N420 vs Vantage S
Discussion
I would defer to Mikey K on this particular topic, as he went from 4.7 (that had a lot of "N" bits on it) to an S.
Apart from some nice carbon addenda, and, as you say, the additional 10 BHP (only when using 100 RON fuel, I believe?), the MAJOR difference is the gearbox.
- If you want a manual, you won't want an "S" (ASM only).
- If you want SportShift, get the "S" as ASM2 is a quantum leap over the ASM1 unit you'll get in the N420.
Michael, over to you
Apart from some nice carbon addenda, and, as you say, the additional 10 BHP (only when using 100 RON fuel, I believe?), the MAJOR difference is the gearbox.
- If you want a manual, you won't want an "S" (ASM only).
- If you want SportShift, get the "S" as ASM2 is a quantum leap over the ASM1 unit you'll get in the N420.
Michael, over to you
Ice27 said:
Won't the S come with the Garmin Satnav unit too?
The main differences though are the gearbox and bodywork. The front splitter and rear diffuser are totally different on these two cars.
Yes, Garmin is there but Mr K has not the foggiest how to use it.The main differences though are the gearbox and bodywork. The front splitter and rear diffuser are totally different on these two cars.
CF Splitter and Diffuser too, with a big 'S' stitched into the leather
The S is a better overall package than the 420 (IMO), which is in essence a standard car with sports suspension, lightweight seats and a sports exhaust + a few carbon bits. The S has more direct steering, wider tyres (and rear wheels) with a more sporting compound, uprated brakes (with HBD & HSA)+ 10bhp/15lbft with a more responsive "feel" and of course the 7 speed Sportshift II, which is a big step up on the previous system..(although I still prefer manual cars 
) In addition to the V12V looks (with more carbon fibre!!) and interior touches, the 12.5MY-S also has nav as standard!
If you are looking at new cars then the new 12.5MY vantage with Sports suspension would be a good call if you want manual. But as a used 420 will be cheaper ultimately it will be your own value judgement that counts. test drive them both and see what YOU think.
) In addition to the V12V looks (with more carbon fibre!!) and interior touches, the 12.5MY-S also has nav as standard!If you are looking at new cars then the new 12.5MY vantage with Sports suspension would be a good call if you want manual. But as a used 420 will be cheaper ultimately it will be your own value judgement that counts. test drive them both and see what YOU think.
Grant3 said:
The S is a better overall package than the 420 (IMO), which is in essence a standard car with sports suspension, lightweight seats and a sports exhaust + a few carbon bits. The S has more direct steering, wider tyres (and rear wheels) with a more sporting compound, uprated brakes (with HBD & HSA)+ 10bhp/15lbft with a more responsive "feel" and of course the 7 speed Sportshift II, which is a big step up on the previous system..(although I still prefer manual cars ) In addition to the V12V looks (with more carbon fibre!!) and interior touches, the 12.5MY-S also has nav as standard!
If you are looking at new cars then the new 12.5MY vantage with Sports suspension would be a good call if you want manual. But as a used 420 will be cheaper ultimately it will be your own value judgement that counts. test drive them both and see what YOU think.
As Grant points the N420 is a standard 4.7 with nearly all the options on, there is a BIG difference!) In addition to the V12V looks (with more carbon fibre!!) and interior touches, the 12.5MY-S also has nav as standard!If you are looking at new cars then the new 12.5MY vantage with Sports suspension would be a good call if you want manual. But as a used 420 will be cheaper ultimately it will be your own value judgement that counts. test drive them both and see what YOU think.
Quicker steering rack
Large front brakes
S specific sports suspension
Sports Exhaust (much better sounding
)Sport button to remap throttle (like the V12V)
Excellent ASM2 Sport shift with hill assist
Wider tyres & wheels (S wheels only)
Garmin Sat Nav (some early cars have the Volvo system)
Aero wipers with thinner arms (some early cars have the old wipers)
10 BHP come from N400 intake modes (not done on N420)
V12 body kit in CF (Less bonnet
)My seats are the optional CF light weight ones (with the stitching
) the wheels are the sport pack lighter wheelsIME of 4k miles in 6 months it is far greater than the sum of the parts and I would not entertain an N420 (though I prefer the N400 styling) I also used to be a manual only person
(BTW be wary of Cobalt Blue coupes and White or Green roadsters S's
)I know you all like pictures so this is one of my favourites from the Cream Tea Tour
Cream Tea Tour 024 by mikey k V8VR, on Flickr
Edited by mikey k on Friday 1st June 20:17
mikey k said:
Wider tyres & wheels (S wheels only)
Have you noticed they have put the same wheels on the 'regular' V8V now? Why a V8V needs wider rear tyres than a DB9 is beyond me!silverspeed said:
Is that because they may be press cars?
