Testing the waters
Discussion
Wonder if some of you knowledgeable chaps can help me out a bit.
I've got itchy car keys (despite having thought that my current car would keep me happy for a bit longer) and have decided that it may well be time to have a (used) Aston in my life.
After much poring over the model range, I've come down more or less certainly on a V12VS with the automated manual gearbox. I thought long and hard about the manual V12V but the extra grunt and (reported) balance of the V12VS is appealing, and there seems little to no hope of getting a V12VS manual in my price range. Plus I live in London
Some simple decisions I've managed to make for myself. No Onyx Black (had a black car once, and only once before.It stayed clean looking for a good 30 minutes after polishing). Black interior seems unavoidable, but in my dreams an Italian style deep tan leather would be nice. Hey ho.
Some questions though.
1. The Corsas. They sound nice on about 100 days of the year once up to temperature. The replacement options look like they are standard P Zeros or Michelin Pilot Sport 4s. Any strong preferences between the two (I can't be doing with a set of winter wheels and tyres).
And a follow up: whichever tyre one has, are these cars really a handful doing mundane stuff like pulling out of a side road on a cold wet/greasy surface first thing in the morning? I'd rather assumed that with a gentle right foot one can keep the car pointed in the right direction all the time. I ran a 996 turbo for a while and was perhaps spoiled by it because it was very hard indeed to get that out of shape.
2. Seats. Carbon fibre or regular? If carbon: potential dealbreaker? Worth waiting for?
3. ASM III. One for the advocates of the manual box here: if you lived in a large city and did over half your driving in a large city, would you go manual or ASM III?
4. I've heard lots of moans about the Sat nav but few specifics. Does it (a) cover Europe; (b) allow for post code entry (and if so 5 or 8 digit?)
5. Music. I know the engine note is the most melodious sound imaginable, but... Is it possible to plus an iphone 8 (ie one without a headphone socket) into something and play music streamed from (say) spotify. I don't care if I can't browse or control the tracks using the car; I set up playlists. I'm not a fan of having an old ipod with the concomitant faff of having to use i-bloody-Tunes to load music onto it.
6. I've seen some references here to trying to negotiate a half or full day at Millbrook out of a dealer as a sale sweetener. Has anyone actually managed to do this, and if so what does the time at Millbrook consist of?
TIA
I've got itchy car keys (despite having thought that my current car would keep me happy for a bit longer) and have decided that it may well be time to have a (used) Aston in my life.
After much poring over the model range, I've come down more or less certainly on a V12VS with the automated manual gearbox. I thought long and hard about the manual V12V but the extra grunt and (reported) balance of the V12VS is appealing, and there seems little to no hope of getting a V12VS manual in my price range. Plus I live in London
Some simple decisions I've managed to make for myself. No Onyx Black (had a black car once, and only once before.It stayed clean looking for a good 30 minutes after polishing). Black interior seems unavoidable, but in my dreams an Italian style deep tan leather would be nice. Hey ho.
Some questions though.
1. The Corsas. They sound nice on about 100 days of the year once up to temperature. The replacement options look like they are standard P Zeros or Michelin Pilot Sport 4s. Any strong preferences between the two (I can't be doing with a set of winter wheels and tyres).
And a follow up: whichever tyre one has, are these cars really a handful doing mundane stuff like pulling out of a side road on a cold wet/greasy surface first thing in the morning? I'd rather assumed that with a gentle right foot one can keep the car pointed in the right direction all the time. I ran a 996 turbo for a while and was perhaps spoiled by it because it was very hard indeed to get that out of shape.
2. Seats. Carbon fibre or regular? If carbon: potential dealbreaker? Worth waiting for?
3. ASM III. One for the advocates of the manual box here: if you lived in a large city and did over half your driving in a large city, would you go manual or ASM III?
4. I've heard lots of moans about the Sat nav but few specifics. Does it (a) cover Europe; (b) allow for post code entry (and if so 5 or 8 digit?)
5. Music. I know the engine note is the most melodious sound imaginable, but... Is it possible to plus an iphone 8 (ie one without a headphone socket) into something and play music streamed from (say) spotify. I don't care if I can't browse or control the tracks using the car; I set up playlists. I'm not a fan of having an old ipod with the concomitant faff of having to use i-bloody-Tunes to load music onto it.
6. I've seen some references here to trying to negotiate a half or full day at Millbrook out of a dealer as a sale sweetener. Has anyone actually managed to do this, and if so what does the time at Millbrook consist of?
TIA
Greg66 said:
1. The Corsas. They sound nice on about 100 days of the year once up to temperature. The replacement options look like they are standard P Zeros or Michelin Pilot Sport 4s. Any strong preferences between the two (I can't be doing with a set of winter wheels and tyres).
And a follow up: whichever tyre one has, are these cars really a handful doing mundane stuff like pulling out of a side road on a cold wet/greasy surface first thing in the morning? I'd rather assumed that with a gentle right foot one can keep the car pointed in the right direction all the time. I ran a 996 turbo for a while and was perhaps spoiled by it because it was very hard indeed to get that out of shape.
2. Seats. Carbon fibre or regular? If carbon: potential dealbreaker? Worth waiting for?
3. ASM III. One for the advocates of the manual box here: if you lived in a large city and did over half your driving in a large city, would you go manual or ASM III?
4. I've heard lots of moans about the Sat nav but few specifics. Does it (a) cover Europe; (b) allow for post code entry (and if so 5 or 8 digit?)
5. Music. I know the engine note is the most melodious sound imaginable, but... Is it possible to plus an iphone 8 (ie one without a headphone socket) into something and play music streamed from (say) spotify. I don't care if I can't browse or control the tracks using the car; I set up playlists. I'm not a fan of having an old ipod with the concomitant faff of having to use i-bloody-Tunes to load music onto it.
6. I've seen some references here to trying to negotiate a half or full day at Millbrook out of a dealer as a sale sweetener. Has anyone actually managed to do this, and if so what does the time at Millbrook consist of?
TIA
1. I’m on the P-Zero tyre - the Corsa became an option tyre early on and I think most will be on the P-zero by now. No issues here, car very stable and easy to handle.And a follow up: whichever tyre one has, are these cars really a handful doing mundane stuff like pulling out of a side road on a cold wet/greasy surface first thing in the morning? I'd rather assumed that with a gentle right foot one can keep the car pointed in the right direction all the time. I ran a 996 turbo for a while and was perhaps spoiled by it because it was very hard indeed to get that out of shape.
2. Seats. Carbon fibre or regular? If carbon: potential dealbreaker? Worth waiting for?
3. ASM III. One for the advocates of the manual box here: if you lived in a large city and did over half your driving in a large city, would you go manual or ASM III?
4. I've heard lots of moans about the Sat nav but few specifics. Does it (a) cover Europe; (b) allow for post code entry (and if so 5 or 8 digit?)
5. Music. I know the engine note is the most melodious sound imaginable, but... Is it possible to plus an iphone 8 (ie one without a headphone socket) into something and play music streamed from (say) spotify. I don't care if I can't browse or control the tracks using the car; I set up playlists. I'm not a fan of having an old ipod with the concomitant faff of having to use i-bloody-Tunes to load music onto it.
6. I've seen some references here to trying to negotiate a half or full day at Millbrook out of a dealer as a sale sweetener. Has anyone actually managed to do this, and if so what does the time at Millbrook consist of?
TIA
2. The standard sports seats are good and they are heated if you are going to use in winter. I personally prefer the carbon lightweights as I find them more comfortable. Have a sit in a few and see how they feel to you.
3. I’m biased as I have the ASM. I only drive it on the paddle shift and never as an auto as it is a manual box with automated shifting, so shifts will never be silky smooth. With paddles you are in control and drive accordingly. Don’t miss the clutch pedal.
4. The satnav is not google maps but works fine with full 8 character postcodes in UK (and Europe?). Relatively easy to get on with and is Garmin based. If getting from a dealer, see if you can negotiate the latest maps?
5. Yes, just need an adaptor wire to convert the old wide iPhone socket to the later one and it plays fine with info coming up on display. I only have standard audio but find it good enough for me. Playlists are easier to select on phone, then any track skipping easy to do through car controls. Plus there is always Bluetooth streaming on the later 15MY cars, upgradable on earlier ones.
6. If you don’t ask you don’t get...
Good luck on your search
Edited by starlight225 on Tuesday 3rd July 12:12
Edited by starlight225 on Tuesday 3rd July 12:19
Edited by starlight225 on Tuesday 3rd July 13:37
1. P Zero's are pretty useless in low single digit temps in winter. I'm now on the MichelinPilot Sport 4s and they are far superior IMO. Winter driving is much improved.
2. I've had both and carbon (or is it kevlar?) is more comfortable and seems more in keeping with the car's character.
3. Whilst Ididn't find the V8V or V12V clutch particularly heavy, it is heavier than most cars and a lot of creeping in cities would be a bit of a quad exercise after a while. ASM III is actually pretty good fun, just never ever use D.
4. I think all will agree the Sat Nav is pants but I use Waze now days and there are those that have a mod to get their phone screen showing on the AM screen. I pretty much never use sat nav in any car now days.I like to know where the speed cams are so I can wave at those hard working folk. Might miss the opportunity with ye olde AM sat nav.
5 & 6 others can probably answer better than I.
2. I've had both and carbon (or is it kevlar?) is more comfortable and seems more in keeping with the car's character.
3. Whilst Ididn't find the V8V or V12V clutch particularly heavy, it is heavier than most cars and a lot of creeping in cities would be a bit of a quad exercise after a while. ASM III is actually pretty good fun, just never ever use D.
4. I think all will agree the Sat Nav is pants but I use Waze now days and there are those that have a mod to get their phone screen showing on the AM screen. I pretty much never use sat nav in any car now days.I like to know where the speed cams are so I can wave at those hard working folk. Might miss the opportunity with ye olde AM sat nav.
5 & 6 others can probably answer better than I.
Hi Greg66
1. I have the AM approved (AM8 I think?) regular P-Zeros fitted to my V12V. No complaints at all although I know several on here prefer a Michelin tyre. Personally I do not think the P-Zero Corsas are to be recommended for daily all year use in the U.K. Probably great at the moment when temperatures are hitting 30c. Not so good in the winter.
2. Standard Sports Seats in mine. The buckets look great but I’m not skinny and despite trying them more than once I couldn’t fit properly and changing gear was incredibly uncomfortable. No right answer here in my opinion. The buckets suit the nature of the car but they aren’t for everyone. No option but to try out yourself and see if your frame is suitable.
3. Six speed manual in mine as it’s a late V12V. Clutch is twin plate and lighter than my old V8. Can sometimes get a little tiring in city driving but not excessively so. Never driven any of the sport shift variants so won’t comment. I would assume, try both out if you can.
4. Garmin in mine. Very rarely use it so it’s tucked away most of the time, but when I do, it’s easy to use, and up to the task. Not bothered about using Waze and adapting it in to the interface. The Garmin does the job. Enough said really. The latest update I got was in 2017. I was told this May that there are no later map versions available.
5. I use a iPhone 8 Plus fitted to a 30 pin - lightning adapter as shown above. Works fine and displays track information on the fascia screen, and allows navigation through the menus using the toggle in the lower portion of the fascia. If you intend to stream from a iPhone, you will need a Bovee 1000 (or similar) adapter to connect to the 30 pin plug and you will need to have some music stored on your phone from Apple. (There was a thread on this recently - iPhones won’t stream through Spotify if no music has been purchased from Apple - I think it may only require one track) As said earlier, streaming functionality is built in from MY15 onwards.
6. No idea. But worth asking for sure!
Hope this all helps and good luck with your search
Best Regards
Minglar
1. I have the AM approved (AM8 I think?) regular P-Zeros fitted to my V12V. No complaints at all although I know several on here prefer a Michelin tyre. Personally I do not think the P-Zero Corsas are to be recommended for daily all year use in the U.K. Probably great at the moment when temperatures are hitting 30c. Not so good in the winter.
2. Standard Sports Seats in mine. The buckets look great but I’m not skinny and despite trying them more than once I couldn’t fit properly and changing gear was incredibly uncomfortable. No right answer here in my opinion. The buckets suit the nature of the car but they aren’t for everyone. No option but to try out yourself and see if your frame is suitable.
3. Six speed manual in mine as it’s a late V12V. Clutch is twin plate and lighter than my old V8. Can sometimes get a little tiring in city driving but not excessively so. Never driven any of the sport shift variants so won’t comment. I would assume, try both out if you can.
4. Garmin in mine. Very rarely use it so it’s tucked away most of the time, but when I do, it’s easy to use, and up to the task. Not bothered about using Waze and adapting it in to the interface. The Garmin does the job. Enough said really. The latest update I got was in 2017. I was told this May that there are no later map versions available.
5. I use a iPhone 8 Plus fitted to a 30 pin - lightning adapter as shown above. Works fine and displays track information on the fascia screen, and allows navigation through the menus using the toggle in the lower portion of the fascia. If you intend to stream from a iPhone, you will need a Bovee 1000 (or similar) adapter to connect to the 30 pin plug and you will need to have some music stored on your phone from Apple. (There was a thread on this recently - iPhones won’t stream through Spotify if no music has been purchased from Apple - I think it may only require one track) As said earlier, streaming functionality is built in from MY15 onwards.
6. No idea. But worth asking for sure!
Hope this all helps and good luck with your search
Best Regards
Minglar
1. Had both. Hated Corsas and the PZeros much better. Many prefer Michelin’s but I am ok with the standard tyre.
2. Seats. Carbon fibre or regular? Again had both and much prefer the CF seats finding them much more comfortable.
3. ASM III. Between the six speed manual and SS3 I prefer SS3. No problems I. Town driving and really suits the S version.
4. Sat Nav - the Gary in system works well, does post codes and covers Europe. It has never let me down and done about 40k miles using them.
5. never listen to the radio in the Aston.
6. No idea whether you can get it included but we’ll worth doing. Covers all aspects of performance handling and it was great when you could do in the same car as your own. As neither of the cars you are looking at would still be on their fleet then less beneficial as far as I am concerned.
2. Seats. Carbon fibre or regular? Again had both and much prefer the CF seats finding them much more comfortable.
3. ASM III. Between the six speed manual and SS3 I prefer SS3. No problems I. Town driving and really suits the S version.
4. Sat Nav - the Gary in system works well, does post codes and covers Europe. It has never let me down and done about 40k miles using them.
5. never listen to the radio in the Aston.
6. No idea whether you can get it included but we’ll worth doing. Covers all aspects of performance handling and it was great when you could do in the same car as your own. As neither of the cars you are looking at would still be on their fleet then less beneficial as far as I am concerned.
Have had mine a month but whatever you go with you will not be disappointed, superb cars with so much character...the other posters have some good exposure, I found the sat Nav rubbish in mine when I tried it (2015 car) Waze way head and I use that exclusively, my car has Bluetooth music streaming which works well good luck with the search
Sorry late to replies but pretty much agree with Star / Ian’s replies.
Mine is daily driver over 14k from new.
P zeros fine unless full on winters day in which case use different car.
Premium audio much better than std. I have lightweight seats which I think suit car better plus just very comfortable - for me. Auto /D crap but paddles fine even in traffic.
I don’t really have satnav issues.
And get the secondary cats removed.
Best of luck in search.
Mine is daily driver over 14k from new.
P zeros fine unless full on winters day in which case use different car.
Premium audio much better than std. I have lightweight seats which I think suit car better plus just very comfortable - for me. Auto /D crap but paddles fine even in traffic.
I don’t really have satnav issues.
And get the secondary cats removed.
Best of luck in search.
Greg66 said:
Thanks.
One follow up. Looks like the interior instruments had a facelift in 2015. Worth going for the facelifted version, or is the pre-facelift just fine as is?
Our Flugplatz car has the old fascia and thought it was fine until the AMR came along and I probably like the revised interior better than the new Vantage. It really is good and I think looks much better.One follow up. Looks like the interior instruments had a facelift in 2015. Worth going for the facelifted version, or is the pre-facelift just fine as is?
Oh, and good point on getting it decatted - a must
Greg66 said:
Thanks. Is it just a face lift though - same functionality but different switches, or is there improved functionality?
It is mainly a facelift as the same amps and tuners are used. There is more functionality added to the satnav screen to replace the loss of display on the earlier ones.So - managed to get to AM Western Avenue to try out the two types of seats (just sitting, not driving).
Carbon it is, I think. Slightly less lumbar support with the carbon seat but much better support at the shoulders which I can see being of more use when pressing on.
The carbon ones were in a GT8. Which was nice. Probably the closest I will get to a GT8, TBH.
Also w]saw the just sold Mako blue V12VS they have there. Really nice colour in the flesh and the bright sunshine. But I couldn’t help but feel that in winter it would show the muck pretty ruthlessly. I think I’d rather got Flugplatz if I were going for a blue.
But I feel one small step closer, which strangely exciting...
Carbon it is, I think. Slightly less lumbar support with the carbon seat but much better support at the shoulders which I can see being of more use when pressing on.
The carbon ones were in a GT8. Which was nice. Probably the closest I will get to a GT8, TBH.
Also w]saw the just sold Mako blue V12VS they have there. Really nice colour in the flesh and the bright sunshine. But I couldn’t help but feel that in winter it would show the muck pretty ruthlessly. I think I’d rather got Flugplatz if I were going for a blue.
But I feel one small step closer, which strangely exciting...
Sorry, a bit late to the party.
SportshiftIII is a great gearbox, plenty of threads on PH, never use D, always the paddles.
Sound system: I have B&O but I must admit I rarely switch it on.
I find the lightweight carbon bucket seats a must, very comfortable and suit the car.
They do have lumbar support in the form of a little pad which you can adjust by pulling the backrest cushion out, the pad is attached with a scratch so you can readjust up or down.
Mine is Mako Blue, lovely colour which changes with light. I don't think it shows the diirt too much, well less so than a dark colour.
Quite a rare colour so a hard find.
I've done the PDC at Millbrook two years ago in a V12VS, the whole point is to be able to do it in the same car you own, I wouldn't do it now there's no V12VS available for the PDC.
You can do the Nurburgring AML course in your own car as an alternative.
Good luck with your search, the V12 Vantage is a great car whatever the spec, you can't go wrong. Buy one while you still can.
I'm pretty sure they will appreciate over time.
SportshiftIII is a great gearbox, plenty of threads on PH, never use D, always the paddles.
Sound system: I have B&O but I must admit I rarely switch it on.
I find the lightweight carbon bucket seats a must, very comfortable and suit the car.
They do have lumbar support in the form of a little pad which you can adjust by pulling the backrest cushion out, the pad is attached with a scratch so you can readjust up or down.
Mine is Mako Blue, lovely colour which changes with light. I don't think it shows the diirt too much, well less so than a dark colour.
Quite a rare colour so a hard find.
I've done the PDC at Millbrook two years ago in a V12VS, the whole point is to be able to do it in the same car you own, I wouldn't do it now there's no V12VS available for the PDC.
You can do the Nurburgring AML course in your own car as an alternative.
Good luck with your search, the V12 Vantage is a great car whatever the spec, you can't go wrong. Buy one while you still can.
I'm pretty sure they will appreciate over time.
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