. I think you simply couldn't bring yourself to increase the gap so much from the 570. But this isn't a proportional system based on actual metrics else the 675 would be 50% faster than the 650 which it isn't. Clearly you are saying 50% 'better' which IS possible but then if you are going to be consistent using a non metricised system then it's no problem giving the 600lt a score of day 140 which is saying it is twice as 'good' as a 570s which it could easily be.

Oh, no! I decided I want a 570GT (I like the overall idea and how the GT version looks)- now you're telling me it has the lowest 'score'! Well, a couple years after this vid in 2024 there are the Artura, the GT (I, again, like the overall idea, but I don't like the looks this time) and the 750S. I assume the 750S is the best McLaren in 2024, right?

Would say thats pretty fair and im a cynic. Nothing to comment.

I can't stand Hoovies. I don't watch any of his videos anymore. He made it seem like his McLarens, was the worst car in the world.

They are not slow!! The 570s is quicker in the 1/4 than 675 LT no? The 675 LT just had more grib and better aero which is why it's slower than the 570s at least in a straight line. See shmee150 video showing his 675LT losing every time to a 570s. Cheers