V8 Vantage or DB9 from a TVR
Discussion
Im looking to change my weekend toy, I have a TVR Chimaera 4.5 and after 10+ years of happy ownership it's time to move on...
I have weighed up all the other cars, but none I like in the 30-40k budget.
What im really after is a DB9 Manual but seem to be very rare im not sure I can get on with a auto ? and I dont want anything slower than the TVR It's not a standard one with 345bhp
So hence the V8 Vantage but nearly every road test says it's slow ish ! Now this part is confession time I do drive quick I do have a track car too but also do go karting at the weekends.
I live in the Buckinghamshire area is there any good dealers out there to try out as the ones I have visited are not keen to even talk to me ?
My fear is buying the vantage spending more money on it to make it go quicker ?
Any thoughts from owners how do you find them compared to other fast cars on the road etc ?
Many thanks in advance
I have weighed up all the other cars, but none I like in the 30-40k budget.
What im really after is a DB9 Manual but seem to be very rare im not sure I can get on with a auto ? and I dont want anything slower than the TVR It's not a standard one with 345bhp
So hence the V8 Vantage but nearly every road test says it's slow ish ! Now this part is confession time I do drive quick I do have a track car too but also do go karting at the weekends.
I live in the Buckinghamshire area is there any good dealers out there to try out as the ones I have visited are not keen to even talk to me ?
My fear is buying the vantage spending more money on it to make it go quicker ?
Any thoughts from owners how do you find them compared to other fast cars on the road etc ?
Many thanks in advance
Welcome.
Owners here are happy to answer questions from prospective buyers, and I know that a number have previously come from TVRs.
If you are finding a test drive tricky, it might be that dealers treat an initial telephone contact as more serious. Perhaps enquire about a car on the 'Pre-owned' list, that is near to what you want.
Re. performance - the TVR is obviously a much lighter car than an AM, so that is the big difference. Although not slow, most of us feel that there is more to an Aston Martin than just acceleration. The 4.7 Vantage has noticeably more go than a 4.3, partly due to increased torque. The 4.7 has held value very well, and although above the budget you mention, some dealer cars (with the AM warranty) are now down to about £45,000.
Good luck with your search.
Warning - Never test drive a V12 Vantage. It is so good, you will have to buy. -
Edited by Jon39 on Sunday 10th January 16:47
I moved from a Tuscan Convertable to a 4.3 V8 Vantage and the weight is the main difference. The lighter TVR gives much more brutal performance as a result, but conversely the Vantage feels a much more solid and planted when yor driving it swiftly.
The Vantage is no slouch, it's not a slow car by any means and is often going much faster that it feels. The engine revs much more like a Speed 6 TVR than the Rover V8 giving better performance as the noise rises, but it never feels like it's going to kill you like the TVRs did. In line with the image, it is a much more civilised way to make progress.
We did a 1,400 mile trip to Spain, France, and Italy in the Vantage last summer and never once did we wish it was faster. There were however many times when we were glad we weren't in the Tuscan.
Saying all that, I do still miss the Tuscan
The Vantage is no slouch, it's not a slow car by any means and is often going much faster that it feels. The engine revs much more like a Speed 6 TVR than the Rover V8 giving better performance as the noise rises, but it never feels like it's going to kill you like the TVRs did. In line with the image, it is a much more civilised way to make progress.
We did a 1,400 mile trip to Spain, France, and Italy in the Vantage last summer and never once did we wish it was faster. There were however many times when we were glad we weren't in the Tuscan.
Saying all that, I do still miss the Tuscan
Depending on which part of Buckinghamshire you're at McGurk Performance Cars might not be too far away. I got my V8V from there last week and Matt there was great (this is my first Aston too). They have a number of 4.3s in your budget but it looks like their 4.7s start just under £50k.
You'll find the straightline performance of a 4.3 much worse than your Chimaera, but the cornering is in a completely different league. The steering feel, stability, and adjustability of the Vantage are a massive improvement over a Chimaera.
I went from a 4.0 Chimaera to a 4.7 Vantage, now with Bamford Rose mods up to 460 or so bhp, but it doesn't have the immediate kick that the TVR did at any speed up to around 100, its much smoother, but it keeps going. After 100mph when the TVR was losing the advantage of weight, and both power and aerodynamics become more significant, the Aston just piles on the speed, as you'd expect, it has a 30+ mph higher limit
I went from a 4.0 Chimaera to a 4.7 Vantage, now with Bamford Rose mods up to 460 or so bhp, but it doesn't have the immediate kick that the TVR did at any speed up to around 100, its much smoother, but it keeps going. After 100mph when the TVR was losing the advantage of weight, and both power and aerodynamics become more significant, the Aston just piles on the speed, as you'd expect, it has a 30+ mph higher limit
Apples and Pears .....
I also had a 4.5 Chimaera ..... loved it but completely different car .......
Certainly for me ..... I originally bought the TVR as a weekend car but never ended up using it enough as at weekends with the kids, dogs etc the Range Rover continued to be the default ....
Couldn't use the TVR as my daily commute (live in Bristol and main office in Manchester) ..... just too noisy, brutal etc ....
I've now a DB9 (via a Porsche 911 C2) .... just a different car ..... a true GT v the TVR ...... I now use the DB9 everyday during the week and arrive as relaxed and refreshed as if I'd driven the Rangie .... still has enough performance to entertain me when I want ....... but it won't provide the same 'seat f the pants' as the TVR ......
..... that said now that I replaced the CATS with straight-through pipes at least it sounds near to the TVR .....
Hope that helps?
I also had a 4.5 Chimaera ..... loved it but completely different car .......
