For the longest time I have lusted after the modern Aston Martin cars, I believe the current Vantage is one of the best balanced and most beautiful cars ever made. My desire for this car has lead me to track virtually every Vantage for sale or sold at auction for the past two years or so. This obsession for me started a couple years back when I decided to sell my 1991 Sebring Silver NSX, this was the second NSX I had owned and while I still loved the car I wanted something newer and maybe different. The search for a 2002+ NSX was started at the same time and I was not having any luck finding the right car so I started to look at other brands to see what might catch my attention and fall into a similar price range. I soon found the Aston Martin Vantage and started doing a little research. Before to long I found a 2006 Vantage that was within budget, was the right color and was virtually new with only 2500 miles. The car was in Chicago and within driving distance, so I planned a weekend trip to check it out. A funny thing happened on my way to Chicago, before leaving the office to start my long weekend I decided to go through the Prime Market Place one more time, I was completely amazed to find a 2004 Red/Black NSX with less than 15k miles on it just listed less than 2 hours before I logged on. Even more amazing it was in Chicago. I made a phone call to the listing dealer and basically bought the NSX sight unseen with the option to back out upon my inspection. Away to Chicago and straight to the dealer the next morning, I checked the car out, closed the deal, cut the trip short and drove it home. I was so excited to find the NSX I was hunting for for over 10 months I completely forgot about the Vantage I was to look at the following day.
Fast forward till today and I have to say I really love my NSX, it was everything I wanted when making the move from an older NSX to a newer NSX, but there has always been this nagging little voice in the back of my head wondering what would have happened if my NSX had not been posted or I had not logged on to Prime that day. I would have most likely went to Chicago and brought home the 2006 Vantage V8 Coupe. Did I make the right decision or should I have at least looked at the Vantage that weekend then made my mind up. It really does not matter now but those lingering feelings have lead me to a unique opportunity that I was not going to pass up. I had the opportunity to spend the weekend with a Vantage V8 and really get to know the car so I could finally put these nagging feelings to rest or maybe restart my search for my very own Aston Martin Vantage V8 Coupe.
The Vantage V8 Coupe I had to play with was a 2010 Stratus White N420 SportShift. It was optioned with everything you can put on the car, and as a result sticker-ed just north of $156,000.00. I am a very lucky guy that got to spend a long weekend with the car and thought it would be good to share my experience with you guys.
First off the Vantage and the NSX are really not that far off from each other in concept , performance numbers for a stock NSX and a stock Vantage are not that far apart, they are both usable as a weekend cruiser or if need be could even be used as a daily driver. Most would consider the Aston more of a luxury GT and the NSX more of a true sports car. With most of the cars in the Aston Brand luxury GT is about the only category you can put their cars in, but the little Vantage is a different car than its bigger brothers. Much smaller, lighter, more nimble, reasonable power levels and lots of grip in the corners. It is an Aston after all so the nod to luxury is there in the interior. Fit and finish is nothing short of amazing, you can not help but be impressed by all the leather work that is in the Vantage. There are plenty of modern day gizmos in the car to make you realize that the NSX is a really old design that needed more than a facelift in 2002 to keep up with the Jones's, but having said that the Vantage itself feels dated compared to a modern Audi or Mercedes interior, but maybe that is by design. There is something to be said for simple. I had no problem sitting down in the car and within seconds had everything adjusted to fit me and even paired the bluetooth hands free all without having to bust out the owners manual and read for 10 minutes or so to get everything sorted. That is something I can not say for my parents new Honda Accord, or a BMW 550i that I went on a test drive in over the same weekend. The view from inside the Vantage is so different from the NSX. A NSX has such a great view that you can sometimes forget that there is a part of the car that is in front of you other than the dash and steering wheel, this is something you will never forget in the Aston. You will never see the front of the car from the drivers seat but you sure know it is there. While the interior space itself is actually very large you feel like you are set deep inside the car with no way to see or feel the exterior dimensions of the car. This is so far from the feel of the NSX I really had a hard time adjusting to the Aston when it came to parking or even backing up. Something I am sure I would eventually get use to with more time. The seats in the Vantage were very good, adjustable for just about everything and with me being 6 foot tall I had at least 4 inches of head space left for a helmet in case someone wanted to track the car.
So how does the Vantage drive, well first off the car I drove was a Sportshift, Aston's version of an automated manual. They use a single clutch system so it is not near as smooth as any of the dual clutch systems, it is not bad but definitely could never be described as smooth and refined. Unless you fear the clutch pedal get the manual gear box and take control of the clutch. I know the Sportshift is a deal breaker for me in the Aston, for that matter in almost any car I just prefer a manual in a sports car and an automatic in everything else. Steering is a little hard to describe low speeds were good to very good but at higher speeds the steering sort of went numb. Brakes are supplied by Brembo I believe, and are every bit as good as the NSX maybe better but they squeal a lot, they squeal when they are hot, they squeal when they are cold, they just squeal about every time you touch them. Maybe something the dealer can sort out. The power from the 4.7 liter V8 has not got a lot of torque but revs freely and has no problem hauling the Vantage around, the car is not fast but it is not slow either the power delivery is smooth and constant but you never get the feeling you need to hang on with both hands. The sound of the V8 and its exhaust note is nothing short of intoxicating, the sound comes on as the engine RPMs hit 3k and the exhaust baffles open to bypass the mufflers, everything you read on the internet or hear in sound clips about Aston Martins is true, it is just so unique and so much fun to hear I found myself holding gears longer just to hear the exhaust open and hear that sound. The car came with the Sports Pack so the ride was firm and the car sat pretty low, not low enough that it every rubbed and not as low as my NSX on Bilstien's. I can tell you the car has got plenty of grip my favorite little test track run around town gave me very similar corner speeds as my NSX and the Vantage even felt a little more planted but that could have been either tires or maybe having a seating position more to the rear of the car.
I had a great time in the car, I am use to getting looks and thumbs up and even the occasional Civic driver that wants to run um from stop light to stop light while in my NSX, but in the Aston you do sort of feel almost regal. I got thumbs up from Harley guys, from kids, from old guys, from young guys, hell when I stopped to put some fuel in the car and the gas station attendant came out of the store to check it out while others got out there cell phones and started to snap pictures. It was fun and that is what I liked about the car, you have something unique, something mysterious, something that makes you and other people happy to see.
I wish Honda did more with the 2002 facelift, something that made our interior more than it is, updated the electronics and entertainment part of the car, all that can be done in the aftermarket but it is never the same as a well executed OEM setup. If I had to sell my NSX I still feel the Vantage is at the top of the list as my next car but not as a replacement for the NSX. It will happen when I want something different from a sports car than what I want now. If I had to choose from a stock NSX or a stock Vantage and the money part of the equation was not factor I would take the Vantage, but since I have a 2004 NSX with Twin Turbos and the money most definitely is a factor I will be keeping my NSX for a while to come. Maybe someday when the prices come down and I am ready for a change I will revisit the Vantage. Oh for those looking at the Vantage, the 2009 and newer cars are the ones to have , the early years 2006-2008 did not have the mechanical and entertainment refinements that the 2009+ model years offer, but that pushes you into another price level, one higher than I can go for a car, any car.
Here are a few pics of the car.
Dave
Fast forward till today and I have to say I really love my NSX, it was everything I wanted when making the move from an older NSX to a newer NSX, but there has always been this nagging little voice in the back of my head wondering what would have happened if my NSX had not been posted or I had not logged on to Prime that day. I would have most likely went to Chicago and brought home the 2006 Vantage V8 Coupe. Did I make the right decision or should I have at least looked at the Vantage that weekend then made my mind up. It really does not matter now but those lingering feelings have lead me to a unique opportunity that I was not going to pass up. I had the opportunity to spend the weekend with a Vantage V8 and really get to know the car so I could finally put these nagging feelings to rest or maybe restart my search for my very own Aston Martin Vantage V8 Coupe.
The Vantage V8 Coupe I had to play with was a 2010 Stratus White N420 SportShift. It was optioned with everything you can put on the car, and as a result sticker-ed just north of $156,000.00. I am a very lucky guy that got to spend a long weekend with the car and thought it would be good to share my experience with you guys.
First off the Vantage and the NSX are really not that far off from each other in concept , performance numbers for a stock NSX and a stock Vantage are not that far apart, they are both usable as a weekend cruiser or if need be could even be used as a daily driver. Most would consider the Aston more of a luxury GT and the NSX more of a true sports car. With most of the cars in the Aston Brand luxury GT is about the only category you can put their cars in, but the little Vantage is a different car than its bigger brothers. Much smaller, lighter, more nimble, reasonable power levels and lots of grip in the corners. It is an Aston after all so the nod to luxury is there in the interior. Fit and finish is nothing short of amazing, you can not help but be impressed by all the leather work that is in the Vantage. There are plenty of modern day gizmos in the car to make you realize that the NSX is a really old design that needed more than a facelift in 2002 to keep up with the Jones's, but having said that the Vantage itself feels dated compared to a modern Audi or Mercedes interior, but maybe that is by design. There is something to be said for simple. I had no problem sitting down in the car and within seconds had everything adjusted to fit me and even paired the bluetooth hands free all without having to bust out the owners manual and read for 10 minutes or so to get everything sorted. That is something I can not say for my parents new Honda Accord, or a BMW 550i that I went on a test drive in over the same weekend. The view from inside the Vantage is so different from the NSX. A NSX has such a great view that you can sometimes forget that there is a part of the car that is in front of you other than the dash and steering wheel, this is something you will never forget in the Aston. You will never see the front of the car from the drivers seat but you sure know it is there. While the interior space itself is actually very large you feel like you are set deep inside the car with no way to see or feel the exterior dimensions of the car. This is so far from the feel of the NSX I really had a hard time adjusting to the Aston when it came to parking or even backing up. Something I am sure I would eventually get use to with more time. The seats in the Vantage were very good, adjustable for just about everything and with me being 6 foot tall I had at least 4 inches of head space left for a helmet in case someone wanted to track the car.
So how does the Vantage drive, well first off the car I drove was a Sportshift, Aston's version of an automated manual. They use a single clutch system so it is not near as smooth as any of the dual clutch systems, it is not bad but definitely could never be described as smooth and refined. Unless you fear the clutch pedal get the manual gear box and take control of the clutch. I know the Sportshift is a deal breaker for me in the Aston, for that matter in almost any car I just prefer a manual in a sports car and an automatic in everything else. Steering is a little hard to describe low speeds were good to very good but at higher speeds the steering sort of went numb. Brakes are supplied by Brembo I believe, and are every bit as good as the NSX maybe better but they squeal a lot, they squeal when they are hot, they squeal when they are cold, they just squeal about every time you touch them. Maybe something the dealer can sort out. The power from the 4.7 liter V8 has not got a lot of torque but revs freely and has no problem hauling the Vantage around, the car is not fast but it is not slow either the power delivery is smooth and constant but you never get the feeling you need to hang on with both hands. The sound of the V8 and its exhaust note is nothing short of intoxicating, the sound comes on as the engine RPMs hit 3k and the exhaust baffles open to bypass the mufflers, everything you read on the internet or hear in sound clips about Aston Martins is true, it is just so unique and so much fun to hear I found myself holding gears longer just to hear the exhaust open and hear that sound. The car came with the Sports Pack so the ride was firm and the car sat pretty low, not low enough that it every rubbed and not as low as my NSX on Bilstien's. I can tell you the car has got plenty of grip my favorite little test track run around town gave me very similar corner speeds as my NSX and the Vantage even felt a little more planted but that could have been either tires or maybe having a seating position more to the rear of the car.
I had a great time in the car, I am use to getting looks and thumbs up and even the occasional Civic driver that wants to run um from stop light to stop light while in my NSX, but in the Aston you do sort of feel almost regal. I got thumbs up from Harley guys, from kids, from old guys, from young guys, hell when I stopped to put some fuel in the car and the gas station attendant came out of the store to check it out while others got out there cell phones and started to snap pictures. It was fun and that is what I liked about the car, you have something unique, something mysterious, something that makes you and other people happy to see.
I wish Honda did more with the 2002 facelift, something that made our interior more than it is, updated the electronics and entertainment part of the car, all that can be done in the aftermarket but it is never the same as a well executed OEM setup. If I had to sell my NSX I still feel the Vantage is at the top of the list as my next car but not as a replacement for the NSX. It will happen when I want something different from a sports car than what I want now. If I had to choose from a stock NSX or a stock Vantage and the money part of the equation was not factor I would take the Vantage, but since I have a 2004 NSX with Twin Turbos and the money most definitely is a factor I will be keeping my NSX for a while to come. Maybe someday when the prices come down and I am ready for a change I will revisit the Vantage. Oh for those looking at the Vantage, the 2009 and newer cars are the ones to have , the early years 2006-2008 did not have the mechanical and entertainment refinements that the 2009+ model years offer, but that pushes you into another price level, one higher than I can go for a car, any car.
Here are a few pics of the car.
Dave
. Do you guys know how the maintnance aspect looks like? Where do you take it for service, how much does an oil change cost and what major services like our tb/wp are there to complete?