It's a Viridian green one they used as a press car.
George H said:
mikey k said:
Wider tyres & wheels (S wheels only)
Have you noticed they have put the same wheels on the 'regular' V8V now? Why a V8V needs wider rear tyres than a DB9 is beyond me!Wider tyres IIRC but not wheels
The Sport Pack wheels are narrower than the S wheels but now have the wider S RE050's on them (at least on my car!)
No idea why they decided they needed it but I'm more than happy with the grip
Sukh,
The search function is apparently under maintenance, but if you search you'll find Mikey and I have discussed this before. I have a manual 4.7 Coupe with the Sports Pack, which is mechanically identical to the N420 (although the N420 does come with the sports exhaust standard). If you want a manual 'box, the answer is clear, since the S is SS only. By the same token, the 7-speed SS is better than the N420's 6-speed SS. Mikey says that the S is a signifiant improvement over his previous Sports Pack 4.7. I've driven the V8S Coupe back-to-back with my car, and I disagree. In fact, I actually prefer the Sports Pack suspension as it provides truly superb handling with a slightly more compliant ride than the S. The S steering is a bit sharper, but the N420/Sports Pack steering is superb (with possibly slightly better on center feel, IMO). The S has even better brakes, but the N420 brakes are great. I also prefer the looks of the N420 (actually, I think the Vantage looks best with the original sills), but obviously this is a matter of personal preference, and all Vantages are gorgeous. Overall, the differences are certainly noticeable, but I don't think they necessarily make a better overall package.
Are you looking for a Coupe or a Roadster? I ask because I wonder whether the "improvement" of the S is greater in the Roadster (which Mikey has) than the Coupe (which I have). Either way, the obvious thing to do is drive them. Also, unless you specifically want an N420, you should also consider the standard 4.7 with the Sports Pack.
The search function is apparently under maintenance, but if you search you'll find Mikey and I have discussed this before. I have a manual 4.7 Coupe with the Sports Pack, which is mechanically identical to the N420 (although the N420 does come with the sports exhaust standard). If you want a manual 'box, the answer is clear, since the S is SS only. By the same token, the 7-speed SS is better than the N420's 6-speed SS. Mikey says that the S is a signifiant improvement over his previous Sports Pack 4.7. I've driven the V8S Coupe back-to-back with my car, and I disagree. In fact, I actually prefer the Sports Pack suspension as it provides truly superb handling with a slightly more compliant ride than the S. The S steering is a bit sharper, but the N420/Sports Pack steering is superb (with possibly slightly better on center feel, IMO). The S has even better brakes, but the N420 brakes are great. I also prefer the looks of the N420 (actually, I think the Vantage looks best with the original sills), but obviously this is a matter of personal preference, and all Vantages are gorgeous. Overall, the differences are certainly noticeable, but I don't think they necessarily make a better overall package.
Are you looking for a Coupe or a Roadster? I ask because I wonder whether the "improvement" of the S is greater in the Roadster (which Mikey has) than the Coupe (which I have). Either way, the obvious thing to do is drive them. Also, unless you specifically want an N420, you should also consider the standard 4.7 with the Sports Pack.
Speedraser said:
Sukh,
The search function is apparently under maintenance, but if you search you'll find Mikey and I have discussed this before. I have a manual 4.7 Coupe with the Sports Pack, which is mechanically identical to the N420 (although the N420 does come with the sports exhaust standard). If you want a manual 'box, the answer is clear, since the S is SS only. By the same token, the 7-speed SS is better than the N420's 6-speed SS. Mikey says that the S is a signifiant improvement over his previous Sports Pack 4.7. I've driven the V8S Coupe back-to-back with my car, and I disagree. In fact, I actually prefer the Sports Pack suspension as it provides truly superb handling with a slightly more compliant ride than the S. The S steering is a bit sharper, but the N420/Sports Pack steering is superb (with possibly slightly better on center feel, IMO). The S has even better brakes, but the N420 brakes are great. I also prefer the looks of the N420 (actually, I think the Vantage looks best with the original sills), but obviously this is a matter of personal preference, and all Vantages are gorgeous. Overall, the differences are certainly noticeable, but I don't think they necessarily make a better overall package.
Are you looking for a Coupe or a Roadster? I ask because I wonder whether the "improvement" of the S is greater in the Roadster (which Mikey has) than the Coupe (which I have). Either way, the obvious thing to do is drive them. Also, unless you specifically want an N420, you should also consider the standard 4.7 with the Sports Pack.
I am looking for a coupe and manual only. The S is probably out of budget I can't see any below the 70k mark. Im not specifically looking for a N420 but sounds like a standard 4.7 with a Sports Pack is more or less the same car minus the sports exhaust.The search function is apparently under maintenance, but if you search you'll find Mikey and I have discussed this before. I have a manual 4.7 Coupe with the Sports Pack, which is mechanically identical to the N420 (although the N420 does come with the sports exhaust standard). If you want a manual 'box, the answer is clear, since the S is SS only. By the same token, the 7-speed SS is better than the N420's 6-speed SS. Mikey says that the S is a signifiant improvement over his previous Sports Pack 4.7. I've driven the V8S Coupe back-to-back with my car, and I disagree. In fact, I actually prefer the Sports Pack suspension as it provides truly superb handling with a slightly more compliant ride than the S. The S steering is a bit sharper, but the N420/Sports Pack steering is superb (with possibly slightly better on center feel, IMO). The S has even better brakes, but the N420 brakes are great. I also prefer the looks of the N420 (actually, I think the Vantage looks best with the original sills), but obviously this is a matter of personal preference, and all Vantages are gorgeous. Overall, the differences are certainly noticeable, but I don't think they necessarily make a better overall package.
Are you looking for a Coupe or a Roadster? I ask because I wonder whether the "improvement" of the S is greater in the Roadster (which Mikey has) than the Coupe (which I have). Either way, the obvious thing to do is drive them. Also, unless you specifically want an N420, you should also consider the standard 4.7 with the Sports Pack.
I did see a nice white 4.7 with Sports pack turn up recently with a few carbon bits. How do I check if it was a press car? Lightning silver is also an option. Having had black/greys in previous cars trying to avoid these colours for a change :-)
Speedraser said:
Sukh,
The search function is apparently under maintenance, but if you search you'll find Mikey and I have discussed this before. I have a manual 4.7 Coupe with the Sports Pack, which is mechanically identical to the N420 (although the N420 does come with the sports exhaust standard). If you want a manual 'box, the answer is clear, since the S is SS only. By the same token, the 7-speed SS is better than the N420's 6-speed SS. Mikey says that the S is a signifiant improvement over his previous Sports Pack 4.7. I've driven the V8S Coupe back-to-back with my car, and I disagree. In fact, I actually prefer the Sports Pack suspension as it provides truly superb handling with a slightly more compliant ride than the S. The S steering is a bit sharper, but the N420/Sports Pack steering is superb (with possibly slightly better on center feel, IMO). The S has even better brakes, but the N420 brakes are great. I also prefer the looks of the N420 (actually, I think the Vantage looks best with the original sills), but obviously this is a matter of personal preference, and all Vantages are gorgeous. Overall, the differences are certainly noticeable, but I don't think they necessarily make a better overall package.
Are you looking for a Coupe or a Roadster? I ask because I wonder whether the "improvement" of the S is greater in the Roadster (which Mikey has) than the Coupe (which I have). Either way, the obvious thing to do is drive them. Also, unless you specifically want an N420, you should also consider the standard 4.7 with the Sports Pack.
I am looking for a coupe and manual only. The S is probably out of budget I can't see any below the 70k mark. Im not specifically looking for a N420 but sounds like a standard 4.7 with a Sports Pack is more or less the same car minus the sports exhaust.The search function is apparently under maintenance, but if you search you'll find Mikey and I have discussed this before. I have a manual 4.7 Coupe with the Sports Pack, which is mechanically identical to the N420 (although the N420 does come with the sports exhaust standard). If you want a manual 'box, the answer is clear, since the S is SS only. By the same token, the 7-speed SS is better than the N420's 6-speed SS. Mikey says that the S is a signifiant improvement over his previous Sports Pack 4.7. I've driven the V8S Coupe back-to-back with my car, and I disagree. In fact, I actually prefer the Sports Pack suspension as it provides truly superb handling with a slightly more compliant ride than the S. The S steering is a bit sharper, but the N420/Sports Pack steering is superb (with possibly slightly better on center feel, IMO). The S has even better brakes, but the N420 brakes are great. I also prefer the looks of the N420 (actually, I think the Vantage looks best with the original sills), but obviously this is a matter of personal preference, and all Vantages are gorgeous. Overall, the differences are certainly noticeable, but I don't think they necessarily make a better overall package.
Are you looking for a Coupe or a Roadster? I ask because I wonder whether the "improvement" of the S is greater in the Roadster (which Mikey has) than the Coupe (which I have). Either way, the obvious thing to do is drive them. Also, unless you specifically want an N420, you should also consider the standard 4.7 with the Sports Pack.
I did see a nice white 4.7 with Sports pack turn up recently with a few carbon bits. How do I check if it was a press car? Lightning silver is also an option. Having had black/greys in previous cars trying to avoid these colours for a change :-)
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