Certainly for me ..... I originally bought the TVR as a weekend car but never ended up using it enough as at weekends with the kids, dogs etc the Range Rover continued to be the default ....
Couldn't use the TVR as my daily commute (live in Bristol and main office in Manchester) ..... just too noisy, brutal etc ....
I've now a DB9 (via a Porsche 911 C2) .... just a different car ..... a true GT v the TVR ...... I now use the DB9 everyday during the week and arrive as relaxed and refreshed as if I'd driven the Rangie .... still has enough performance to entertain me when I want ....... but it won't provide the same 'seat f the pants' as the TVR ......
..... that said now that I replaced the CATS with straight-through pipes at least it sounds near to the TVR .....
Hope that helps?
The Surveyor said:
I moved from a Tuscan Convertable to a 4.3 V8 Vantage and the weight is the main difference. The lighter TVR gives much more brutal performance as a result, but conversely the Vantage feels a much more solid and planted when yor driving it swiftly.
The Vantage is no slouch, it's not a slow car by any means and is often going much faster that it feels. The engine revs much more like a Speed 6 TVR than the Rover V8 giving better performance as the noise rises, but it never feels like it's going to kill you like the TVRs did. In line with the image, it is a much more civilised way to make progress.
We did a 1,400 mile trip to Spain, France, and Italy in the Vantage last summer and never once did we wish it was faster. There were however many times when we were glad we weren't in the Tuscan.
Saying all that, I do still miss the Tuscan
This is spot on IME.The Vantage is no slouch, it's not a slow car by any means and is often going much faster that it feels. The engine revs much more like a Speed 6 TVR than the Rover V8 giving better performance as the noise rises, but it never feels like it's going to kill you like the TVRs did. In line with the image, it is a much more civilised way to make progress.
We did a 1,400 mile trip to Spain, France, and Italy in the Vantage last summer and never once did we wish it was faster. There were however many times when we were glad we weren't in the Tuscan.
Saying all that, I do still miss the Tuscan
As others have noted, straight line performance the TVR may well be ahead, but point to point the Aston will be quicker.
It'll be a much more civilised ride. You may, therefore, find yourself missing the visceral entertainment the TVR will give. But most of the time I don't think you will. It's a much more grown up car, and several leagues ahead in terms of quality.
(Best bet would be to have both
).The Surveyor said:
I moved from a Tuscan Convertable to a 4.3 V8 Vantage and the weight is the main difference. The lighter TVR gives much more brutal performance as a result, but conversely the Vantage feels a much more solid and planted when yor driving it swiftly.
The Vantage is no slouch, it's not a slow car by any means and is often going much faster that it feels. The engine revs much more like a Speed 6 TVR than the Rover V8 giving better performance as the noise rises, but it never feels like it's going to kill you like the TVRs did. In line with the image, it is a much more civilised way to make progress.
We did a 1,400 mile trip to Spain, France, and Italy in the Vantage last summer and never once did we wish it was faster. There were however many times when we were glad we weren't in the Tuscan.
Saying all that, I do still miss the Tuscan
I totally agree with the above, I moved from a Sagaris to a 4.7 V8 Vantage and whilst the Sag always felt quicker in no way did I find it any harder work to make progress with friends in TVRs than I had before. What you may want to consider is that you have been used to making progress using lots of torque whereas the Vantage is more like the speed 6 engines in that it does like to be reved so you will have to revise your driving style a bit. They do still have a reasonable amount of torqueThe Vantage is no slouch, it's not a slow car by any means and is often going much faster that it feels. The engine revs much more like a Speed 6 TVR than the Rover V8 giving better performance as the noise rises, but it never feels like it's going to kill you like the TVRs did. In line with the image, it is a much more civilised way to make progress.
We did a 1,400 mile trip to Spain, France, and Italy in the Vantage last summer and never once did we wish it was faster. There were however many times when we were glad we weren't in the Tuscan.
Saying all that, I do still miss the Tuscan
The Vantage does seem to hide its speed better than TVRs but I think mainly that is down to much better NVH control than the TVRs. If you get one have one of the specialists fit their partial decats as this releases some extra noise and makes it feel quicker even if it isn't.
Have a read up on Bamford roses site for some interesting details on performance increases both perceived and real, and yes there are other specialists out there as well as BR before anyone moans.
I would still be in a Vantage if it wasn't for the way one of the AM dealers failed to deal with problems when I purchased my second Vantage from them, the car was a lovely place to be true GT car with a bit of sports car thrown in but for me the dealership experience left too much to be desired.
For me I would return to Vantage ownership but don't see me going back to TVR.
When I was looking to buy I found Grange at Welwyn to be very helpful, wish I had gone with them in hindsight, with everything from information through test drives. Don't know how far from you they are but I would recommend a chat with them to see what they can offer.
Best of luck in your search.
ETA Probably the most noticeable thing with the Vantage is the extra weight, whilst this obviously has an effect on the straight line speed I found that in the tighter corners in particular it felt very nose heavy. However once you overcome the feeling that it wants to understeer in reality the front end is very good and can be pushed a lot harder than first thought.
Edited by J12KJR on Monday 11th January 07:45
I own a Cerebra 4.0 Speed 6 and have just bought a DB9, I have tried the V8's and they are a bit more "edgy" than the 9 but comparing to the TVR the is nothing like the huge rush from that car with such a light weight. They are very different cars, and both have huge strengths. Aston is class and style above other attributes, and you do feel very special driving one. TVR is that crazy blonde that is exciting to be with, but occasionally lets you down....(DB9 is more of a Princess who still likes a bit of fun with the stable boy!)
Gassing Station | Aston Martin | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff