Aston Martin Vantage Review: now with a manual

By topgear, 30 October 2019

OVERVIEW - What is it?
The first all-new Aston Martin sports car since the Vantage rejoined the ranks in 2005 is not – we repeat, not – merely a Mercedes-AMG GT in a Savile row dinner jacket. Yes, the new baby Aston Martin shares its 4.0-litre, twin-turbo engine with AMG’s finest – and some of its interior technology – but beyond that, this is all Aston. And it’s a very fine piece of work.

And don’t think that just because the Vantage sits on a shortened version of the DB11’s aluminium platform, and shares its eight-speed automatic gearbox (for now), that it’s more Aston reheated leftovers.

Aston kept the DB11 deliberately soft and gentlemanly so the shorter, lighter Vantage could be punchier, angrier and more of a sports car. Finally, some clear daylight between Aston Martin’s products. 

The gearbox is sharper. The electronic rear differential is lightning-fast in its reactions, to maximise traction, or yobbery, depending on your mood.

There’s no longer a Comfort mode for the powertrain and chassis – this time everything’s gone up a notch, with Sport, Sport + and Track modes to choose from. Heck, there’s even a seven-speed manual gearbox available. You won’t find that in any of Aston’s other models.

The engine develops the same 503bhp and 685Nm you’d get in a Mercedes-AMG C63 (though torque’s down a smidge in the manual), which is enough to get the 1.5-ton Vantage from 0-100kph in 3.6 seconds and on to a top speed of 314kph. Those figures climb to 4.0secs and 322kph with the stick-shift transmission. That’s huge performance from an entry-level model, but necessary now the Vantage has an options-free entry price of £120,000 and has to compete with the likes of the Audi R8 V10 Plus, McLaren 540C and Porsche 911 Turbo.

A soft-top Volante will follow, but we have to wait and see – and hope – for lighter versions inspired by Aston’s GT3 racing programme, and possibly a V12 range-topper. Aston says the 5.2-litre twin-turbo unit from the DB11 will fit…

DRIVING - What is it line on the road?
It’s unfair to simply praise one individual for a car’s whole set-up, because it takes a dedicated team of talented people to turn a bare rolling chassis into a thrilling, engaging sports car. But we have to acknowledge that the Vantage is the first new Aston to have been developed entirely under the stewardship of ex-Lotus handing boss Matt Becker, and it’s fair to say he and his team have done the business, as usual. It’s a cracker.

But first things first, before you even get to the traction or the balance or the agility – it’s the size that grabs you. The Vantage feels small on the road. It’s shorter than a 911 Carrera and feels narrower – despite those gorgeous hip-like rear haunches actually haveing a wider footprint than the Porsche – and that immediately removes a layer of intimidation from those crucial early miles. You have space to play with.

Next up, you appreciate the driving position more and more. The steering wheel oozes a generous reach out of the dash. The seat is a triumph of comfort, support and situation. It’s amazing how many cars still get these fundamentals wrong (Audi R8, we’re looking at you), but the Vantage is spot-on the money.

Immediately, it feels far firmer than a DB11, but the control and quality of the damping is superb. 911 GT3 superb. It doesn’t jiggle or jar you, but it’s taut enough to trim body roll and give the car an addictively obedient character. The nose wants to tear into an apex, and the tail won’t ever be caught napping.

That’s helped by Aston Martin’s unfashionable and entirely rational decision to fit sensibly geared steering. It’s 2.4 turns lock-to-lock, which is at least half a turn further than most rivals and means the car totally sidesteps feeling nervous or twitchy when corners charge towards it.

The feedback itself is probably the Vantage’s weakest suit – compared to the old car’s hydraulic assistance, the new electric power steering lacks the texture and communication we were spoiled with by that world-class system. Then again, this is only Aston’s second crack at EPAS, and Porsche hardly got it right first time either. Aston won’t take long to catch up, we’d wager.

It’d have been an appalling result for Aston to inherit AMG’s bombastic 4.0-litre hot-vee engine and muck it up, and predictably, they haven’t. The uncanny throttle response, mega appetite for revs and on-demand potency of the V8 has all survived intact, but its trip to an English finishing school has delivered a more serrated, angrier edge to the soundtrack that’s part Bullitt Mustang soundtrack, part Liam Gallagher soundcheck. And yes, the car goes really, seriously fast.

Perhaps not as eye-drying rabid as an R8 or McLaren, and for the money, that might be an issue for the most power-greedy addicts. But how quick do you need to go? This is a 322kph sports car and by not overcooking the outputs (as per the DB11), Aston’s not ended up with a snatchy, traction-limited mess that you can only lean on for a couple of seconds at a time before it enters pointlessly illegal speeds. This is a Goldilocks set-up. 

That said, the automatic gearbox isn’t quite so clever. It’s an eight-speed ZF automatic mounted at the rear to finesse the weight distribution, and it doesn’t deliver upchanges with the seamless snap of the dual-clutchers you can expect in this price range from Porsche, McLaren, Audi and Mercedes-AMG. First-to-second is a crucial getaway change, and if you’re using the gearshift paddles manually, the Aston’s box struggles to resolve that moment crisply. Mind you, it’s undergone a leap from the DB11’s similar transmission. Auto-mode kickdown and upchanges are less haphazard, and the blips for the downchanges are just about perfect. 

The manual ain’t perfect either - its dog-leg set up is awkward to get acquainted with and even with time, the changes never really flow smoothly. But there’s something proper about operating a punchy little V8 sports car with both feet, and a ballsy little Aston shouldn’t be a doddle to drive. Having a physical, hands-on driving experience feels right here, and we implore you to go manual if you can.

There are many modes to choose from. For road driving, the optimal setting is Sport Plus for the powertrain, to enliven its responses, and the Sport dampers, which is plenty firm enough unless you’re heading for a circuit, where the electronic rear diff’s ability to switch between 100 per cent open and fully locked will indulge you in the lariest of brutish Aston behaviour. On the road, it means you can deploy drive far more cleanly than this engine is allowed to the in the wayward AMG GT. 

But the most freakish ability is the one the Vantage isn’t really supposed to have. In spite of its street-fighter character, it’s an epic GT car. It cruises more quietly than a 911, sipping fuel at 27mpg, unstressed and untaxing. The Vantage shouldn’t be that relaxed on the schlep, yet it’s possibly easier to lope along in than the lollopy DB11…

ON THE INSIDE - Layout, finish and space
The driving position is spot-on, the seat a triumphant marriage of back-cradling support and everyday comfort. It faces a lovely cockpit – cool, modern, and technical – if not quite an unqualified success. There’s no glovebox. The DB11’s virtual instruments return, free of the Playmobil bezel that cheapens the big GT, but still suffering from grainy resolution. Come on guys, we’re the OLED Retina screen generation. What’s a pixel? 

As you might’ve heard from a lightly hyped motion picture called Spectre, Daniel Craig’s latest ride was a Vantage design proposal spotted by director Sam Mendes and nabbed for Her Majesty’s secret service. For my money, the production Vantage is prettier than 007’s DB10, but the temptation to Q Branch-up the cabin has made it a bit…buttony. Now, we like buttons. Buttons are tactile, easier to operate eyes-free than touchscreens, and aren’t afflicted by mucky fingerprints.

But do we need two separate clicky toggles for working the central locking? Does the whoops-I-appear-to-have-crashed SOS call button need to live right next to the traction control? That fussy nest of buttons could’ve been simplified. 

But we’re nitpicking. The fundamentals are bang-on. It literally reeks of quality – no-one cures leather of more olfactic delight than Aston Martin – the Mercedes infotainment and stalks are elegantly integrated, plus the whole environment feels more expensive than a 911 or 570S and more bespoke than an R8. Boy does it need to at this money.

It’s strictly a two-seater, but you can cram extra (creased) luggage behind the back seats, and the 350-litre boot is superior to a Ford Focus’s cargo area in terms of raw litres, if not usefully shaped space. 

And unlike the old Vantage, the manual gearstick is placed right where your hand falls, not half a foot behind. No obscure RSI in your shoulder from driving this one too hard.

OWNING - Running costs and reliability
Using the development might of AMG to supply a widely used new engine ought to bring peace of mind for new Vantage owners – the transmission too is a popular gearbox across the industry with no known horror stories. This ought to be the most bulletproof Aston in history. No, that’s not a James Bond joke. Aren’t we grown up?

Though the V8’s consumption climbs to 10.1-10.5 litres/100km during a megacruise, 12.3-13.5 litres/100km is a more realistic average, and if you’re caning it, low teens are to be reckoned on. It’s utterly worth it. And with a proper 73-litre fuel tank, range anxiety isn’t a concept known to the Vantage.

Aston’s still lagging behind on the equipment it offers – there’s still no adaptive cruise control or any lane assist, though we’d argue it’d be almost inappropriate to house autonomous driving functions in a car that’s as good to drive the old-fashioned way as this.

The Mercedes Comand infotainment is actually better to use than in any Mercedes, principally because you get the same excellent interface, but Aston Martin makes the utterly redundant and cumbersome touchpad that hovers over the clickwheel a delete option. While you’re ticking boxes just remember to select the stowage cover armrest so the interior actually looks finished, and add the gorgeous glass buttons. And keep a handwipe nearby.

VERDICT
Aston Martin struggles at new cars, traditionally. Oh, it gets them right eventually. But take the DB9, the last Vantage, even the DB11 – we tend to remember them most fondly for what they morphed into throughout their lives, not how they first emerged.

The new Vantage is different. Slightly dead steering and lazy automatic gearbox aside – and those are minor gripes, we promise – this thing feels properly sorted first time, fresh out of the box. It sounds epic, looks fabulous, goes like stink and has one of those rare chassis that could entertain a pro driver and give the rank amateur the time of their life without endangering it. 

Is the Vantage special enough for £120,000 and up? Look, it ain’t as dramatic as the mid-engined Audi and McLaren you can get for similar money, and in raw performance terms, yeah, a C63 will keep it honest. For half the money. There is an Aston tax going on here. That ought to keep the internet message boards busy. Thing is, everything’s so bloody quick these days, there’ll always be exotic giant killers, and folks who live in the internet moaning about raw speed data. The Vantage is so much more than a numbers car.  

Punchy, exciting, yet still big-hearted and amazingly comfortable. The baby Aston is also the best Aston

 

This thing feels properly sorted first time, fresh out of the box. It sounds epic and looks fabulous

 

FOR AGAINST
Fun chassis, sharper powertrain reflexes than DB11, there's a manual Interior is fiddly, and it’s not quite the fastest piece of kit for £120k. If that matters
SCORE 8/10

 

Aston Martin Vantage Review