• Simple, uncluttered layout
• High-quality bespoke switchgear
• More sculptural than 650S

The first thing that grabs you about the McLaren 570S cockpit is the simplicity. There is a portrait multimedia screen, a bank of switches by your left leg and absolutely no buttons on the steering wheel.

Far from pointing towards a lack of equipment though, the cause for this clean outlook is a remarkable efficiency of design. The parking sensor button is integrated into the door mirror adjuster, for example.

As a result it feels very focused on the job of driving –helped by a clear and high-definition digital dial display behind the steering wheel.

It’s more sculpted than Super Series cars, like the 650S, with an extra central air vent and tendon-like door card elements that mirror the shape of the bodywork outside.

Needle-eye shaped stalks (a design that saves 0.1 of a gram) clunk into place with reassuring solidity; the gearshift paddle requires heft to move and responds with a positive clack.

Practicality isn’t ignored either in this easier-to-live-with sports car. The 570S is longer than Super Series cars and offers more space in the cabin, as well as a lower sill to hoist yourself over on entry and exit.

Narrow pillars and a low dashboard aid visibility while the perfect driving position is easy to find – unless your legs are tall, in which case you’ll need to move the seat right up to the bulkhead.

• Surprisingly supple chassis
• No hydraulic suspension like 650S
• Easy to live with despite performance

With that low slung ride height you’d be forgiven for assuming the suspension in the McLaren 570S is boneshakingly firm. It’s actually very good, providing supple cushioning over lumpy UK roads despite its prodigious ability in the bends.

Super Series cars like the 650S get a complicated hydraulic suspension set up that helps them ride even better than the 570S, but in reality we’re talking about the difference between good and very good.

Options such as electrically adjustable seats and comfort entry make getting in and out a bit easier, and once you’re sat down the body-hugging bolsters both support and hold you in place.

Dial the chassis control up to Sport or Track and the body stiffness increases, as you’d expect, but even in its sharpest, most focussed set up, there’s compliance as well as stiffness.