Discussion
RichB said:
Just been to the launch of the Vantage at Grange Welwyn and, humm... it's lovely, of course, it's an Aston Martin but...
The nose/grill is still ugly, the shut line across the front of the nose is an eyesore, the bonnet lid is a massive slab of metal with little relief it does nothing for the front of the car, the headlamps appear mean and too small emphasised by the massive flat slab of bonnet. Still can't understand why they've deleted the signature Aston strakes. The exhaust tail pipes looked unfinished. I agree with everyone, it doesn't Aston Martin spelling out in letters on the rear below the Aston wings badge. Inside, surprisingly there's no glovebox, theres a shut line running down the dash which is out of alignment with another shut line below, where the glove box lid should be, that is out of alignment by about 2cm, most odd. The black plasticky knobs and dials cluster in the centre console looks cheap and tacky compared to the current Vantage, indeed the interior looked less classic than the current Vantage. It was a beautiful shade of red and i have to say the paintwork looked stunning.
I was there as well and I agree to a lot of the points... But, I am hoping this is a pre-release car and that is the only reason for the poor quality plastics and fitment issues. I also think the lights/front is not aggressive enough. Not that much of a fan of the dash knobs either. These are all things that could be quite easily fixed. What did surprise me was how low the top of the engine actually was, in fact, the height of the car overall... I think it is going to be very colour sensitive with that huge grill, and probably dark colours will suit it best.The nose/grill is still ugly, the shut line across the front of the nose is an eyesore, the bonnet lid is a massive slab of metal with little relief it does nothing for the front of the car, the headlamps appear mean and too small emphasised by the massive flat slab of bonnet. Still can't understand why they've deleted the signature Aston strakes. The exhaust tail pipes looked unfinished. I agree with everyone, it doesn't Aston Martin spelling out in letters on the rear below the Aston wings badge. Inside, surprisingly there's no glovebox, theres a shut line running down the dash which is out of alignment with another shut line below, where the glove box lid should be, that is out of alignment by about 2cm, most odd. The black plasticky knobs and dials cluster in the centre console looks cheap and tacky compared to the current Vantage, indeed the interior looked less classic than the current Vantage. It was a beautiful shade of red and i have to say the paintwork looked stunning.
hornbaek said:
...it is nice but it doesn’t make me want one...
It was interesting listening to the chat last night and almost universally everyone was troubled by the odd nose/small lights. Many people were already discussing how its impact could be minimised by painting the grill surround body colour. There was a complete cross section of Aston owners and partners there and I would say it only received lukewarm approval. I was at the launch of the original V8 Vantage at HWM back in 2006/7 and the reaction back then was totally different, everyone universally loved it. I think Aston may have a problem with this car and I expect it will get a redesign very soon into its life cycle. 
ilikeAstons said:
Aston Beverly Hills are exhibiting the New Vantage this morning in Los Angeles. I'm in LA on business as it happens and have been invited to look (and no doubt be persuaded to dip into my pocket). TBH the car is growing on me. Will report back.
Might look better in the sun..
RichB said:
hornbaek said:
...it is nice but it doesn’t make me want one...
It was interesting listening to the chat last night and almost universally everyone was troubled by the odd nose/small lights. Many people were already discussing how its impact could be minimised by painting the grill surround body colour. There was a complete cross section of Aston owners and partners there and I would say it only received lukewarm approval. I was at the launch of the original V8 Vantage at HWM back in 2006/7 and the reaction back then was totally different, everyone universally loved it. I think Aston may have a problem with this car and I expect it will get a redesign very soon into its life cycle. 
All the people I talked to were very polite about the car but didn't think it was for them. I had a good chat with one person who had previously left a deposit, but having seen it had asked for it back. It has grown on me a little, I'm trying to think of it as 'ahead of its time'. (maybe clutching at straws?) and possibly in a light grey /black might help to tone it down a bit, closer to the previous understated style I normally associate with Aston Martin. garyhun said:
Have they actually started producing ‘production line’ cars yet?
Could they re-tool for a redesign before proper production begins if they believed they needed to?
The first year's production is already sold out according to AML so I really doubt there's any immediate redesign in the offing. I think it's more a case of us having to grow to love the new design (or not)Could they re-tool for a redesign before proper production begins if they believed they needed to?
Did see the new V8 Vantage in real life too one week ago, and..............I am not impressed.
It totally does NOT give you the feeling it is an Aston Martin. It is not stylisch and understated anymore. This concerns both the outside (no consistent design, the front is too weak) and the inside (too much Focus RS / Audi TT imho). Probably a car ment only for the "new markets"?
