Autocar is a Brit car magazine, and therefore better than anything we get here in North America

It's not EVO, but hey. Enjoy!

http://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/...4.7-V8/261853/

 

Speaking of Evo: http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evoc...8_vantage.html

The Evo review is quite a bit more positive than the Autocar review, but I can't say that Autocar isn't right. I truly believe that the Vantage is going to need a serious infusion of tech if it's not going to lose ground to some of its contemporary competitors.

Very rare to see a manufacturer add more content AND lower the price. Helps explain the stonking good deal I got on my 2011. No complaints here, though I am curious to try the 2012 and see how large a difference these tweaks make.

 

fail on my part, missing that my favourite magazine also had an article up. good addition. EVO always goes with the emotion of cars, so it's not surprising to see them reviewing it more positively. not many car mags have renaultsport hatches beating supercars in car of the year issues

I agree with you 100%. It's unusual that Aston took quite a long time to 'nail' the Vantage, and by that time, the competitors have something trickier up their sleeve. When the Vantage first came out, it had a very high tech chassis, but the car was bouncy in the rear and the engine lacked grunt. They fixed the engine, and then gradually got their suspension right and now we have a great product, just in time to see the new era of sport tourers roll out from Porsche et al. That said, 07 vantage with cats, headers, filter, flash and some coilovers and you have a lovely looking car that goes 95% as well as the 2012 for a lot less. After I finish my mba and pay off the loan, I'm getting either a vantage and doing all of the above or a GT3...obviously the GT3 is more of a drivers car, but the beauty of the Vantage is something to behold.

 

The newest edition of EVO reviewed the new 911 Carrera S and pitted various cars, including the Vantage S (as a stand in for the new Vantage 4.7), against the 911. The Vantage S didn't come out on top of the 911, but, as always, EVO had good things to say about the Vantage.

The technology issue is an interesting one. I agree that Aston needs to keep innovating and I'm concerned that they will not be able to keep up with competitors because of their lack of funds. That said, Aston seems to be becoming the "old school" alternative for those who don't want a driver's experience akin to playing a video game. Ironically, the Aston's lack of advanced technology is being lauded by folks like the EVO staff who are more concerned about driver experience than performance numbers. I'm wondering if this will be Aston's niche.