Chaos

Last night I drove my friends 07 Aston Martin Vantage. My 996 is getting a new clutch. Very solid,amazing exhaust sounds and not alot of room but enough. It brings alot of attention where ever you go. People smile at the 996 they are in awe of these things ! Over all still the like the 996 cab.

lanny

I never thought that I would want anything other a porsche,lambo or ferarri until I was in a Vantage and was quite impressed- I totally know what you are talking about with the sounds - for the money I think I would still do the new turbo however but you never know-

michael.s.under

What about the suspension. How do you feel about the overall ride. Stiff, soft, tight, corners, etc......

lanny

For me I would term it as a little heavy feeling- not quite as agile a feel of say the 996 but still very good overall.

Benjamin Choi

a little too cutesy of a ride for me. give me a new vanquish S with manual tranny or the DBS, but yes, it is much more money.

RaceCarDriver

I've driven both the Vanquish S and DB9 Convertibe. I hated both.

There's no clutch pedal for the Vanquish S, it's like an SMG but worse. I drove the car hard and the clutch was smoking when I got out of it. The Vanquish is a beatiful car however.

I wasn't impressed with the DB9 either, it got a lot of attention and thumps up but it's a car for golfers not drivers (no offense to golfers).

Both cars didn't handle very well, they are NOT sports cars. I would call them luxury GT's, like a Jaguar.

The Vantage V8 looks great and should have performance and handling to match. I would be wary about buying one. I would be concerned with reliability and resale value.

Benjamin Choi

Hate is a strong word.

There's a reason why I said new Vanquish S because in the last year, there is a manual tranny option available which allows one to avoid the rather lame "SMG" application. I don't like the DB9 with its much more toned down, slab-sided looks.

To me, I'm not a "racercardriver" and do appreciate looks and luxury in a GT coupe. A 911 will never look the business as an Aston Martin Vanquish or DBS. They're not the same type of car.

I find it funny how some you guys try to judge cars for what they were never designed to be in the first place. For a GT coupe that gives you a sense of luxury, style, exclusivity, and smooth performance, the Vanquish S is absolutely spot-on for me. DBS, I'm sure, will prove to be much more sporty which is fine by me.

lanny

I guess I just look at the group as the "toy" that I would own. I guess the term sports car is a loose one to me. No I wouldnt think of tracking an aston or say that the feel is the same in any of the previously mentioned threads because in some way they are all a little different but I could see how some could purchase it over a p-car and be thrilled.

carpundit

Mr. Choi,

That comment seemed unnecessarily personal, sort of subtly ad hominem.

My $.02.

CP

Nutbeem

The Aston is gorgeous.

It's like buying a Breitling watch instead of a Tag Heuer.

michael.s.under

In light of this thread, i watched a high level overview of the aston martin vantage. I think I found it especially intriguing as it was the same color combo (white on black) as my DD. It was one fine automobile, that did have the sprite to get it done on the road. Probably not the track in off the showroom configuration, but would look purdy in the stable!

LiveFromNY

I know that I'm biased but I love my Vantage more every day. It's such a great combination of performance and luxury.

That said, it's definitely not for someone who's #1 priority is reliability. I've had mine for just a few months and I've had a couple issues requiring service. I went into it knowing that a handbuilt car is going to have some quirks (especially in the beginning) so the positives are still outweighing the negatives for me by a long shot.

And the previous poster is dead on... the reaction to the AM is much different than my 911. People are all over me when I drive it.

Anyone in the NYC/CT area who wants to drive one, feel free to send me a PM. You can bring your P-car over and we'll swap rides...

Chaos

Live from NY nice offer.
It is sad how fast some others people can hijack and go negitive on a post.

MJBird993

I test drove the AMV8 earlier this year and I was mightily impressed. When it came down to "would I sell/trade the 911 for it?" the answer was a quick no. Like the OP I have an '02 cab, and I enjoy it more every day, even if it is too hot to put the top down this week.

The Vantage is gorgeous and drives fabulously, nice ride/handling trade-off, it reminded me a lot of my Z06 in how the drivetrain felt (shifter, V8 torque, etc.) but with higher quality interior and exterior materials. Much higher.

Like many folks, I'm waiting for these cars to get some age on them so that I can pick one up for a decent price. I've bought all of my 911s (I'm on the third) used, saving bunches of money. I just bought a 2003 M5 last month with only 17K miles on it and saved mucho dinero. With supercars, used is the only way to go.

Michael

Benjamin Choi

with any car used is the way to go imo.

nice pick-up on the m5. i like the e39 body.