Well I went over to my friendly Aston dealer today to check out the Vantage. WOW what a beautiful car on the outside and inside. However I am 6'5" tall and do not fit in it as well as my 997S. If there was just 1 more inch for rear travel in the seat it would be just right. or if I could lean the seat back an inch or so.

 

These things have nothing to do with my interior complaints and I STRONGLY dislike the silver-metal-colored paint on this center console, though perhaps for some folks it goes well with the grey-metal-colored center stack, all those crappy little plastic buttons, and the silver-metal colored trim strip, and the Tiptronic is this one. For me, it's just very wrong. -Brian (writer)

 

the dream that keeps car lovers awake at night is not the M3, or the Aston Martin, it's the 911. It simply captures minds, hearts, and dreams like none other.

That holds true for any era of any of these 3 marques.

It's a piece of history born out through it's racing heritage which is alive today in all it's glory.

Nothing captures the imagination quite like a 911. Ask any car-loving kid on the corner which he'd rather have, and the 911 wins out.

Of course, a review is supposed to forget these emotional things. But dream, drive, or own a 911 and try to forget that passion: I dare you.
CATTMAN[/quote]

oh no. c'mon. this is exactly the type of drivel that stokes the flame of the anti-Porsche backlash. You are wrong - many kids on the corner are keen to video games, James Bond, particular racing classes ++, and lust for an Aston or M3 OVER a 911. And as I'm sure you know, there is a growing int'l anti-Porsche enthusiast movement that feels Porsches are flawed, not nearly as good as we think they are, carry a negative stigma, and that their owners are *******. I am DEFINITELY NOT amongst them, I love the 911 and its heritage, but I can kind of see how this type of over-romanticised goo could inspire them. Jeremy on Top Gear is infected with this Porsche Hater disease (I think it's his loss, but that show rules anyhow, in my humble opinion).

Thanks for reading and commenting! -Brian (writer)

 

the amv8 is getting way too much cred here... if it weren't rare, it wouldn't stand a fighting chance

i don't think it looks good either. when i think aston, i think grand and the amv8 looks very slabsided and cute... now if we're talking the vanquish S, that's serious business.

 

oh no. c'mon. this is exactly the type of drivel that stokes the flame of the anti-Porsche backlash. You are wrong - many kids on the corner are keen to video games, James Bond, particular racing classes ++, and lust for an Aston or M3 OVER a 911. And as I'm sure you know, there is a growing int'l anti-Porsche enthusiast movement that feels Porsches are flawed, not nearly as good as we think they are, carry a negative stigma, and that their owners are *******. I am DEFINITELY NOT amongst them, I love the 911 and its heritage, but I can kind of see how this type of over-romanticised goo could inspire them. Jeremy on Top Gear is infected with this Porsche Hater disease (I think it's his loss, but that show rules anyhow, in my humble opinion).

Thanks for reading and commenting! -Brian (writer)[/quote]

If you have such strong sentiments for the interior of the Porsche and the car itself,go find your self a forum where they would be applauded.. Here at 6sp,everyone has differnt cars and opinions and they value one anothers opinions...
If you havent noticed,alot of people came to know if AM's recently and it isnt as recognised,as the 911 is.. I am myself a lover of AM's and their designs,I truly am.. But that doesnt influence me to say that the 997 is flawed,etc etc... Sure,the AM has a fantastic interior,no doubt,with the stitched leather and all,which is standard.. And sure,the 997 does not have all that "razz matazz" as standard,but you need to see the price diff.. The standard Vantage is 110k $ ( If I am not mistaken) and the 997S is 85k.. You add the differntial amount of options to the 997 and it becomes at par,if not more,with the Vantage...

I would not,however,comment on the M3 and its styling and interiors,as I have relatively little experience with that car.. The external styling looks awesome to me,btw.. But others in this thread have already tagged the car "bloaty and heavy" ...

Your opinion is respected,sir,but this is,as a matter of fact,a Porsche enthusiast forum.. Enough said...

