911 Turbo to V8 Vantage - My Initial Impressions
Discussion
The Aston is slower, The Aston is heavier, its nose is long and hence harder to see whats directly in front, Aston is not as sharp as my Porsche, The Aston is noisier (exhaust), and I have lost two back seats. AND I ABSOLUTELY FOOKIN LOVE IT!!!
Picked up my V8 Yesterday. 2014 with around 8600 (5000+ miles). Skyfall Silver
Very very brief summary so far
Sport shift II - I surprisingly actually quite like it. Expected to hate to but when you lift off the pedal etc its quite nice. Ive been doing the clutch learn procedure on startup
Power - Whilst not a rush like in a 911 Turbo, its definitely more than enough especially for where I live. Draconian speed laws, (as Ive previously mentioned) doing 70MPH on a multi lane highway in the dry with hardly any other cars around, in the dry in the daytime, gets you points and a fine (limit is a strict 68MPH)
Sound System - The 1000W Bang & Olufsen is great, and the pop up tweeters are lovely too
Looks and Sound - Well nothing needs to be said here. I also think the previous owner has pulled fuse 22 but I am still too busy admiring this fine machine to have a look
Interior - Love the cocooned feeling, and its really a nice place to be. Rear storage space behind seats is much larger than I thought and hence quite handy. Boot is big for this type of car too.
Ride - I personally find it much more compliant and comfortable than the 911. I needed to get a TPC DSC module for the 911 to improve that suspension, but the Aston performs really well in this regard. Yes not as good as a Range rover would but I mean for cars that Ive driven in this category.
Yes its not as sharp and not as a good a drivers car as my Porsche was. However with the Aston, I don't even know what horsepower etc it produces, because its not about that with this car (for me anyway). I still have my motorcycle for speed if need be.
It also doesn't seem to scrape where my Porsche used to, most possibly due to the much shorter overhang over the front wheels.
Very early days yet so yes this mini review may be partly clouded, but I do not remember feeling this way when I first took delivery of my 911. Looking forward to seeing if my views change a few months in
One downside is (if you may call it that) is that when I stop to let people out of junctions (which I sort of regularly do) nobody wants to come out and all seem to want to let me go first lol
Two quick snaps off my phone - Haven't had the time to take proper pictures yet.
Anyway thanks to everyone on here for their input when I was looking. Much appreciated.
Picked up my V8 Yesterday. 2014 with around 8600 (5000+ miles). Skyfall Silver
Very very brief summary so far
Sport shift II - I surprisingly actually quite like it. Expected to hate to but when you lift off the pedal etc its quite nice. Ive been doing the clutch learn procedure on startup
Power - Whilst not a rush like in a 911 Turbo, its definitely more than enough especially for where I live. Draconian speed laws, (as Ive previously mentioned) doing 70MPH on a multi lane highway in the dry with hardly any other cars around, in the dry in the daytime, gets you points and a fine (limit is a strict 68MPH)
Sound System - The 1000W Bang & Olufsen is great, and the pop up tweeters are lovely too
Looks and Sound - Well nothing needs to be said here. I also think the previous owner has pulled fuse 22 but I am still too busy admiring this fine machine to have a look
Interior - Love the cocooned feeling, and its really a nice place to be. Rear storage space behind seats is much larger than I thought and hence quite handy. Boot is big for this type of car too.
Ride - I personally find it much more compliant and comfortable than the 911. I needed to get a TPC DSC module for the 911 to improve that suspension, but the Aston performs really well in this regard. Yes not as good as a Range rover would but I mean for cars that Ive driven in this category.
Yes its not as sharp and not as a good a drivers car as my Porsche was. However with the Aston, I don't even know what horsepower etc it produces, because its not about that with this car (for me anyway). I still have my motorcycle for speed if need be.
It also doesn't seem to scrape where my Porsche used to, most possibly due to the much shorter overhang over the front wheels.
Very early days yet so yes this mini review may be partly clouded, but I do not remember feeling this way when I first took delivery of my 911. Looking forward to seeing if my views change a few months in
One downside is (if you may call it that) is that when I stop to let people out of junctions (which I sort of regularly do) nobody wants to come out and all seem to want to let me go first lol
Two quick snaps off my phone - Haven't had the time to take proper pictures yet.
Anyway thanks to everyone on here for their input when I was looking. Much appreciated.
JohnG1 said:
Were you up near the Allan Border oval in Mosman on Friday? If so, I saw you. Very nice Sir!
Thanks WhoamiNope not me John. I did collect the car Friday and was out and about but stayed this side of the Harbour bridge ie south.
Beautiful sunny weekend so am Going to try and get out as much as I can. See you soon when you're free
Congrats from across the Tasman. That's a lovely looking car and with IMHO the best looking vantage wheels. You can't say we did warn you about the long nose and visibility. You will however get used to it. After a while you start to lean on the suspension a bit more and appreciate it is a pretty able and very engaging car. Of course its not as rampant as your turbo but it has the feel good factor in spades.
drac said:
its not as rampant as your turbo but it has the feel good factor in spades.
V8Andrew said:
ended up selling the 911 as we didn't really use it. Just not the same sense of occasion as the Aston, although in every objective measure better.
Yes this and this. It does feel good indeed....V8V Pete said:
Stunning Vantage. Skyfall looks so good in the sun. Enjoy 
Agree. Just brings out the colour nicely. Ive never been a fan of silver cars, have always gone for white and black (adventurous I know), but am really liking Skyfall Silver. Plus sun is something which we have in abundance here in Sydney which is a good thing. hashluck said:
The paint job is great.
You should not have to do a clutch learn 'procedure' as such on Sportshift II cars - just wait for the LED on the Neutral button to stop flashing and you are all set.
Ah thanks I did now know that, but am glad I now do. I really need to get "The Book" and read it from cover to cover. Ive found even in D mode if you lift off at the right moment it eliminates jerk, its just not always easy to judge exactly when its going to change gear, so paddles are still better. Curious to see how it behaves on WOT, whether it shifts the same or is different. You should not have to do a clutch learn 'procedure' as such on Sportshift II cars - just wait for the LED on the Neutral button to stop flashing and you are all set.
Nice cars these Aston Martins aren't they
What they lack in power, they make up for with class and design !
It's like a beautifull Mercedes Gullwing, or a Ferrari Daytona. Slow by today's standards, but soooo classy !
Doug DeMuro said it best: you go from the a§§hole in the Porsche to James fùcking Bond ! I still like my own Porsche, but an Aston is something special.
It's like a beautifull Mercedes Gullwing, or a Ferrari Daytona. Slow by today's standards, but soooo classy !
Doug DeMuro said it best: you go from the a§§hole in the Porsche to James fùcking Bond ! I still like my own Porsche, but an Aston is something special.
Edited by The_Orange on Saturday 15th October 13:39
A real beauty, congrats , funnily enough I went from a 996TT to a silver 4.3 Coupe, despite the difference in power it works as the Aston is an all-new multi-layer experience.
For fastest changes when pressing on, with Sport engaged and foot kept flat to the floor aim to change above 7000rpm as near to the limiter as possible.... enjoy
, funnily enough I went from a 996TT to a silver 4.3 Coupe, despite the difference in power it works as the Aston is an all-new multi-layer experience.For fastest changes when pressing on, with Sport engaged and foot kept flat to the floor aim to change above 7000rpm as near to the limiter as possible.... enjoy
Great article JKAY.
I have come from a long line of Porsche's which includes a 993, 996 turbo, 997 S Gen 2 & recently a new 981 Boxster Spyder. Loving the Spyder & no plans to sell. However, think I need to itch that Vantage V8 itch one day. As said on here before, Porsche does everything so well & in most forms will be faster & handle better than the Vantage. But now coming round to thinking its not all about how fast/precise handling etc. The Aston looks so classy.
What are people's opinions on future values etc on the Vantage V8 if say I bought a 5-6 year old, low miles example? Over the years my Porsche's have never lost me much cash & my Spyder is worth more than i paid for her & if kept for say three years or so i probably wouldn't lose any cash when i come to sell.
I have come from a long line of Porsche's which includes a 993, 996 turbo, 997 S Gen 2 & recently a new 981 Boxster Spyder. Loving the Spyder & no plans to sell. However, think I need to itch that Vantage V8 itch one day. As said on here before, Porsche does everything so well & in most forms will be faster & handle better than the Vantage. But now coming round to thinking its not all about how fast/precise handling etc. The Aston looks so classy.
What are people's opinions on future values etc on the Vantage V8 if say I bought a 5-6 year old, low miles example? Over the years my Porsche's have never lost me much cash & my Spyder is worth more than i paid for her & if kept for say three years or so i probably wouldn't lose any cash when i come to sell.
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