New AM Vantage Test Drive - in case anyone is interested
Discussion
Minglar said:
Oops, Autocar did notice, what one or two on here have already mentioned.
' The new car’s large and imposing front grille typifies a design that seems to suggest, this car’s creators don’t much care whether you think it’s particularly pretty. '
Minglar said:
Wow! That reviewer really sings the new Vantage's praises. Residuals better than a 911? How much did Aston pay these guys? Just kidding.I'm most keen on finding out how the new car compares to others in its price range - looks like it blows the old model away and manages to respectfully fend off the current competition going by that review. Excellent!
Edited by AlexT on Wednesday 23 May 13:41
AlexT said:
Residuals better than a 911?
Good news, but how do they know that, Alex?
I thought to work out depreciation, you subtract the average selling prices of 1, 2 or 3 year old cars, from the original total purchase cost.
The first customer Vantage only left the production line on the 17th May 2018.
From the autocar review-
'You felt as though you were perched on top of the last Vantage at the wheel but you nestle low and snug in the new one, with a steering wheel homing in towards your chest and a high shoulder line surrounding you.'
At no single point, ever, have I felt perched on top of my two vantages i've had, and im 6ft 2. Strange comment to me, i've always felt exactly the opposite regarding the driving position of the old vantage.
'You felt as though you were perched on top of the last Vantage at the wheel but you nestle low and snug in the new one, with a steering wheel homing in towards your chest and a high shoulder line surrounding you.'
At no single point, ever, have I felt perched on top of my two vantages i've had, and im 6ft 2. Strange comment to me, i've always felt exactly the opposite regarding the driving position of the old vantage.
gibbon said:
From the autocar review-
'You felt as though you were perched on top of the last Vantage at the wheel but you nestle low and snug in the new one, with a steering wheel homing in towards your chest and a high shoulder line surrounding you.'
At no single point, ever, have I felt perched on top of my two vantages i've had, and im 6ft 2. Strange comment to me, i've always felt exactly the opposite regarding the driving position of the old vantage.
Great minds think alike. I had exactly the same thought at the same time. It makes me wonder whether he ever drove an old Vantage.'You felt as though you were perched on top of the last Vantage at the wheel but you nestle low and snug in the new one, with a steering wheel homing in towards your chest and a high shoulder line surrounding you.'
At no single point, ever, have I felt perched on top of my two vantages i've had, and im 6ft 2. Strange comment to me, i've always felt exactly the opposite regarding the driving position of the old vantage.
Seemed like a good review overall to me which is good news. I won’t dwell on the engine/grille. We have done enough of that elsewhere. However, I did think the comments on the driving position with regards to the old car were a bit interesting though. If I am first in the queue I sometimes have trouble seeing traffic lights at junctions in my V12V due to the low seating position and the windscreen. To me that does not suggest I’m perched on top of the car. One thing I didn’t like when I saw the new car was the view out. I couldn’t see any of the bonnet and it was hard to place the wings. Interesting that the review also mentions the width. It’s a lot wider than the old car and that will certainly be a factor for me if I do decide to get one in the future. And I still can’t get my head around the price they all keep quoting. Come on guys it’s never going to come in at £120k. That may be the base, but the options list is long and pricey. However, Autocar like it, and it seems like it ticked most of the boxes which has to be a good thing.
Best Regards
Minglar
Best Regards
Minglar
Edited by Minglar on Wednesday 23 May 17:12
tuffer said:
Minglar said:
And in my colour, getting seriously excited now.
Bobajobbob said:
gibbon said:
From the autocar review-
'You felt as though you were perched on top of the last Vantage at the wheel but you nestle low and snug in the new one, with a steering wheel homing in towards your chest and a high shoulder line surrounding you.'
At no single point, ever, have I felt perched on top of my two vantages i've had, and im 6ft 2. Strange comment to me, i've always felt exactly the opposite regarding the driving position of the old vantage.
Great minds think alike. I had exactly the same thought at the same time. It makes me wonder whether he ever drove an old Vantage.'You felt as though you were perched on top of the last Vantage at the wheel but you nestle low and snug in the new one, with a steering wheel homing in towards your chest and a high shoulder line surrounding you.'
At no single point, ever, have I felt perched on top of my two vantages i've had, and im 6ft 2. Strange comment to me, i've always felt exactly the opposite regarding the driving position of the old vantage.
Well, im glad its not just me regarding the seating position of the old vantage! In terms of feeling like the car is wrapped around you, its the best car i've ever had, up to the point where as people say, its quite hard to see out of, i cant imagine the new model has an even higher waste line, you wouldnt be able to see a thing! Very odd and poorly researched comments there, makes me question the other comparisons somewhat.
Speedraser said:
Bobajobbob said:
gibbon said:
From the autocar review-
'You felt as though you were perched on top of the last Vantage at the wheel but you nestle low and snug in the new one, with a steering wheel homing in towards your chest and a high shoulder line surrounding you.'
At no single point, ever, have I felt perched on top of my two vantages i've had, and im 6ft 2. Strange comment to me, i've always felt exactly the opposite regarding the driving position of the old vantage.
Great minds think alike. I had exactly the same thought at the same time. It makes me wonder whether he ever drove an old Vantage.'You felt as though you were perched on top of the last Vantage at the wheel but you nestle low and snug in the new one, with a steering wheel homing in towards your chest and a high shoulder line surrounding you.'
At no single point, ever, have I felt perched on top of my two vantages i've had, and im 6ft 2. Strange comment to me, i've always felt exactly the opposite regarding the driving position of the old vantage.
I would say in fairness that the lightweights create far more of a feeling of nestling low & snug than the regular 'sports' seats
I did very much notice the extra width of the new car, on the single lane country roads round the nurburgring, stepping out from old vantage and into new vantage
The new car has a great driving position but of all the things to highlight when comparing the two cars, driving position seems an odd one. What was very apparent though was a more spacious feel in the cabin for larger drivers & passengers
I skim read it yesterday so may have jumped to conclusions but got the impression that they had reservations about how good the car was. A lot closer compared to the last version but still not the best. And then you turn to how it is rated against its competitors and it is first! I guess my answer is to read it properly with the knowledge of how they rated the cars!
Wonder if it will win the group test next week? Hope so.
As for the seating position comment - bizarre. Having had both I can only believe he never sat in the lightweight seats because I have never felt perched in them. I am not sure you could even say that of the sports seats, mind you haven’t driven many of the competition.
Wonder if it will win the group test next week? Hope so.
As for the seating position comment - bizarre. Having had both I can only believe he never sat in the lightweight seats because I have never felt perched in them. I am not sure you could even say that of the sports seats, mind you haven’t driven many of the competition.
This guy does a slightly different kind of vlog review and comes up with interesting little everyday things others miss.
https://youtu.be/iv_fSaRl5qs
DW
https://youtu.be/iv_fSaRl5qs
DW
Drove the new Vantage today. I won`t say much (well, that`s my intention, let`s see…) as the OP (V-12V) wrote a great piece and pretty much nailed it from my perspective too.
Yet again, like the local unveiling, conservative Switzerland got the Lime Essence… The looks in the metal are so different from colour to colour. I`ve only seen Lime, China Grey, the silver one at Gaydon reception and a Red one in the factory (Hyper?) and they could almost all be different models. I think the lime does this car a disservice. While it ties in with the race cars, as a road car it screams spoilt playboy son of a Russian millionaire. In China Grey it`s much cooler and understated, the red looked wickedly sporty, silver is much closer to what we are used too. Spec is going to have a big bearing on if you like it or not. The grill/nose does not bother me, it looks nowhere near as gaping when you are seeing it live and the number plate makes a big difference. Someone at AM was very proud of that grill as evidenced by the all the worms-eye view photos that were released at the beginning, they should have held those back IMO. Overall I think the car looks terrific, the rear looks excellent, however having the rear diffuser fins etc car body coloured are not my cup of tea if you have a wildly contrasting colour.
Once indoors, I like the feel, very fighter pilot as OP says. I felt like there was a lot of car wrapped around me. The tacho I found not wonderfully visible, the graphic seemed a bit small and vague I think, hard to put a finger on it, maybe it was just unfamiliarity. The overall layout and style I find quite likeable for a sports car but to be honest I didn`t even notice anything about the disliked GPS screen except that it was quite dusty. There is certainly a bit of plastic being used too, and while the interior appeals to me it doesn`t have the same whiff of quality like the previous Gaydon vehicles.
On the move the steering responds very well, not overly light but precise and progressive, the paddles feel and work great, the changes are jolt free and extremely brisk, flicking through eight gears takes a bit of getting used to though. The ride was excellent and even in track mode it felt compliant and not overly stiff over the bumps, really nice. The brakes are superb, I`ll leave it at that. Just generally or when pushing through some corners the car feels incredibly planted and capable, when you nail it through a tighter bend you actually feel it hunkering down and applying traction. The accelerator has very little travel, under foot it feels like you only get an inch and you`re on the floor, but it seems to work, and that engine proficiently spins you up to speed very swiftly, but there is little drama in the way it does it, a bit of noise, smooth acceleration, oh hello 100mph.