 

+1

Totally agree with your comments below.
Good read and interesting perspective from the original reviewer. However, to be clear: I would NEVER pick an m3 over an aston or 911. Its a fixed up 3-series (analogous to Honda's Civic Si when compared to the entry level Civic Dx). The m3's cheaper price and predictable/typical front engine handling dynamics don't make up for its sedan looks (although a really good looking one), increased weight, and horrible brakes. I respect the car for what it is (a compromise between daily driver and sports car), but when I shopped for a dedicated sports car, the m3 was NOT on my list of test drives.

Secondly, the 911 is more appealing than the aston due to its more sporty character and "cheaper" price, as mentioned earlier. Aston's pricing should actually make it more competitive with a GT3/Turbo, and we all know it doesn't stand a chance in outperforming either of those.

In response to the comments below by the original author:
Anti-porsche backlash? Porsche has the world's best racing history and records of ANY car manufacturer. If you don't like porsche, you don't like or know much about fast cars! They are the FIRST car maker to offer Ceramic Brakes on a production vehicle and have contributed tremendously to innovations such as 4wd, DSG (PDK), Brake hardware, Turbo, and weight reduction. They hold world records on the Nurburgring and LeMans and serve as THE benchmark for other manufacturers, which is why they are always targeted and scrutinized.

Clarkson may harbor anti-porsche thoughts to be entertaining, but when you look at what cars the other 2 hosts on the Top Gear own, they own a PORSCHE. Clarkson has an issue with its 40 year old design, saying Porsche is lazy in the styling department. But now if you look at car manufacturers, you'll notice that they are copying Porsche by going back to their old designs (i.e. Ford GT40, Camaro, Mustang) and doing minor evolutionary facelifts to future models (g35 to g37, BMW x5).

And if we're talking about car reputations, don't even get started with M3's! Just take a look at some of the m3 forums and read some of their topics: "SMOKED an F430 today, 996 TT had NO chance, SL65 KILLED" . You can only imagine who these ignoramus posters are (and in California, you'll definitely see a LOT of them on the road). No offense to m3 owners, but some of them really have unrealistic expectations/beliefs about their cars.

When I park my 911 next to my cousins m3, every reaction/comment from every single person (Kids and Grown-ups) is positive towards the 911. They KNOW it is a sports car.

 

+ 1 for any post that works in "drivel", "romanticized goo", "*******" and "razz matazz"

That was fun to read.

 

Excuse my ignorance but is the CS the same as the Competition Package?

 

ha ha. Thanks, lig.

jjparkusa - yes, M3 CS is M3 Competition Package Coupe in USA. CS is UK market name and is shorter/easier to type.

ecks - peace, man. I LOVE THE PORSCHE 911. My heart races when I see a great 997S. I got kind of pulled into your forum when I sent this story to Rams86 (i'm using his acct.) who liked it so much that he decided to share it with you all. I wrote it in Spring 2006 to sort out my impressions (I bought an M3 CS, obviously, and still love it) - it might have come out quite different had I written it yesterday. My interior criticisms are pretty minor and are way down the list of importance anyhow, I just though they had been mis-read or misinterpreted. I kind of just have a bad reaction to metal-colored plastics, especially 3 different shades in one interior. Apologies for using the word "crappy" re: the buttons - some folks probably dig those, I just don't. But Porsche designers, and many of y'all, must love this stuff. Different strokes. It's all good. I was somewhat just aiming to get some debate going - it pretty much worked.

frayed - "crappy steering"? have you driven the M3 CS?! I would almost agree that the regular E46 M3 has crappy steering feel, but the "quicker more feelsome rack from the CSL" (evo) is, for me, transformational, and the CS is awesome fun to guide through the twisties! "bloated weight"? - I agree, it could be lighter, but it's only a bit heavier than a 997S - they're both well over 3,000 lbs.

Spyder997s - thanks for your lengthly comments - great stuff. I must concur - many "jackholes" (as my wife calls them - ha ha) do drive M3s - I hope that other drivers don't describe me as such. I do not, however, agree that the M3 CS should be discounted because it is based on a passenger car platform - driving satisfaction is the end result, and it blew me away - as it did evo mag, who placed it solidly above the dedicated sports car platform Cayman S at eCoty 2005 (and SLK55 AMG and M6 and V8 Vantage and Exige 240R and TVR Sagaris and RS4...).

Thanks again, and enjoy them lovely autos!
-Brian

 

wow, M3 CS ??? I like the 997S better...

 

nice write up!