I am really considering a v8 vantage with sport shift. I would like to ask the owners here about the sport shift. Is it any good? I had a bmw m6 with smg and it wasnt good at all for daily drive. Is the sport shift any better? My current car is a carrera s with tiptronic and the gearbox is awfull for a sports car , so whats your opinion?

 

I have the sportshift and like it quite a bit. i usually prefer 6sp cars but its nice to have a change of pace on at least one car. Shifts great at speed, works well at low speeds with a nice creeper gear. My .02 cents worth.

 

I love my sportshift. I think it is a great compromise ove a manual. It works well in traffic and is still quite fun when you press the fun peddle into the carpet. I would purchase another one. again. There are many posts on this subject on the forum. Do a search. There is some good info.

Adam

 

I am not a fan at all of the CS tiptronic, or any Porsche tiptronic that I have driven.

That being said, I love sportshift on my Vantage. Even low speed downshifts around town are a blast.

The best thing to do is just go drive one for yourself. You can get a pretty good feel for the gearbox in a few minutes.

 

thanks for your replies maybe I should drive one first but I will wait until I find one with the 4.7 engine which I think has updated sport shift

 

I had extensive test drives in MY 09 Sportshift and manual - and went for manual. IMHO Sportshift is worse than BMW's SMG and more at the level of Maserati's Cambiocorsa used in the 4200 Coupe. Test drive and browse forums - loads of discussions on this topic. But finally you must decide on your own!

 

I have both SMG and Sportshift. The BMW's shifter has a lot more options, but that's about it. The Vantage has the Sport mode or Comfi mode, which does the job just fine.

 

The new Power Pack option for the 4.3 Vantage is supposed to make a nice difference. I have it on my manual and am happy - my mechanic said he installed it on the Sportshift and it made a "bigger" difference ! That would be a good value if you by a used 4.3 and install vs. purchase of a new car.

 

I would consider the Power Pack, however I am looking forward to the 24 months extended warranty which will cost $4300. When it comes down to mods vs warranty... I rather have the warranty. Did you guys get any extended warranty at all or thinking about getting it?

 

I did not get the extended warrenty ... IMHO Ford spent a lot getting Aston/Jag up to speed on reliability ...

 

That's great news. I have Sportshift. Did your dealership mention that the shift time is faster with the power pack? I have asked 3 dealers about this and no one will commit. I have a feeling that they don't want to reveal too much if there is an advantage to the SS. I have been putting this off until the weather gets a little colder. By the way, I have long since given up on the idea that I will ever own a car past it's warranty. If I were to buy a used car in the last year of it's warranty I would probably consider it. I have a feeling that AM is really going to up the anti now that they are on their own. I think the 12 cylinder is going to approach 600HP and the Vantage will get closer to 500 with or without a super charger. If that happens, I won't be able to control myself.

 

Jaymoney - The guy that turned me on to the Power Pack was Tom Heinz at AM of Tampa (813 579 2291), the mechanic there that installed the kit was "Danny" (sorry I do not know his last name). I spoke directly to Danny as he had driven the SS w/ the conversion (and mine too). My guess is Tom knows the facts too - he is a car guy, not just a salesman. I would suggest giving Tom a call and ask your questions - I did not ask too many 'cause I have the manual tranny. I think this dealer has installed 3-5 kits already ...

 

Michael, Thanks as always. Are you considering a supercharger?