McLaren Artura 2023 Review

Pricing for the 2023 McLaren Artura begins at $464,657 plus on-road costs, but flick through the options menu and it doesn’t take long to boost that figure to… well, however much you want.

In the case of our Volcano Yellow test mule, it’s a list long enough to fill an A4 sheet of paper and take its as-tested price to more than $520,000.

That’s not too far off its nearest – and for now, only proper – rival, the Ferrari 296 GTB plug-in hybrid, which starts a touch under $570K, to put them roughly in the same ballpark. Until you start adding options…

If you need to justify the 2023 McLaren Artura’s hefty price tag, about 10 seconds behind the wheel should do the trick.

But even before that, most will find decent levels of standard equipment on board, including full LED headlights and tail-lights, soft-close doors and big carbon-ceramic brakes.

Locally-delivered variants also get a trio of styling packs at no extra cost – Performance, Techlux, and Vision – which add Nappa leather trim and different colour arrangements.

Down Under, the Practicality pack is also included for free, bringing a hydraulic nose lift, parking sensors at both ends and power-fold mirrors.

Some of the options fitted to our test car include a sports exhaust, that bright Volcano Yellow paint work ($11,320), a satin titanium engine cover, super-lightweight 10-spoke Star forged alloy wheels finished in gloss black, a pair of floor mats and even a $1300 car cover.

For all that equipment, heated seats are one luxury it misses out on, but we think most will forgive McLaren for the omission.

The Artura is covered by a five-year/unlimited-kilometre vehicle warranty, six-year (or 75,000km) battery warranty and 10-year body warranty for corrosion protection.

Services are due every 12 months or 15,000km and, happily, the first three are on the house. But it’s worth noting that wear-and-tear items like brakes and tyres aren’t covered.

The 2023 McLaren Artura hasn’t been officially crash-tested, as is the norm for supercars. But a tough yet lightweight carbon-fibre monocoque chassis should provide good occupant protection in the event of a collision.

Artura also comes with full airbag coverage and a host of advanced driver aids including adaptive cruise control, high beam assist, a 360-degree camera and road sign recognition, though we found the latter is not always accurate.

Look at it against its rivals and the 2023 McLaren Artura doesn’t look like the most technically advanced when you hop into the cabin, but it does feature all the tech you’d expect from a half-million-dollar supercar.

That includes the basics: a 10.0-inch digital instrument cluster as well as an 8.0-inch portrait-mounted central touch-screen that integrates smartphone mirroring.

The display shrinks icons when using Apple CarPlay, which can make inputs quite fiddly on the move, but a dial on the left side doubles as a ‘home’ button as well as a volume knob.

This is handy considering the steering wheel is pared back, with no buttons or dials to distract the driver. Instead, various stalks mounted behind the steering wheel operate things like adaptive cruise control and indicators, as well as one that’s used as a toggle for the instrument cluster.

It’s a rather bland cabin when compared to something like the Ferrari 296 GTB, which packs everything from the start button to the indicators and chassis controls onto the steering wheel.

Even still, the Artura’s simplistic cabin makes it feel less intimidating.

It’s easy to find your way around all the major controls and the integration of dash-mounted drive mode toggles is designed so that you barely have to take your hands off the wheel, so switching between handling and powertrain modes is seamless on the move.

In addition to the 2023 McLaren Artura’s fresh MCLA platform, the British car-maker opted for a new electrified powertrain over modifying its long-serving V8, providing huge advantages when it comes to weight, packaging and power.

A new 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 was engineered and built specifically for the Artura’s new architecture, helped along by an electric motor that’s wedged into the bellhousing of an (also new) eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.

The engine alone produces a credible 430kW of power and 585Nm of torque, more or less matching the 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 that sat in the 570S.

But thanks to that electric motor, total outputs measure up to 500kW/720Nm, which is enough to propel the 1500kg machine from 0-100km/h in a claimed 3.0 seconds, 200km/h in just 8.3sec and on to a top speed of 330km/h.

It’s not all about speed, though, because that electric motor allows you to drive the Artura in pure electric mode for a distance of around 30km, at speeds of up to 130km/h, which means you can creep around town – or sneak home – with the tact of a Tesla.

Interestingly, electric is the default drive mode, so every time you start up, it’s silence you hear, rather than a warbling supercar-esque soundtrack.

It’s a cool party trick that leaves uninitiated bystanders visibly wrestling with a spectrum of emotions that appear to range from perplexed, impressed and maybe even a little disappointed.

But from liquid-filled engine mounts to a 50kg weight advantage over the outgoing V8 and an electronically locking differential to drift mode, McLaren has left no stone unturned when developing the Artura.

Those smarts also make the 2023 McLaren Artura the most fuel-efficient car the British marque has ever built, but is anyone buying an Artura for that reason? Prob not.

