I took a hefty road trip less than a month ago and figure I’d make a post about it. Mainly to praise Aston on the usability of the Vantage and to tell about a few minor flaws I noticed.

My trip started off in Fort Worth where me and a few other cars (C6, STI, GT) took a road trip to El Paso to start the Dustball Rally – which took us to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas. Once in Las Vegas I flew my girlfriend in and we drove to her place in Vail, where we stayed about a week. Then I drove to Wichita, Kansas and back to Fort Worth.

First off, the difference from sport/comfort is noticeable – especially with this much seat time. Never once was I upset to be in this sports car for the trip, it’s very comfortable and great for road trips.

My particular model is a 2010 Vantage with sport shift. I know many on here have gotten the sport shift remap and I never was too keen on it as I only drove my car occasionally and didn’t think it was that big of a deal but, after this many miles in such a short span I can certainly say the sport shift is lack luster for spirited driving. Therefore, although I have yet to get the remap, I intend to.
Also, another flaw I noticed was 2 times the car briefly puttered – whereas, going 90ish once and 70ish the other time, the car just went down a few thousand RPMs and then keep on chugging – almost like it was telling me “give me a break!”. No warnings went off and nothing is wrong with the car – I just thought it was a bit odd.
Another issue I noticed was on two separate occasions when shifting (once from 2nd to 3rd and another from 1st to 2nd) the car died and a warning displayed “Fault no gear change possible.” However, each time this happened I had done (which I assume I am doing correctly) the sport shift clutch learn procedure. So I assume the car was just adjusting to it?
Another issues was about 4-6 times I had warning display “Tire System Fault” when there was nothing wrong with the tires. I simply would restart the car and the warning went away.

Other than those minor issues, the car ran great and it truly is a perfect blend of a sports car and a GT car. It has all the luxurious and creature comforts of a luxury car while being a sports car when you want it to be. In essence, I truly recommend getting out there to see America in this car, as it can do it – and do it well.

 

otw the El Paso - 581 miles of straight fun!





Golden Gate Bridge after Lombard Street.



Camera car, which should have had stickers on it :whistle:





Leaving the Golden Gate Bridge haha



Vail, CO



Welcome to the Cordillera Country Club



And...for the grand finale...welcome to Kansas!

 

Nice pictures. Kansas looks extremely boring. Lol.

I hope you issues with the car get sorted out. My car has the air bag light on again :/

 

great pictures, the 10 to EP is a boring drive!

 

I love my vantage but even though these are minor issues you experienced they shouldn't be happening on a 2010 car of ANY BRAND.

 

Boring and full of cops...

 

Awesome road trip, thanks for sharing your experience and for the pics!

Did you find it a challenge to fit all your gear in the trunk?

I didn't go with the roadster because I didn't think there was enough trunk space for two for a road trip.

Did you get a chance to drive up Mt. Evans in CO? That is the highest paved road in North America. I have ridden my bike up it and used to rip around the twisties in my S2000 when I lived there.

 

Didn't mean to hijack.... there are air bag sensors on the back of the seats, they might be pushed too far back and triggered the sensors. move them forward and the warming light should go away.

 

This happened to me. I had something wedged behind the passenger seat and it caused the airbag warning light to illuminate.

 

Wow, thanks guys I will try that today.

 

When I got that gear change fault and some bad shifting behavior, it was an indication of an impending clutch failure. Have it checked out.

 

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The vert's trunk is just enough space for you and your passengers luggage for a weekend trip - that is all. Luckily there were a bunch of other cars with us so I just threw luggage in their cars.

Didn't get a chance to drive that road, I'll look into it next time - thanks for the tip. However, I did mountain bike Vail - which was a blast.

I'll ask, I just can't fathom having clutch issues with such low mileage.