4,000 Mile Report 8 Vantage S
Discussion
Odometer clicked over to 4000 miles on a recent European adventure so I thought I would put in a report. Car was purchased new and is used as a daily driver and averages 1K miles a month.
V8 Vantage S ASM2
2014MY Lightning Silver, Iron Ore Red
Still loving the look of the car and the spec I chose (personal to me of course)
Keep in mind that these comments are with my coming from a very high tech Audi
The report is that there is not much to report. Nothing has broken, fallen off or stopped working. I have a few minor paint and trim issues which can wait until the 10,000 mile service
a) in a couple of places on the side strakes and rear lamp area the paint has been slightly damaged where the trim was fitted whilst the paint was still soft. Silly really. b) One of the centre rear lamp trims is coming away. More sticky tape required c) The tailgate needs adjusting, it is rubbing on top of the rear bumper at present.
Mechanically it gets better and is running-in nicely. You get used to all of the noises. Very rarely the PAS judders slightly when parking (has happened about 3 times only). I really like the Sportshift, it is natural and intuitive. I never use 'D' mode and I never really think about the paddle gear changes, as I said it just happens intuitively up and down the 'box. Personally I could never have a car with a clutch pedal again and this is a great compromise between that and a full auto. I am sure ASM 2 must be a lot better than ASM 1 from what I have read on here. Sometimes the car does not want to change into 2nd on a very cold morning just running slowly along my road, by the end of the road it is fine and I am sure would go in to 2nd if I gave it some more revs so likely more me than the car. I am sure my neighbours think I cannot drive very well as I lurch along in 1st trying to be kind to the cold engine.
A few notes on things that come up on PH quite often:
Eurotunnel - booked in the over 1.85M section and it worked out great. No grounding or kerbing concerns at all. Was worried I was going to look a bit of a knob but the staff were brilliant and are clearly used to it. In fact in one case they were not running the 1.85M cabins on our booked train and the check-in guy advised us to wait for the next train if we had time rather than hop across to the normal section. Oh and if going to France get a Sanef Tag for the tolls, really helps in a right-hand drive car. Positive reaction everywhere in general but the French LOVE Astons. Also the driving standard is generally higher in Europe with only one incident where I had to test the (superb) brakes.
Note - steering and brakes are the best I have had on any car
Speed Humps - no issues whatsoever so far
Reversing - no issues whatsoever so far
SPORT mode - Sport mode on the Vantage S is (of course) great. I have read quite often people asking why would you ever turn this off. I think on a weekend car that is a fair question and I would leave it on. On the daily commute however I have set myself an arbitary system whereby I stay out of Sport mode if the temperature is below 7 degrees C and/or heavy rain and/or heavy traffic, just to tone down that throttle response. The car really is very civilised in Non-Sport mode and I see no reason not to use the Vantage S every day (except in very extreme conditions) through the winter. Heating and de-misting seem very efficient (some owners may never have used this :-)
Comfort - at first I was a bit worried about this. Ride was very firm and seats took a lot of adjustment to get right. I have settled into it now. The biggest problem is the British roads of course. In France recently the roads were sublime both on and off the autoroutes and the car was really in its element. Really enjoyable and I drove 6 hours straight with just a fuel stop with no comfort issues and no complaints from my passenger. Arriving back in the UK it really was apparent how shocking our roads are. If you were French on your first visit you would stop the car and check the tyres and suspension suspecting a fault. The M25 is also stupidly noisy.
Radio - Probably the biggest disappointment for me. FM is rubbish. DAB is good when it works but could use a better aerial system. Also strange when we had the car fully packed it destroyed the sound - very boomy, so we ust left it turned off and that was fine actually. Again weekend car users would not worry about this but the daily commute does call for a decent radio.
NAV - (Garmin) surprisingly good. Been very happy with it so far (and again this from an Audi with Google Maps and all sorts of gizmos)
Ergonomics - laughably poor in areas, I still cannot get used to it and screws you up switching between Nav, Phone and Radio
Practicality - amazingly good. We managed two large sports bags behind the seat which constituted our luggage and the boot was full of delicate equipment heavily boxed and wrapped and with careful planning on box shape and size it turned out we had room to spare.
Economy - getting 280-300 miles to a tank on the commute. On the Europe run where we were barely ever below 100mph or on the twisty bits I got 330 miles. Very happy with that
Mods - personally not for me, not even the exhaust switch, I will keep it as AM intended but each to their own. I will likely swap from Bridgestone to Michelin when the time comes for a little more compliancy (and will get a full geo check) but that it not a mod.
So that is it. Hope that helps some. I am sure the 10K service will be here all too soon. Will see if HR Owen Reading are up and running by then
Cheers, hash
V8 Vantage S ASM2
2014MY Lightning Silver, Iron Ore Red
Still loving the look of the car and the spec I chose (personal to me of course)
Keep in mind that these comments are with my coming from a very high tech Audi
The report is that there is not much to report. Nothing has broken, fallen off or stopped working. I have a few minor paint and trim issues which can wait until the 10,000 mile service
a) in a couple of places on the side strakes and rear lamp area the paint has been slightly damaged where the trim was fitted whilst the paint was still soft. Silly really. b) One of the centre rear lamp trims is coming away. More sticky tape required c) The tailgate needs adjusting, it is rubbing on top of the rear bumper at present.
Mechanically it gets better and is running-in nicely. You get used to all of the noises. Very rarely the PAS judders slightly when parking (has happened about 3 times only). I really like the Sportshift, it is natural and intuitive. I never use 'D' mode and I never really think about the paddle gear changes, as I said it just happens intuitively up and down the 'box. Personally I could never have a car with a clutch pedal again and this is a great compromise between that and a full auto. I am sure ASM 2 must be a lot better than ASM 1 from what I have read on here. Sometimes the car does not want to change into 2nd on a very cold morning just running slowly along my road, by the end of the road it is fine and I am sure would go in to 2nd if I gave it some more revs so likely more me than the car. I am sure my neighbours think I cannot drive very well as I lurch along in 1st trying to be kind to the cold engine.
A few notes on things that come up on PH quite often:
Eurotunnel - booked in the over 1.85M section and it worked out great. No grounding or kerbing concerns at all. Was worried I was going to look a bit of a knob but the staff were brilliant and are clearly used to it. In fact in one case they were not running the 1.85M cabins on our booked train and the check-in guy advised us to wait for the next train if we had time rather than hop across to the normal section. Oh and if going to France get a Sanef Tag for the tolls, really helps in a right-hand drive car. Positive reaction everywhere in general but the French LOVE Astons. Also the driving standard is generally higher in Europe with only one incident where I had to test the (superb) brakes.
Note - steering and brakes are the best I have had on any car
Speed Humps - no issues whatsoever so far
Reversing - no issues whatsoever so far
SPORT mode - Sport mode on the Vantage S is (of course) great. I have read quite often people asking why would you ever turn this off. I think on a weekend car that is a fair question and I would leave it on. On the daily commute however I have set myself an arbitary system whereby I stay out of Sport mode if the temperature is below 7 degrees C and/or heavy rain and/or heavy traffic, just to tone down that throttle response. The car really is very civilised in Non-Sport mode and I see no reason not to use the Vantage S every day (except in very extreme conditions) through the winter. Heating and de-misting seem very efficient (some owners may never have used this :-)
Comfort - at first I was a bit worried about this. Ride was very firm and seats took a lot of adjustment to get right. I have settled into it now. The biggest problem is the British roads of course. In France recently the roads were sublime both on and off the autoroutes and the car was really in its element. Really enjoyable and I drove 6 hours straight with just a fuel stop with no comfort issues and no complaints from my passenger. Arriving back in the UK it really was apparent how shocking our roads are. If you were French on your first visit you would stop the car and check the tyres and suspension suspecting a fault. The M25 is also stupidly noisy.
Radio - Probably the biggest disappointment for me. FM is rubbish. DAB is good when it works but could use a better aerial system. Also strange when we had the car fully packed it destroyed the sound - very boomy, so we ust left it turned off and that was fine actually. Again weekend car users would not worry about this but the daily commute does call for a decent radio.
NAV - (Garmin) surprisingly good. Been very happy with it so far (and again this from an Audi with Google Maps and all sorts of gizmos)
Ergonomics - laughably poor in areas, I still cannot get used to it and screws you up switching between Nav, Phone and Radio
Practicality - amazingly good. We managed two large sports bags behind the seat which constituted our luggage and the boot was full of delicate equipment heavily boxed and wrapped and with careful planning on box shape and size it turned out we had room to spare.
Economy - getting 280-300 miles to a tank on the commute. On the Europe run where we were barely ever below 100mph or on the twisty bits I got 330 miles. Very happy with that
Mods - personally not for me, not even the exhaust switch, I will keep it as AM intended but each to their own. I will likely swap from Bridgestone to Michelin when the time comes for a little more compliancy (and will get a full geo check) but that it not a mod.
So that is it. Hope that helps some. I am sure the 10K service will be here all too soon. Will see if HR Owen Reading are up and running by then
Cheers, hash
Edited by hashluck on Tuesday 18th November 12:39
Edited by hashluck on Tuesday 18th November 15:37
Edited by hashluck on Tuesday 18th November 17:02
I got mine in Dec last year and have done close to 5k in it now. Agree with most things you say although the transmission noise from the rear is a little off putting especially when cold. The radio and stereo as a whole is not as good as I hoped - I've no idea if its the music I listen to but I've not had a car yet that I find it easy to listen to for any length of time.