Either way, McLaren says it’ll use just 4.6L/100km on the official combined cycle, although that’s a figure no one is likely to match given the quirks of the testing procedure.

Nevertheless, during our short week with the Artura we averaged 9.3L/100km after a mix of highway and suburban driving, as well as some more dynamic country roads, which is remarkable efficiency for this class of car.

An inflated consumption figure is probably a good representation of a vehicle that’s been driven the way it’s ‘supposed’ to be driven: in Sport or Track mode, according to McLaren.

Blindingly fast, outrageously capable and devilishly good-looking, the 2023 McLaren Artura is everything you expect a supercar to be.

Hit a certain speed somewhere between second and third gear and, at the risk of sounding melodramatic, it’s like an out-of-body experience. You enter a state of tunnel vision and it truly feels as if the Artura is floating.

Of course, insanely grippy Pirelli P Zero rubber ensures you remain firmly planted on the tarmac, but for a moment it’s as if you’re on board a fighter jet hurtling through the sky at warp speed.

And it doesn’t stop building speed, ferociously hurtling you forward as it rips through each gear.

Initial take-off is strong – as it should be with a claimed 3.0sec 0-100km/h time – but it doesn’t feel neck-snappingly fast until the rear-end gathers grip and the Artura’s incredible breadth of mid-to-high-range power gets to ground.

It has the kind of grip and absurd poise that needs to be seen (and experienced) to be believed, yet the kind of grip you really wouldn’t want to test unless you had a big airport runway (and nothing else around) to do so.

When it comes to aural entertainment, the Artura mightn’t be able to match the intoxicating rasp of supercar siblings like the McLaren 720S, but in isolation the V6 produces its own beautifully encouraging soundtrack, even though volume is slightly dampened by the fitment of a petrol particulate filter.

Roll off the throttle and you’re rewarded with deep crackles and pops.

A hydraulic steering rack gives the driver crisp yet weighty feedback, but the real surprise came from the Artura’s unexpectedly pleasant ride on public roads.

Underpinned by double wishbones up front and a multi-link set-up at the rear, the Artura runs on coil springs and anti-roll bars instead of the hydropneumatic suspension employed by pricier McLaren models.

On suburban and highway roads, Track handling mode feels a little too firm and jarring on any piece of tarmac that’s not completely smooth; we stuck to Comfort for the most part, which proved a happy medium in terms of smoothing out lumps and bumps, while still feeling tied down and sharp through the tight and twisties.

In terms of its four powertrain options, – Electric, Comfort, Sport and Track – Electric is a pure EV mode, while the other three blend electric and petrol power, with Sport and Track by far the most visceral and exciting.

The interior of the 2023 McLaren Artura is simplistic and practical, with a blend of premium materials and a thoughtful cabin layout most will appreciate.

It’s not overloaded with unnecessary gadgets or tech, keeping the possibility of distractions to a minimum.

The Artura doesn’t have a glovebox but decent storage within the door binnacles, lidded centre arm rest and even behind the front seats make the Artura easy to live with day-to-day.

Whatever you want to call the storage area under the bonnet – front boot, froot, frunk or front trunk – it offers a decent 160 litres of cargo space, which is enough for a couple of overnight bags.

The good news is, you don’t have to be a gymnast to work your way into the cabin, although some will find its low-slung body and dihedral doors a challenge, even with generous door apertures.

Once in, electric seats offer ample adjustability for humans of most sizes, including a low-set and involving position for the driver, despite the fixed-back seats.

Meanwhile, tilt and reach adjustment for the steering wheel and instrument cluster means you’ve got all the important information and key controls at your fingertips.

The plush leather-clad seats offer plenty of support for longer stints behind the wheel, but a short break from the encapsulating cabin every now and then is nice, too.

Its sensible design appeals in ways that a Ferrari or Lamborghini doesn’t, but that’s not to say you’ll fly under the radar in the 2023 McLaren Artura by any means.

In fact, you’ll probably be the most popular person in town. At least if you live in a semi-rural town that doesn’t see many supercars. Children will literally chase you down the street.

But, like most supercars, it makes you wonder how someone could own and regularly use (read: enjoy), while retaining a valid driver’s licence in Australia.

The Artura certainly is a masterpiece and it’s a versatile one at that, at home both on a racetrack around town.

2023 McLaren Artura at a glance:
Price: $464,657 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: 3.0-litre V6 petrol-electric
Output: 430kW/585Nm (electric motor: 70kW/225Nm)
Combined output: 500kW/720Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Battery: 7.4kWh lithium-ion
Range: 31km (WLTP)
Fuel: 4.6L/100km (WLTP)
CO2: 104g/km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested