RE: Spotted: Aston Martin V8 Vantage

[ZesPak]

Beefmeister said:

V8Triumph said:

A Cayman or an Aston Martin and a Cayman in an EXTREMELY boring colour at that.... hmmm really hard choice that one And thats coming from someone who used to be unbelievably into Porsches.

If we were talking Cayman Vs V8V at £30k i'd agree. My point was that for £10,000 less you can get a very good example of one of the best handling sportscars on the roads.

ZesPak said:

I'm a porsche fan, but I do think that holds no comparison to the aston, completely different imho.

I doubt that on my favourite b-road the V8V would see which way the Cayman went. I've done hundreds of miles in both and yes, of course i'd take the V8V if it were a £30k choice. It has the noise, image and looks. But there's a whole lot of difference between a £20k and £30k purchase.

Well, you just repeat what I said, they are not to be compared, completely different approach to the "sports coupé" genre. Tbh the only thing they have in common in my eye is that they are both similar sized sports coupés from a premium manufacturer.

[Token Jock]

Well I can rightfully comment as I've got one

Had it over 2 years, fabulous car to own and drive, sure there are faster and better handling cars out there but the Vantage is no slouch or a wobbly jelly to drive.

Overall it is a very very good car, sounds epic, looks stunning, isn't criminal to run and the general public love them.

It's great fun to drive normally or when you want to have a hoon.

Like the 911 I had you don't immediately "get it" from a short drive round the block, you need time to gel together.

Importantly it has soul and character and for me it is a complete car, it feels special to drive and own

Edited by Token Jock on Wednesday 21st March 11:56

[Pugsey]

Pugsey said:

cragswinter said:

I came soooooo close to buying one of these last autumn, so I feel qualified to comment.

First of all the does it feel fast angle, yes & no. It all depends on what you're coming from & yes an m3 or AMG will dust it but really-do you do drag races?

Servicing didn't look as horrendous as first thought-I'd say on par with an ///M, AMG or Porsche.

Economy & fuel prices, most will be weekend toys.

But, & the biggest, hugest most important BUT, is that no Porsche, ///M car or AMG merc will ever get you the feeling one of these will-& I've owned my fair share (I've had 911s, M3csl etc etc).

Some folks will say that to drive they're nothing special, but what they really mean is dynamically they're nothing special. In fact I actually thought it reminded me of my old 350Z more than anything (dynamically), heavy controls, big chested multi cylinders up front, meaty box in the middle & lairy rwd at the back.

What the hells not to like?!

Yes it could be faster, yes it could be lighter, nimbler etc but good god man, look at the thing! Listen to it sing!

& be safe in the knowledge that women will like it, very much!

Picture pulling up outside a nice country hotel with your dorris after driving some stunning deserted country roads, getting the bags out the boot & giving it one last look before you enter the hotel for a weekend of fine dining & shagging-that's your Aston that is!

Now, some may prefer a weekend with the lads at the nurburgring & for that you want your gt3 admittedly, but having looked into it, those n24 & gt3 spec Aston racers make do with the standard brake callipers (only unrated discs & pads) the standard engine & all the the parts for the racers are available from Aston themselves.

Oh & before I'm accused on being a fanboy, I never really "got" the Aston thing before trying them, it was a mate who (hating Porsches) begged me to give one a go & I've got to say, had me & swmbo not decided to plan a bloomin wedding I'd be after one right now.

In fact, I can't think of anything I'd rather have in a couple of years after the Z4M coupe. It'll probably feel a little slower, but who wants to go that fast when you look & sound that good?!

I'll take mine in meteor grey, with kestrel tan interior please

From someone who's earlier posts were based on having moved from a 997S to virtually the first 4.3 customer car I'd say that's a very good summing up indeed.

[sagarich]

I would normally go for the 911..... but its hard to ignore the looks and gorgeous noise with fuse 22 removed.

[V8Triumph]

cragswinter said:

V8Triumph said:

Take it you've drove one then?? Sounds like it's a car right up my street, pity I don't have £30K and another pity that with £30K I've have an E-type sat on my drive!

I love heavy, lariy cars and they are MUCH more exciting to drive than perfectly balanced, geek of the year cars.

I'll take mine in red (non metallic) or BRG with a cream interior please

Oh yes mate, drove a few (trying to drive a bargain so to speak), & I think they will appeal to a certain customer-which is either a fluke or very, very good design!

They're a very British thing really & I'd say they were almost designed for the man who has done the tvr thing & wants something a little more civilised that even the swmbo can drive (a bit like my Z4M I suppose?) but who still wants something that looks the part, sounds the part but that isn't made of fibreglass & might be slightly more reliable.

Don't get me wrong, I love my quirky cars but I know for a fact that when we drive the Pyrenees this summer swmbo would have put up with my classic 911, but she'll enjoy the ZM-say nav, air con, iPod connection an all.

I adore British cars ... that much should be obvious, lol.

Erm, I think you ought to check my profile. Whilst you and I agree very muchly on Aston Martins ... you and I do not agree very muchly on what "SWMBO" can and "can't" drive ...

Hell hath no fury and all that

[Contigo]

Beautiful car to look at but when I drove one I just couldn't help feeling underwhelmed by the performance of the car. It's got a peach of an engine that is probably one of the best sounding V8's (up there with the B7 RS4) but it doesn't deliver supercar brutal acceleration like other cars. I felt the same after driving the V8 Audi R8 and it's all mouth and no trousers too.

[nickfrog]

They've been below the £30K mark for a while now (transaction price).

I know someone who's bought a high spec black/black 07 one privately last October with 45k miles and 1 year AM warranty for £28.5K (asking price was £33K).

Having seen and heard that particular car I thought it was a lot of car for the money almost regardless how "slow" it is supposed to be.

[mr2j]

something that may be in my price range before i die; [sacrilege]i'd love to get one and strip it out for a track toy.[/sacrilege]

[Pugsey]

Contigo said:

Beautiful car to look at but when I drove one I just couldn't help feeling underwhelmed by the performance of the car. It's got a peach of an engine that is probably one of the best sounding V8's (up there with the B7 RS4) but it doesn't deliver supercar brutal acceleration like other cars. I felt the same after driving the V8 Audi R8 and it's all mouth and no trousers too.

Why were you suprised? It's not a supercar nor ever intended to be. It's 'junior' league in the same way as a 997S is to say a 997Turbo.

[Lunablack]

I was in my vantage on the M6 by Wigan last week..... As I passed a Mondeo estate, all the windows came down, and a gang of lads were all hanging out of the windows giving the thumbs up

Made me smile, made them smile, and had an all around good feeling...... Never had a car that gets that sort of reaction before..

[Contigo]

Pugsey said:

Why were you suprised? It's not a supercar nor ever intended to be. It's 'junior' league in the same way as a 997S is to say a 997Turbo.

I was surprised because it's an Aston Martin V8 Vantage and is in the Supercar territory and everything you expect from Aston should meet that very high standard. As Harris said in the review it's not that quick when even an M3 can pull away from it. If you've not driven one you probably won't understand. It's frustrating driving something that sounds so good but just doesn't have the performance to match.

[Beefmeister]

ZesPak said:

Well, you just repeat what I said, they are not to be compared, completely different approach to the "sports coupé" genre. Tbh the only thing they have in common in my eye is that they are both similar sized sports coupés from a premium manufacturer.

Yes, exactly. My point is this:

If I had £30k to spend on a 2-seater sports coupe, I would simply find it hard to look past that Cayman at 2/3 the price of the Aston. I don't see why this is so hard to grasp.

[va1o]

This is my favourite 'real world' dream car. Absolutely the best vehicle that can be had for £30k IMO

[V8Triumph]

Lunablack said:

I was in my vantage on the M6 by Wigan last week..... As I passed a Mondeo estate, all the windows came down, and a gang of lads were all hanging out of the windows giving the thumbs up

Made me smile, made them smile, and had an all around good feeling...... Never had a car that gets that sort of reaction before..

I have stuff like that happen to me every other week and I haven't even paid £10K for any of my cars ...

You don't have to own a supercar to get noticed, for all the right reasons too

[em177]

Lunablack said:

I was in my vantage on the M6 by Wigan last week..... As I passed a Mondeo estate, all the windows came down, and a gang of lads were all hanging out of the windows giving the thumbs up

Made me smile, made them smile, and had an all around good feeling...... Never had a car that gets that sort of reaction before..

Do you by any chance look like this!?

[V8Triumph]

Beefmeister said:

ZesPak said:

Well, you just repeat what I said, they are not to be compared, completely different approach to the "sports coupé" genre. Tbh the only thing they have in common in my eye is that they are both similar sized sports coupés from a premium manufacturer.

Yes, exactly. My point is this:

If I had £30k to spend on a 2-seater sports coupe, I would simply find it hard to look past that Cayman at 2/3 the price of the Aston. I don't see why this is so hard to grasp.

Because it'll never have the sense of occasion the Aston Martin will have? Not saying there is anything wrong with the Cayman at all but it is no Aston Martin. All IMO etc.

[cragswinter]

V8Triumph said:

I adore British cars ... that much should be obvious, lol.

Erm, I think you ought to check my profile. Whilst you and I agree very muchly on Aston Martins ... you and I do not agree very muchly on what "SWMBO" can and "can't" drive ...

Hell hath no fury and all that

well if you'll just give me a few minutes to remove my foot from my mouth nicola......

Although, as admirable as your choice of cars may be, I'll make a broad & sweeping comment that it's quite an important point for us pistonheads as often our "partners" (see what I did there?! ) just aren't as in to old quirky cars as we are.

With the Aston, you get a great car in an easy to live with package that a higher proportion of the motoring public can enjoy

(I almost think I recovered that one )

[Pugsey]

Contigo said:

Pugsey said:

Why were you suprised? It's not a supercar nor ever intended to be. It's 'junior' league in the same way as a 997S is to say a 997Turbo.

If you've not driven one you probably won't understand.

If you read my previous posts you'll see I've owned one and am aware of it's weaknesses as well as it's strengths. It's really ISN'T a 'supercar' and at the time it's performance was there or thereabouts for the level it was competing at. As others have said there are MANY pleasures in owning one of these other than absolute straight line performance which tend to make the fact that an M3 might edge away from you fairly inconsequential.

[jdw1234]

Lunablack said:

I was in my vantage on the M6 by Wigan last week..... As I passed a Mondeo estate, all the windows came down, and a gang of lads were all hanging out of the windows giving the thumbs up

Made me smile, made them smile, and had an all around good feeling...... Never had a car that gets that sort of reaction before..

Try again on the M25 ;-)

The are as common as 911s in the real world.

[Contigo]

Pugsey said:

If you read my previous posts you'll see I've owned one and am aware of it's weaknesses as well as it's strengths. It's really ISN'T a 'supercar' and at the time it's performance was there or thereabouts for the level it was competing at. As others have said there are MANY pleasures in owning one of these other than absolute straight line performance which tend to make the fact that an M3 might edge away from you fairly inconsequential.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAa0Uh17BEM

Everyday "Supercar" review from Car and Driver magazine

Aston Martin V8 Vantage vs Audi R8 vs Porsche 911 Turbo