New Vantage Owner - First Impressions
Discussion
Well I collected her today. Its definately a she. After 5 years of 911 ownership its been an interesting day. I've now had 170 mile return journey to contemplate what I've done ! First impressions are...
Far superior design and build and ride to the 997.
Brakes are better
Gearchange is as good as the 997 (no issues from cold)
Far more comfortable place to be than the 911. Seats loads more supportive.
Ok, its not as 'immediate' as the 911. But its a different kind of product.
Nobody ever gave me in the 911 a second glance. on the journey back dozens of people speeding upto me to take a look and also getting out of the way...clearly aston's respect a different response to 911s !
Quieter by miles than my 911. Even with 22 removed very quiet inside.
Love details like the light on the door handle, the way the doors have a gas shock to hold them open and to soft close. no more slamming doors !
feels more planted and more confident than my 911. might be because its new ?
ok, so i drove it in dry sunny weather, but the visibility isn't much different to the 911.
long bonnet and huge dash didn't bother me as much as i was expecting.
sat nav isn't 'that' bad. its about the same as my 911 was. position on dash a lot better than the 911 down by the gearstick.
so its a good start so far. all i need to do now is get the roof down. will post some proper pictures when i get some daylight !
Far superior design and build and ride to the 997.
Brakes are better
Gearchange is as good as the 997 (no issues from cold)
Far more comfortable place to be than the 911. Seats loads more supportive.
Ok, its not as 'immediate' as the 911. But its a different kind of product.
Nobody ever gave me in the 911 a second glance. on the journey back dozens of people speeding upto me to take a look and also getting out of the way...clearly aston's respect a different response to 911s !
Quieter by miles than my 911. Even with 22 removed very quiet inside.
Love details like the light on the door handle, the way the doors have a gas shock to hold them open and to soft close. no more slamming doors !
feels more planted and more confident than my 911. might be because its new ?
ok, so i drove it in dry sunny weather, but the visibility isn't much different to the 911.
long bonnet and huge dash didn't bother me as much as i was expecting.
sat nav isn't 'that' bad. its about the same as my 911 was. position on dash a lot better than the 911 down by the gearstick.
so its a good start so far. all i need to do now is get the roof down. will post some proper pictures when i get some daylight !
Boy i want one of these cars! Seeing a few 06 v8v's around the £40k mark now and very tempted. My head tells me its twice the value of my 6 series and i really should do something with property this year, but my heart tells me to trade my 645 in for one on Saturday!!
I dont think the running costs are too scary, especially once you find a good indy to look after it. Cant imagine its "much" more expensive then any of the BMW's ive owned....insurance a possible stumbling block as im relatively young
I dont think the running costs are too scary, especially once you find a good indy to look after it. Cant imagine its "much" more expensive then any of the BMW's ive owned....insurance a possible stumbling block as im relatively young
blackice1 said:
wait until you get that roof down and hit 4,500rpm.
In a Tunnel!!I moved over 4 years ago, I have never looked back once. We'll maybe a little glimpse when Porsche GB lent me a 997 C4S for the weekend and I threw it down my favourite test b-road route, there is something sooo right about a 911 down a wet b-road..
Now the problem really exists....what next!!
after having had 2 997's and now made the move to aston, well I now 'get it'...its a very different class. porsche doesn't have the class of aston. not saying i didn't like my 911's - as i was sorry to see the last one go. but its quite an acheivement to get to the stage where I own a new aston.
I too had two 997's, a C4S and a GT3. My first look at V8V left me feeling that it was the best car seat to sit in and a place I wanted to be but I felt that I couldn't leave the Porsche driving experience behind and opted for the GT3 instead. When the N400 came out the spec was even better and the performance then matched my first 997 and despite the fact that I had moved on with the Porsche the N400 drive was good enough for me to finally make it in to the car I had always wanted. I still found myself talking about the GT3 as the great driving experience of my life and the dealer was smart enough to recognise this and offered me an early drive in the V12V despite my N400 being less than a year old. I have now stopped talking about the GT3. I just wish that I had waited a little longer and gone straight from the GT3 to the V12V - it would have saved me a lot of money ! The whole Aston experience is way above what I experienced with Porsche although I loved owning the cars and I am glad that I had the chance to own and drive them. I hope that you enjoy the experience too.
I too moved from 997 2s to Aston V8V Roadster. I agree with all the comments on here but still miss the direct feel of the 997 and have been thinking recently (the shame) of going back! The Aston is much more tempermental and doesn't like the cold. I have also been quoted £2.5k to respray the drivers door so the aftersales can be a bit heavy. The sound though in a tunnel or anywhere is fantastic and I know if I did venture back to Porsche I would wake up every morning with that horrible gut wrenching question - Why did I do it and where is she now?
TGM said:
I too moved from 997 2s to Aston V8V Roadster. I agree with all the comments on here but still miss the direct feel of the 997 and have been thinking recently (the shame) of going back! The Aston is much more tempermental and doesn't like the cold. I have also been quoted £2.5k to respray the drivers door so the aftersales can be a bit heavy. The sound though in a tunnel or anywhere is fantastic and I know if I did venture back to Porsche I would wake up every morning with that horrible gut wrenching question - Why did I do it and where is she now?
Yeah, respraying is a nightmare. My front wing took a stone chip and it was £900 but they took three attempts to get the paint quality right.Interesting reading. Spent almost an hour at the AM dealer on Wednesday drooling over some very nice metal. Am contemplating changing my 996 for a Vantage. As someone else has said though it is a lot of cash to have tied up in a car when maybe I should be thinking property.
Also strolled across to the OPC. Seems mad that you can have a 997 on an '06 for just shy of 50k or the AM. My feeling is, have done the Porsche thing, box ticked, time for something new.
Oh and 188k buys you a very, very nice AM!
Please share more of your experiences.
TIA.
Also strolled across to the OPC. Seems mad that you can have a 997 on an '06 for just shy of 50k or the AM. My feeling is, have done the Porsche thing, box ticked, time for something new.
Oh and 188k buys you a very, very nice AM!
Please share more of your experiences.
TIA.
I did the 911 thing twice with BMW in the middle. All great cars with a real engineered feel to them but not a patch on the buzz i get from the V8Vantage. Yes it has the odd little niggle that the dealer sorts out for me and its not as responsive or powerful as other super cars but this car just makes me feel fantastic. I cant imagine any other car ever giving me the same buzz. People have a strange respect for Aston that you don't get driving anything else. Forget the cost and just enjoy. This really is value for money!!
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