I just fail to see the need for a 45k more expensive car when it's barely more "potent"!

 

To be fair, lots of cars come with swirls as a free option, but paint correction from excellent detailer should tae care of that. We shouldn't have to do that at that price, but... The problem is one of their selling point is the number of hours spent on hand painting the car.

There is a lot to like about the vantage, its main goal is to target 911. To me, it is a still a very sporty GT car, I just wish it is a better DD. I can live with some of the quirkiness that is part of "charm" of a low volume production car from a boutique manufacturer, but after the brand experience faded, it can really get on one nerve.

 

I would pick AM because of exclusivity, engine note and its beautiful timeless design(until Ford started to use similar design treatment for their grill). But I would go with 911 as a DD sport car any day. I happen to like the GTR, it is an amazing achievement on Nissan part. I wouldn't want to own one because a car is more than just 0 to 60, but I still respect the car.

 

I have experience with both of the cars in question (albeit my Turbo S was a 996 and my Vantage is not an S model).

They are both great cars. They are just different. Different personalities, for different driving styles. You need to drive both cars to decide which car best suits you.

As far as quality, reliability, exclusivity, performance: Vantage, Turbo, Vantage, Turbo.

Driving emotion: For me, it's a draw.

 

I'm surprised many people are hating on the aston. I drove a c4s and to be honest I didn't like it at all. Compared to what I drive now with almost 700 hp it just felt like crap. Seems like a nice women car to me like an sl. No offense to anyone whom I probably just offended lol i am sorry.

I am looking at the turbo because it has the rush because of the power and performance and it has all the comfort of the c4s I drove. My dealer will let me drive a turbo once they get one in. But for the aston even though it is down on power, the interior is beautiful, and I am in love with the sound of that car. I don't really care for the porsche sound. I love the carrera GT sound, which with a quicksilver exhaust the turbo kinda sounds like it.

Viper crossed my mind but there seems to be QC issues. I like special cars and that one sure is special.

Probably my list goes like this

turbo
vantage S
viper

Where the turbo would be 155k vantage 145k and the viper 137k. I'm really leaning towards the turbo. But then for that price I could get a used gallardo. Though I think the turbo would be way more reasonable to own for a DD.

 

Maybe I should wait a year and pick up a used turbo or used turbo s like this one

http://www.drivingemotions.com/INVEN...7/Default.aspx

Pretty good deal there.

Only problem it seems the people who buy a turbo and sell it a year later have bad taste. They are all black or white with black interiors. Idk why all these porsche cars that are used are only black interiors with hardly any options.

I'd want black with the beige interior and beige gauges or black interior with red gauges.

 

These are two extremely different cars . In fact I was recently blown away by the Aston Rapide (the 4 door luxury sedan) but the Vantage is beautiful . I understand that reliability issues of the past are not the current norm but it will still hiccup more than a Porsche .

In terms of build quality the Aston is incredible. It takes 200 hours to build an Aston . It takes 50 hrs to paint it . There is no orange peel . There really is no comparison in in the hand built argument . The Aston wins !!

I feel the big diffeence is that a Porsche Turbo is a luxury power car with its model roots in racing and the Aston Vantage has more attention directed at elegance yet can still growl .

As for the Viper and the diversity of cars mentioned --this comparison seems to lack focus on a specific type of car .

Pics of the Rapide .. awesome sedan

 

Very nice. But I am not yet old enough to be driving sedans. I guess the question really is what is best car under 155k. Hence the 3 I have picked.

 

Just to clear up my position with Aston....i don't hate it at all....was having a bit of fun with the bond remarks but let's all be honest here, there is some truth in that. Fwiw I actually like the look of the Aston and always fancied it as a box i would tick at one point but the main obstacle for me has always been the car's performance vs the turbo and being more a performance person vs say the pose factor i would always take the performance all day every day over a cars ability to draw looks or admiration from others. I quite like the anonimity and stealth of the Porsche, especially in todays world....although a 458 would be tempting to break that rule.
I would agree the later versions of the Astons would be more reliable than ones of earlier vintage but that said i still can't imagine the car being as reliable as a a P car even though P cars are hardly saints in that dept. The Viper...well its a nice car too but to my understanding is a blunt instrument in comparison to a P car. If i'm wrong please correct me on that as we don't have these cars here to sample.

 

I wasn't interested in the Turbo or the Turbo S, but I did went on porsche Configurator. If you were to look for a fully loaded Turbo with PCCB and PDCC etc... it would be totally worth it for the S model, the biggest selling point for me was actually to option for the 2-tone black/carrera red interior!

But the pricing of the car in hk really just drove me away, my slightly used 458 Italia was less than 5% more on the pricing of the Turbo S I opted! The Turbo S just wasn't worth it for a very fast 911 IMO.

 

Yea I think I have decided a turbo S is really not worth it unless money is no object or I am tracking it all the time or maybe in Europe where I can actually go on the autobahn or something.

A turbo will do just fine. I don't need 9k ceramic brakes on a DD when the porsche is as slight as it is. If I get them I'll just be paranoid every oil change and tire rotation that the dealer will chip them or that some rock will.

If it wasn't a DD I would do it. And to the above comment yes a viper is a blunt instrument compared to a porshe but the viper does indeed grab way more attention, hold its value, and cheaper to maintain which is what attracted me to it. Plus I think it look best out of all cars I mentioned. But as far as practicality the porsche and aston are better suited. Idk its a hard decision. I'm leaning more towards viper or porsche just because there are hardly any turbos or turbo S's around me. I see an aston every now and then but I like cars that are rare and I won't see myself coming down the other side of the street.

 

Agree it is a lot of money for a car that essentially draws little attention and is very similar to outgoing models to the mainstream general public. I'm in much the same position in Aus with this ridiculous pricing dilemma, and as a new TTs is not really that much less than a near new 458 it's something i will need to evaluate soon. There is no mistaking the 458 is a sensational looking car with performance similar to a TTS. How do you find the Italia? Attention aside would you say the 458 can be driven as a DD it in the same way as a PT without additional compromise?

So was it just the lack of power that was your main issue?

 

To me, the upside of any 911 is that it draws very little to no attention. We agree all 991 are getting costly, they are billing us for all the R&D. . Unless one enjoy the attention, the Italia is unrealistic as a DD. From the few times I test drove the 997 TurboS, I find the 458 more comfortable.

 

Yes the lack of power was my main issue. I don't like a car with only 400 hp.

I have a neighbor who DDs his italia. It is a very comfortable car because of the mag shocks. I wouldn't buy a new turbo S ever I think. I rather get a slightly used 458 or gallardo.

 

Doesn't the turbos use the magnetic ride same as the italia? At least that is what the sales guy told me.