One tip I do, not sure if its an official one, but I flick it into neutral a lot when in stop start traffic - quick pull of both paddles and in it goes and then you can roll up to the car in front and avoid the low speed jerkiness. I've also had no issues reversing but have had a few occassions when you get a nice smell of clutch
The rubbing of the paint on the top of the bumper is also a common issue - at the welsh weekended I looked at a few other cars and they all have it. My cars black and its probably more noticeable than the lighter coloured cars. Not sure if there's a fix as I the opinion was its the bumper flexing up to the tailgate as much as the tailgate vibrating onto the bumper - and a bigger gap might look odd
One tip I do, not sure if its an official one, but I flick it into neutral a lot when in stop start traffic - quick pull of both paddles and in it goes and then you can roll up to the car in front and avoid the low speed jerkiness. I've also had no issues reversing but have had a few occassions when you get a nice smell of clutch
The rubbing of the paint on the top of the bumper is also a common issue - at the welsh weekended I looked at a few other cars and they all have it. My cars black and its probably more noticeable than the lighter coloured cars. Not sure if there's a fix as I the opinion was its the bumper flexing up to the tailgate as much as the tailgate vibrating onto the bumper - and a bigger gap might look odd
irfan1712 said:
nice write up & a stunning V8. Surprisingly good miles from a tank considering what it is and how you've driven, I get that babying my R32.
out of curiosity, what said Audi did it replace?
Had an A5 followed by an A7, both 3.0 TDI Autosout of curiosity, what said Audi did it replace?
Aston tank is 80 litres which helps
Jon1967x said:
One tip I do, not sure if its an official one, but I flick it into neutral a lot when in stop start traffic - quick pull of both paddles and in it goes and then you can roll up to the car in front and avoid the low speed jerkiness.
Thanks Jon, seems our experiences are more or less the same. Yes I do the neutral thing in traffic. If still rolling you can put it back in 1st if required as well.Jon1967x said:
I've also had no issues reversing but have had a few occassions when you get a nice smell of clutch
Yep, though this is much less now I am more confident moving the car around. Get the reverse done quickly and don't faff to much! Not always for the faint heartedJon1967x said:
The rubbing of the paint on the top of the bumper is also a common issue - at the welsh weekended I looked at a few other cars and they all have it. My cars black and its probably more noticeable than the lighter coloured cars. Not sure if there's a fix as I the opinion was its the bumper flexing up to the tailgate as much as the tailgate vibrating onto the bumper - and a bigger gap might look odd
Probably correct though mine is also misaligned with a bigger gap on the left compared to the right (which is the side that is rubbing. Aston tech sugested probably adjustable swapping bump stops over (which will probably just swap the issue).
hashluck said:
Jon1967x said:
Not sure if there's a fix as I the opinion was its the bumper flexing up to the tailgate as much as the tailgate vibrating onto the bumper - and a bigger gap might look odd
Probably correct though mine is also misaligned with a bigger gap on the left compared to the right (which is the side that is rubbing. Aston tech sugested probably adjustable swapping bump stops over (which will probably just swap the issue).Great write up Mr H
toohuge said:
That's a beautiful colour.... it looks wonderful and glad to see you didn't go for boring black on the interior.
Thanks. I was told Iron Ore was potentially marmite but it hss univeral approval so far - I took a lot of care pairing it with both contrast (Falcon Grey) and fine match stitching, upper lip and binnacle in black, dash top in piano black and other trim in iridium alloy, headlining in Cirrus Grey which in my opinion all gels together well and with the Lightning SIlver exterior. The reason I had to buy new is that I did not want a black interior and could not find a used car without it!mikey k said:
Nice work
They really are a good all rounder
Just a heads up my ASM2 box had difficulty with 2nd and was noisey when cold, turned out the crown wheel was eating itself
Keep an eye on it and raise it as an issue so it is on AM's radar should it get worse or fail.
Thanks mikey I will keep this very much in mind. They really are a good all rounder
Just a heads up my ASM2 box had difficulty with 2nd and was noisey when cold, turned out the crown wheel was eating itself
Keep an eye on it and raise it as an issue so it is on AM's radar should it get worse or fail.
theaxe said:
Thanks, good to hear of a V8VS as a daily driver. One question, you mention DAB radio. I didn't think Astons had that, was it an option? I have premium sound, I don't suppose it's part of that?
Model year 2014 onwards I believeMine missed it by a few months
edited - standard from then, not optional.
theaxe said:
Thanks, good to hear of a V8VS as a daily driver. One question, you mention DAB radio. I didn't think Astons had that, was it an option? I have premium sound, I don't suppose it's part of that?
You just missed out as jon says. I think mine was one of the first Vantage models with it (MY15 built July 2014).I am pretty sure some on here have had DAB of some sort retro-fitted in a variety of ways (albeit not the factory system). A search should hopefully find it.
Gassing Station | Aston Martin | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff