Does anyone make a better looking car than Aston Martin? Obviously that’s a deeply subjective question, but they’re right at the top of the tree. I’ve never spoken to anyone who finds their aesthetics dull or offensive. That’s not always the case, even with other cars I’ve admired the looks of. The feedback from passers by and friends on the Aston Martin Vantage was unanimous: that’s a handsome car and make no mistake. Instead, there was a little quibbling over the choice of colour. I didn’t spec the car and yeah, maybe I’d have gone for something else. Aston do a lovely deep, metallic British Racing Green. I’d be tempted by that. I also have a theory that dark blue elevates any car. When you’re reduced to discussing the colour, you know the design is spot on.
I was eagerly anticipating the arrival of the Aston Martin Vantage. Working away upstairs I heard the distinctive sound of a V8 rumbling along my road. Could this be it? Then the squeak of carbon ceramic brakes. “It’s here!” I exclaimed to myself before dashing downstairs like a child who thinks they’ve heard Santa Claus arrive. As an aside, Ferrari seems to be the only manufacturer capable of producing non-squeaky carbon ceramics. I’ve no idea why. And nor did I care in that moment. Suddenly my drive was looking absolutely superb, resplendent in Aston Martin Vantage. Even the key looks good, which is a relief in a market that usually treats the key as an afterthought.
So, I was sold on the looks. But I already knew that. It was time to cast aesthetics to one side, jump inside and see if the Aston Martin Vantage is actually any good.
What’s the Aston Martin Vantage like to live with?
The one thing that used to hold Aston Martin back was its interiors. Relying upon infotainment and switchgear from the AMG parts bin, they were never up to date with modern standards nor overly appealing. I mean, they were okay, but out of place in a £200,000 car. To say Aston has upped its game in that regard would be an understatement.
The touchscreen works perfectly with a range of physical buttons and scrollers to interact with and shortcut to key functionality like HVAC. In fact, my only internal complaint was the lack of wireless Android Auto. You have to plug your phone in, which is all very 2020.
Slide into the leather and suede clad cockpit and the Aston Martin Vantage immediately impresses. Finding your perfect driving position is simple and the airconditioned seats further assisted in the August heat.
There’s even a decent amount of boot space, with separators for your different luggage needs. You’d get your weekend bags in without fuss.
The rest of the functionality is spot on, too. An overhead camera assists with parking, decent sound system and easy to use controls for your drive modes, exhaust valves and suspension settings. If Aston’s used to feel a bit old hat, it’s an issue they’ve comprehensively addressed in their latest generation of cars.
On the move, the Aston Martin Vantage feels a bit wider than you initially expect. The wing mirrors are full of the exuberant rear wheel arches, lending a muscle car feel that is supported by the V8. It deals with potholes and speedbumps well enough, being another car that straddles the boundaries of sport, super and GT. Not as refined as the mighty DB12, but then you wouldn’t quite want it to be. The baby Aston needs to deliver sportscar thrills.
What’s the Aston Martin Vantage like to drive?
With its smaller proportions, the Aston Martin Vantage is noticeably more agile than the bigger DB12. It flows beautifully through bends, with plenty of communication from the chassis and yes, that V8 soundtrack. It’s fighting a world of increasingly stringent regulations, but wring it out and the V8 sounds magnificent.
It barks into life on startup and remains a pleasant but prominent companion. When you dial up through the drive modes, from sport through race and track, it opens up a bit more, too.
It’s worth taking a minute to familiarise yourself with where everything is with the setup. Mercifully, switching off all the driver assistance systems is the work of three clicks of the touchscreen. The drive modes are activated via the wheel around the engine start button and there are several more buttons beside the gear selector. It makes the Aston Martin Vantage easy to interact with on the move.
This is useful, because you can really get the wind in your sails here. 656bhp and 800Nm of torque will get you to 62mph in 3.5secs and a wail of V8 glory. Far from being a point-and-shoot merchant though, find a decent B-road and the Vantage comes to life. The thick-rimmed steering wheel leaves the car reacting swiftly to your inputs. Bring the paddles behind it into play and you can make it sing.
Left to its own devices the gearbox doesn’t always match your intent, so the paddles is worthwhile.
Then, away from the countryside, it settles into a comfortable cruise. There’s not too much road noise, although it’s louder than the DB12. Which I think is what you want. It’s aggressive and punchy one minute, relaxed and refined the next. There’s an astonishing breadth of capability.
Conclusion
There’s an awful lot to like in the Aston Martin Vantage. If I was to be picky (and I mean really picky) the ride gets caught out from time to time over scarred surfaces. I’m also unsure that it needs a track mode. Get to that setting and the ride is too stiff: the Aston Martin Vantage works better when it breathes with the road a bit more. Also, who’s buying one of these with track days in mind? You pay your money, you make your choices, I guess. Other than that, however, it’s impossible to conclude anything other than the fact Aston Martin is in a fine run of form at the moment.
The Aston Martin Vantage starts at £165,000. The model tested here comes in at £205,245, so you can definitely get a bit giddy in the configurator. The most expensive of the options are the carbon ceramic brakes, but as per my earlier point regarding track days, you might not need them.
Crucially, however, this feels like a car which belongs at this price point. They’ve always produced achingly beautiful cars, but now the interior supports the exterior’s aesthetic hype. That’s important, because these are the modules owners interact with day to day.
And the Aston Martin Vantage is a car that you would want to drive daily. It does everything you ask of it with assured competence and is comfortable in doing so. The irritations of an out-of-date infotainment system and interior setup are gone, yet you still get the looks and performance.
As I said, there’s an awful lot to like here. Perhaps most prominently, however, is that Aston Martin is back at the top table, producing cars that offer a genuine option to anyone shopping at the top end of the market.