Today I made the mistake of test driving the 2009 Vantage - both 6 speed and paddle - also w/ and w/o the sports suspension - and coupe & cab too. I should not have driven the damn things ... yes the 4.7 is better and yes the sports suspension is much better. The non-sports suspension is the same as previous 4.3 for those wondering ...
Very nice ... and yes they will not deliver as many as they did last year to NA ... you can get some great prices on the remaining 2008's. Yes you can now also get a power upgrade for the 4.3, from dealer, installed w/ warrenty. I'll shoot the details in another post.

Carrera S is not as good as the 4.7 .... in any department ... IMHO

 

how is the paddle's? big difference from 4.3 to 4.7?

 

The biggest difference in the '09s is with low and mid-range punch. It's noticeably better than my '07.

 

I am not that familiar w/ 4.3 padddles but I felt the 2009 was just fine - I liked it more in the more sporty mode (not Comfort). My wife liked it too (she has a 6-speed Cayman S). The up shifts might be considered a little "rough" but my comment is that it felt like a "manual" shift I would make not a Caddy auto shift. Again if I had to put up w/ daily traffic the paddles would be a no brainer. Heck on my next purchase this is going to be a tough choice - and I am a manual shift guy !

 

You have me thinking of trading up Michael. The less than stellar warranty service has me kind of turned off at the brand right now though.

 

Give the '09 Vantage a drive - then again if you are really getting into the track thing a GT3RS is the way to go ... not that great for a daily drive but lot's of fun on the track. Of course a N24 would be a great track weapon - and no *****ing about track use !