I remember the first time I did see the previous V8 Vantage in real life and I was impressed and did want to buy it for sure (as I did, and enjoyed it for more than 5 years, now I enjoy my DBS).
There was also a Vanquish Zagato Volante present (ready for delivery), not a fan of the Zagato's, but more stylish than the new V8 Vantage.
Let's hope the new DBS/Vanquish later this year will make up for it!
It totally does NOT give you the feeling it is an Aston Martin. It is not stylisch and understated anymore. This concerns both the outside (no consistent design, the front is too weak) and the inside (too much Focus RS / Audi TT imho). Probably a car ment only for the "new markets"?
I remember the first time I did see the previous V8 Vantage in real life and I was impressed and did want to buy it for sure (as I did, and enjoyed it for more than 5 years, now I enjoy my DBS).
There was also a Vanquish Zagato Volante present (ready for delivery), not a fan of the Zagato's, but more stylish than the new V8 Vantage.
Let's hope the new DBS/Vanquish later this year will make up for it!
It is quite interesting to see the interest on this thread compared with the AMR thread. In normal circumstances the newsflow from a new model should be so much stronger than the newsflow and reactions on the outgoing model. Whilst the AMRs are universally praised the reception of the new Vantage is far more lukewarm. That doesn’t happen when Porsche or indeed McLaren launch new models. Despite the known qualities of the outgoing 997 GT3 RS it didn’t really steal the limelight from the 991 GT3 RS.
hornbaek said:
It is quite interesting to see the interest on this thread compared with the AMR thread. In normal circumstances the newsflow from a new model should be so much stronger than the newsflow and reactions on the outgoing model. Whilst the AMRs are universally praised the reception of the new Vantage is far more lukewarm. That doesn’t happen when Porsche or indeed McLaren launch new models. Despite the known qualities of the outgoing 997 GT3 RS it didn’t really steal the limelight from the 991 GT3 RS.
Perhaps trying to differentiate the Vantage from the DB11 has meant quite a dramatic design shift that current owners find challenging . It may have been better to not call it the new Vantage as we will always compare to the existing car . A very difficult job for Aston and although certain aspects not liked by some on PH it’s been well received if it’s sold out for a year . I’ve got a funny feeling it might work much better as a Roadster . I suspect its sold out for a year if everyone who placed a deposit follows up with a firm order order. Some wont though others may step in. Personally I did place a deposit on the car. Undecided whether to go ahead after seeing it again last night. i enjoyed standing looking at the rear three quarter angle of the car. Moved round to the front....and well its all been said.
So much will depend how it drives.
So much will depend how it drives.
I don't think comparing it with the AMR response is strictly fair, they are both at different points of their release cycles. New Vantage deliveries are still months away whereas AMR cars are already on the road, so maybe people who don't like the AMR as a rule are just choosing to say nothing as opposed to being critical on the thread showing people's actual cars.
The new Vantage was revealed and everyone has had their say on how it looks - nothing more really to discuss until they are driven in isolation and against competitors in the Spring. If it drives as well we all hope then all the worrying about bonnet shut-lines, interior knobs and the like can be forgotten about.
The issue for me is the time between the reveal and anything new forthcoming, too much time to dwell on things that don't really matter in the grand scheme of things. I realise some just don't like it, and that's perfectly reasonable as you'll never please everyone, but once it's driven I hope the conversation can move on to how well it compares to its competitors.
The new Vantage was revealed and everyone has had their say on how it looks - nothing more really to discuss until they are driven in isolation and against competitors in the Spring. If it drives as well we all hope then all the worrying about bonnet shut-lines, interior knobs and the like can be forgotten about.
The issue for me is the time between the reveal and anything new forthcoming, too much time to dwell on things that don't really matter in the grand scheme of things. I realise some just don't like it, and that's perfectly reasonable as you'll never please everyone, but once it's driven I hope the conversation can move on to how well it compares to its competitors.
Gettoff said:
I If it drives as well we all hope then all the worrying about bonnet shut-lines, interior knobs and the like can be forgotten about.
Don’t agree. Most Vantage buyers bought the car for the emotion of it, in which looks played a large part This is the first mainstream Aston in several decades which hasn't been great looking right from the off. With the beauty, the sound, the quality of the materials and the brand values, buyers were able to forgive the previous Vantage driving not quite as well as a Porsche or an R8. Now? And it's much more expensive. Gassing Station | Aston Martin | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff