One week in... V8 Vantage: my impressions
Discussion
Well ok, almost a week. My Vantage has taken pride of place on my driveway for 6 whole days now. It's my daily drive so has to cope with shopping, commuter / station car and picking up Mrs Delta as well as other normal day to day activity.
The good:
- The noise - did I mention the noise? Fuse 22 now out and I have just spend the whole morning grinning like a child.
- Easy to park (smaller than it looks)
- Very comfortable seats
- Amazed by the quality of the standard stereo
- Very comfortable ride - taut but not crashy - perfect
- It looks amazing and you feel a million dollars driving it
- Plenty of room inside - storage / boot, great use of space
- Steering feel is very nice - beautifully weighted
- Gear change is solid - but very smooth and positive
- Reverse no where near as bad as I expected
- It's not slow - baby Aston it might be but gives nothing away to my M3. The throttle makes you think it is lethargic, but look down at that speedo - and you'll surprise yourself
- Steering wheel is a masterpiece - cruise easy to use
- Only the odd squeak from the interior / leather - feels at least as solid as my M3 did.
The niggles:
- Still finding it a little difficult to place on the road (the width still evades my brain a little)
- Random plastic knobs on stereo / nav - being replaced with Tony Hall's items shortly
- Control stalks - what a tactile disappointment - has anyone managed to replace them with something decent?
- Whoever designed the boot to drain water directly into the boot when it's opened needs a slap
- Brakes don't feel particularly strong around town - but excellent out of town
- Heel and toe / throttle blipping tricky as throttle is a little "lazy"
- Having to carry a tag for tracker is a PITA (sorting phone sync out next week).
Overall - I am still pinching myself that it's really my car, the only compromise over a more obvious daily drive is the slightly restricted visibility.
So if you are reading this, wondering "should I" - the answer is most certainly "Yes". They represent fantastic value for money and you can use it every day.
Merry Christmas everyone
Kris
The good:
- The noise - did I mention the noise? Fuse 22 now out and I have just spend the whole morning grinning like a child.
- Easy to park (smaller than it looks)
- Very comfortable seats
- Amazed by the quality of the standard stereo
- Very comfortable ride - taut but not crashy - perfect
- It looks amazing and you feel a million dollars driving it
- Plenty of room inside - storage / boot, great use of space
- Steering feel is very nice - beautifully weighted
- Gear change is solid - but very smooth and positive
- Reverse no where near as bad as I expected
- It's not slow - baby Aston it might be but gives nothing away to my M3. The throttle makes you think it is lethargic, but look down at that speedo - and you'll surprise yourself
- Steering wheel is a masterpiece - cruise easy to use
- Only the odd squeak from the interior / leather - feels at least as solid as my M3 did.
The niggles:
- Still finding it a little difficult to place on the road (the width still evades my brain a little)
- Random plastic knobs on stereo / nav - being replaced with Tony Hall's items shortly
- Control stalks - what a tactile disappointment - has anyone managed to replace them with something decent?
- Whoever designed the boot to drain water directly into the boot when it's opened needs a slap
- Brakes don't feel particularly strong around town - but excellent out of town
- Heel and toe / throttle blipping tricky as throttle is a little "lazy"
- Having to carry a tag for tracker is a PITA (sorting phone sync out next week).
Overall - I am still pinching myself that it's really my car, the only compromise over a more obvious daily drive is the slightly restricted visibility.
So if you are reading this, wondering "should I" - the answer is most certainly "Yes". They represent fantastic value for money and you can use it every day.
Merry Christmas everyone
Kris
Edited by krisdelta on Saturday 24th December 11:44
Kris - you've only had the car 3 hours or so 
A week, my arse !!
Noise - yes great, even better in a Roadster due to the positioning of the exhaust ?? as well as the soft top.
Size - a good few inches smaller than a DB9 which, to my surprise, is the same size as my previous 5 series. Ergo, parking of a V8V should be a doddle - compare size with your M3 out of interest, you may get a surprise.
Stereo - great quality, noticeable difference going on to the Premium, with the B&O mainly for purists like Adam.
Room inside - far superior use of space than the DB9, much like a tardis.
Tracker Tag - I shall requote you in case you realise how girly you sound and decide to delete it - "Having to carry a tag for tracker is a PITA" - Did you somehow receive the special 10kg one that you need to lift with 2 hands ??
Happy 'Kris'mas
A week, my arse !!Noise - yes great, even better in a Roadster due to the positioning of the exhaust ?? as well as the soft top.
Size - a good few inches smaller than a DB9 which, to my surprise, is the same size as my previous 5 series. Ergo, parking of a V8V should be a doddle - compare size with your M3 out of interest, you may get a surprise.
Stereo - great quality, noticeable difference going on to the Premium, with the B&O mainly for purists like Adam.
Room inside - far superior use of space than the DB9, much like a tardis.
Tracker Tag - I shall requote you in case you realise how girly you sound and decide to delete it - "Having to carry a tag for tracker is a PITA" - Did you somehow receive the special 10kg one that you need to lift with 2 hands ??
Happy 'Kris'mas
Jockman said:
Size - a good few inches smaller than a DB9 which, to my surprise, is the same size as my previous 5 series. Ergo, parking of a V8V should be a doddle - compare size with your M3 out of interest, you may get a surprise.
Tracker Tag - I shall requote you in case you realise how girly you sound and decide to delete it - "Having to carry a tag for tracker is a PITA" - Did you somehow receive the special 10kg one that you need to lift with 2 hands ??
Happy 'Kris'mas
It's only 5cm wider than the M, but because you can't see the bonnet, my brain assumes it must be 50cm wider,, so still calibrating my driving Tracker Tag - I shall requote you in case you realise how girly you sound and decide to delete it - "Having to carry a tag for tracker is a PITA" - Did you somehow receive the special 10kg one that you need to lift with 2 hands ??
Happy 'Kris'mas
parking is a cinch.Tracker tag is a pain because it's taken most if my adult life to remember just to check I have my keys before I leave the house! If I was a girl I'd have a handbag - ready made tracker storage
tonyhall38 said:
indicatoe stalks etc....watch this space....
Tony have you heard of this company?http://www.leventechnology.co.uk/index.htm
tonyhall38 said:
indicatoe stalks etc....watch this space....
Are you looking at making them look better, or actually making the action feel better (which I imagine would require a whole new stalk assembly)? IMO, the stalks are by far the worst aspect of the interior of the car (mine is a MY09 V8V) -- basically all of the other controls have a very high quality look and feel (conveniently ignoring the seat switches 
), but the stalks feel very average (and that's being generous).Kris, glad to hear you're loving the car. I've had mine a little over two years now and, while it is a weekend car for me, I still can barely believe it when I open the garage door and see it there. The excitement hasn't worn off even a little bit. Only a V12V could even tempt me to make a change.
Edited by Speedraser on Saturday 24th December 18:13
Speedraser said:
IMO, the stalks are by far the worst aspect of the interior of the car (mine is a MY09 V8V) -- basically all of the other controls have a very high quality look and feel (conveniently ignoring the seat switches ), but the stalks feel very average (and that's being generous).
Plus one on this - Mine is a MY 2010 V8V and I think the stalks let the rest of the cabin down. They could come from any mass produced car and IMHO it would be worth AM improving the design and construction quality and adding it to the price of the cars to make them even better inside. ), but the stalks feel very average (and that's being generous).Edited by Speedraser on Saturday 24th December 18:13
Jockman said:
Kris - you've only had the car 3 hours or so
Size - a good few inches smaller than a DB9 which, to my surprise, is the same size as my previous 5 series. Ergo, parking of a V8V should be a doddle - compare size with your M3 out of interest, you may get a surprise.
E39? I ran a DB9 and an E60 M5 together and the M5 was about 10 cm longer than the DB9.Size - a good few inches smaller than a DB9 which, to my surprise, is the same size as my previous 5 series. Ergo, parking of a V8V should be a doddle - compare size with your M3 out of interest, you may get a surprise.
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