It is a very, very good car, a mega update on the previous version, a nice place to sit, a demanding presence, polished. A car that will hold it`s own in most company. For me it just didn`t have that elusive factor that drew me into Aston Martin in the first place and I`m not just talking about the tangible which is appearance and aural, and this is maybe a point. I don`t think anyone up until now really bought an Aston Martin because of its 0-60 times, top speed or diffuser technology, or for it to be a world beater, rather it`s subtlety, quality, and scarcity. If you want your car to feel special, I don`t know if there has been a better marque. The new Vantage is not in that category, it`s rubbing shoulders with the more proficient, digital and flashy options out there who`s names end in a vowel and is going to be very good at it I imagine. It won`t be the flawed gem that we are used to, and more`s the pity, maybe.
Returning from the test drive I parked the new car next to mine to take a couple of snaps for prosperity. Afterwards when I prepared to leave my dealer jumped in new Vantage and started it up to move it. While it sat there running and we had our windows down I started mine (Bamford Rose exhaust, valves open) and after the wonderful sound that it created I looked over to my dealer who was smiling and nodding his head. “Very nice,” he said. Very telling, I thought, and then I drove off amid a fine cacophony of sound in my 11 year old car feeling quite smug with myself.
Yet again, like the local unveiling, conservative Switzerland got the Lime Essence… The looks in the metal are so different from colour to colour. I`ve only seen Lime, China Grey, the silver one at Gaydon reception and a Red one in the factory (Hyper?) and they could almost all be different models. I think the lime does this car a disservice. While it ties in with the race cars, as a road car it screams spoilt playboy son of a Russian millionaire. In China Grey it`s much cooler and understated, the red looked wickedly sporty, silver is much closer to what we are used too. Spec is going to have a big bearing on if you like it or not. The grill/nose does not bother me, it looks nowhere near as gaping when you are seeing it live and the number plate makes a big difference. Someone at AM was very proud of that grill as evidenced by the all the worms-eye view photos that were released at the beginning, they should have held those back IMO. Overall I think the car looks terrific, the rear looks excellent, however having the rear diffuser fins etc car body coloured are not my cup of tea if you have a wildly contrasting colour.
Once indoors, I like the feel, very fighter pilot as OP says. I felt like there was a lot of car wrapped around me. The tacho I found not wonderfully visible, the graphic seemed a bit small and vague I think, hard to put a finger on it, maybe it was just unfamiliarity. The overall layout and style I find quite likeable for a sports car but to be honest I didn`t even notice anything about the disliked GPS screen except that it was quite dusty. There is certainly a bit of plastic being used too, and while the interior appeals to me it doesn`t have the same whiff of quality like the previous Gaydon vehicles.
On the move the steering responds very well, not overly light but precise and progressive, the paddles feel and work great, the changes are jolt free and extremely brisk, flicking through eight gears takes a bit of getting used to though. The ride was excellent and even in track mode it felt compliant and not overly stiff over the bumps, really nice. The brakes are superb, I`ll leave it at that. Just generally or when pushing through some corners the car feels incredibly planted and capable, when you nail it through a tighter bend you actually feel it hunkering down and applying traction. The accelerator has very little travel, under foot it feels like you only get an inch and you`re on the floor, but it seems to work, and that engine proficiently spins you up to speed very swiftly, but there is little drama in the way it does it, a bit of noise, smooth acceleration, oh hello 100mph.
It is a very, very good car, a mega update on the previous version, a nice place to sit, a demanding presence, polished. A car that will hold it`s own in most company. For me it just didn`t have that elusive factor that drew me into Aston Martin in the first place and I`m not just talking about the tangible which is appearance and aural, and this is maybe a point. I don`t think anyone up until now really bought an Aston Martin because of its 0-60 times, top speed or diffuser technology, or for it to be a world beater, rather it`s subtlety, quality, and scarcity. If you want your car to feel special, I don`t know if there has been a better marque. The new Vantage is not in that category, it`s rubbing shoulders with the more proficient, digital and flashy options out there who`s names end in a vowel and is going to be very good at it I imagine. It won`t be the flawed gem that we are used to, and more`s the pity, maybe.
Returning from the test drive I parked the new car next to mine to take a couple of snaps for prosperity. Afterwards when I prepared to leave my dealer jumped in new Vantage and started it up to move it. While it sat there running and we had our windows down I started mine (Bamford Rose exhaust, valves open) and after the wonderful sound that it created I looked over to my dealer who was smiling and nodding his head. “Very nice,” he said. Very telling, I thought, and then I drove off amid a fine cacophony of sound in my 11 year old car feeling quite smug with myself.
Mr.Tremlini said:
. . . and then I drove off amid a fine cacophony of sound in my 11 year old car feeling quite smug with myself.
Timeless, beautiful, understated and with a hint of class. Unfortunately, we have always known the design is an unbeatable combination.
So difficult to follow.
Thanks Dean. Great photos and road test report.
Edited by Jon39 on Friday 25th May 07:04
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