V8 Vantage vs Grancabrio vs F-Type
Discussion
I've had two 4.7 Vantage roadsters they are are a blunt and unreliable tool IME.
I'll not get back in to an Aston for a long while.
Of the three you short list I'd take a look at the F type.
Did you say what budget?
If you are serious I'd wait until the depths of winter, roadter prices are very seasonal
I'll not get back in to an Aston for a long while.
Of the three you short list I'd take a look at the F type.
Did you say what budget?
If you are serious I'd wait until the depths of winter, roadter prices are very seasonal
I'm lucky that I've had all three, all in coupe form though. The F-Type was my favourite, the GT is nice but it's not a sports car and feels huge on tight B roads. The Vantage was hugely disappointing, looks and sounds great but far too dated now, the Nav and tech in my works van is light years ahead of the AM.
red12 said:
Has anyone drove the 4.3 compared with the 4.7? Youtube reviews say more torque and less of a need to rev. I think the sportshift 'box didn't get upgraded until 2012.
Drove a few 4.3's owned and early 4.7 (59 plate) and one of the first Vantage S'sThe 4.3 is asthmatic even in N400 guise, the extra torque of the 4.7 and suspension tweaks really improved it. The Vantage S (late 2011) was another good step forward. Even the 4.7S isn't that quick and will leave you on the red line mid overtake too often.
I had a LOT of warranty issues with both cars and would not recommend them as reliable.
That said Masers aren't great on that
Only leaving the F type
Just throw in my thoughts, 12 months ago I was in this exact situation and went for the V8 Vantage Roadster.
My intention was to go for the F Type as I had the pleasure of renting/hiring 3 different F types over the last 3 years on driving trips down to the Alps so have had plenty of time to get to know them ( although never tried at that time the V8).
To me the Aston Martin was always the stopgap waiting for the F type to come down in price, so went for the cheapest roadster I could get my hands on.
It worked out really well for me, to be honest I wasn't overly impressed with the Vantage, it felt heavy, not particularly sporty and very much out of date. To be fair, I also have a Ferrari 360 in the garage.
I kept the car Vantage for 8 months and sold it on a rising summer market and made a very healthy profit.
I now have a V8 F type in the garage and the difference to me is chalk and cheese. The F type is very much a brutal monster in comparison to the Aston Martin, I know I'm comparing older cards were much newer car, but cost wise there was very little difference in it.
Don't get me wrong I think the Aston Martin is truly beautiful, but to own, drive and enjoy spiritedly the F-type is fantastic. Put it this way, I did a total of 900 miles in the Aston Martin in 8 months and yet in the last 3 months of owning the F - type I've done just under 3000 miles.
For me this isn't a daily driver, it's a sunshine/weekend car, the Aston Martin in my opinion is a lot more about the badge than the actual drive.
I also test drove the Maserati as a fixed head coupe and just couldn't get on with the hideous gearbox, again that was in early one ( I think from memory 2010).
I hope this helps in some way.
My intention was to go for the F Type as I had the pleasure of renting/hiring 3 different F types over the last 3 years on driving trips down to the Alps so have had plenty of time to get to know them ( although never tried at that time the V8).
To me the Aston Martin was always the stopgap waiting for the F type to come down in price, so went for the cheapest roadster I could get my hands on.
It worked out really well for me, to be honest I wasn't overly impressed with the Vantage, it felt heavy, not particularly sporty and very much out of date. To be fair, I also have a Ferrari 360 in the garage.
I kept the car Vantage for 8 months and sold it on a rising summer market and made a very healthy profit.
I now have a V8 F type in the garage and the difference to me is chalk and cheese. The F type is very much a brutal monster in comparison to the Aston Martin, I know I'm comparing older cards were much newer car, but cost wise there was very little difference in it.
Don't get me wrong I think the Aston Martin is truly beautiful, but to own, drive and enjoy spiritedly the F-type is fantastic. Put it this way, I did a total of 900 miles in the Aston Martin in 8 months and yet in the last 3 months of owning the F - type I've done just under 3000 miles.
For me this isn't a daily driver, it's a sunshine/weekend car, the Aston Martin in my opinion is a lot more about the badge than the actual drive.
I also test drove the Maserati as a fixed head coupe and just couldn't get on with the hideous gearbox, again that was in early one ( I think from memory 2010).
I hope this helps in some way.
mikearwas said:
The v8 Ftype is massively faster than either of the other two. Depends what your criteria are in terms of performance.
Absolutely, without question. As you say it really does depend on your criteria. If it's a car lazy sunny days, going out to a country pub for lunch then I think the Aston might be okay although personally I found the steering very heavy and my wife just didn't like it at all.On the other hand the v8 F-type is pretty brutal even in its relatively sedate mode, but as long as your light on the throttle it's a doodle to drive.
I drove the Maserati and that was my first choice but the one I saw at JTC600 in Leeds was right on my price limit. I has previously driven 2 4.3 Vantages but the performance was a little sluggish after my 996 turbo. the 4.7 feels much more responsive and I'm getting the hang of the sportshift now. I didn't drive the Jag.
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