Automotive

I think to confuse us, they put a similar DB11 right next to the Vantage.

The Vantage is in the back, the DB11 in the front. Finally, I can tell one Aston from another. I like the Vantage styling better, but I can't say the additional $50-60k is visible...





My Lotus is short, wide and low. The Vantage is too. Both are oriented towards sport, and give away most of the "utility" that we expect from a car (space, comfort, convenience). Comparing the two:  

Aston: Length 176" Wheelbase 106.5 Width 76" Weight 3400 lbs, 505 hp, 8-spd Auto, Base price $155,000

Lotus: Length 152"  Wheelbase 88.6   Width 68" Weight 2400 lbs, 170 hp, 5-spd Man, Base price $39,500

The Vantage is powered by an AMG 4-litre engine with Aston's dry sump, top end and electronics.

Yes, those are two tiny turbos nestled in the V of the engine. Where only VERY EXPENSIVE technicians need go.





But you probably want to know how it drives. Fast. Loud. Like a wild horse, bucking, braying, spitting fire and leaping around. This is a VERY HIGH PERFORMANCE car, there is no doubt, with 0-60 in 3.5 or less. 

I would put it in the same category as the Jaguar F-Type SVT I drove last year. Provocatively-Fast and Reckless-Driving-Ticket-Hungry. When you slow down in Track mode, it doesn't "Blip" the throttle -- it floors, roars and downshifts for you in milliseconds.

The guy who is taking this car around SoCal races Lamborghinis as part of his "day job". He just loves Astons well enough to do PR and test drives in his spare time.

The doors are very light and very tall. By contrast my Lotus has very long doors that aren't so high. These seem very tall structures with lots going on in the upholstery. The door pull is just a strap; there is no handle. 

The carpets were a let-down for me - they have a "faded in the California sun to greenish-tan baby-poo" color. Not what I would expect from a new car. 

The controls are artfully (if NOT ergonomically) arrayed in the center. The control interface is entirely lifted / borrowed / licensed from M-B





The dash displays were smaller and darker and less comprehensible than I prefer. For example, curiously the speedometer dial goes dark below the speed-indicating needle, and stays lit above it. As though below 75 mph wasn't worth looking at - only the 75-200 mph was still interesting. (I didn't get a photo as I was driving then).





Trunk was OK for a weekend, and claimed to hold two bags of golf clubs. Not the kind my wife carries - her one bag might not fit. 

It would be difficult to pack for a weekend with Purist and wife. This is not a car to take on a weeks-long vacation trip.

Carpets in back were the same color as the front.





Overall, it made my car look 30 years older, which it is. The Aston is more brutal and much faster. They both go around corners with better grip than 95% of the cars on the road.

Do I like the Vantage? I liked driving it very much but enough to buy one? Not really. Would I take it over the Porsche? Perhaps so. Note that only 1 of 10 Porsche shoppers need to make that choice to hand Aston Martin huge success in the marketplace.

Personally, I felt the Aston Vantage to be a bit like the original Hummer H1-- worth renting for a weekend; superb at one or two things. I'm not judging it on practicality, just on "feel". To me driving this car in Southern California seems a bit like buying a sub-machine gun to hunt deer. 

I went to their website hoping to learn more about the car (specifications and such) and found it incomprehensible -- nothing so good as a nice heavy brochure in the hand. Ah well, this is the age we live in.

Cheers,

Cazalea

PS - they do make a very nice selection of leather interiors:

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